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Published: March 13th 2006
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Road to Arenal
Yes, part of the bridge IS missing. Having purchased the Izuzu Rodeo earlier in the week Bill decided we needed give it a test on the mountain roads. Wow, what a maiden voyage it turned out to be. It was nice to take a trip in our “own” car for a change. Callista quickly turned the back cargo area into her personal playground. Bear enjoyed having the back seat all to himself although he really prefers to be in the front seat with daddy.
We headed directly north out of San Ramon on the main street thru town. The road takes you through the Los Angeles cloud forest up to a town called La Tigra. The next main town near the Volcano is La Fortuna. It has most every need for people living in the area. Arenal Volcano is located in the Guanacaste province but really bordering the central lowlands. The road is in good condition but is one lane each way the whole trip. The drive was about 90 minutes and roughly 90 kilometers. (Thanks, Bill)
Arenal Volcano: It is the only continuously active volcano in the country. It is a conical shaped volcano that puts on a show when the clouds break for viewing.
Vagabondo Hotel
Arenal in the background covered by clouds. We were not lucky enough to witness the show but did enjoy the trip very much. We stayed at the Vagabondo Hotel and Pizzaria, great pizza and not a bad price for the room. It ran us $50.00 for a room with a queen and twin beds and allowed us to bring Bear. The price included breakfast. We called ahead for reservations as we had heard rooms can be scarce in the dry season. There were several hotels with no occupancy signs but plenty with rooms available. We were happy with our choice for one night.
We drove to the damn and viewed Lake Arenal and went to the Arenal Hanging bridges. We didn’t do the hike as we weren’t dressed for it. Actually, we had seen bicyclists racing past the hotel at breakfast so we jumped in the truck to see what we could see. Bill was hoping it was a triathlon and wanted to see the athletes swimming in Lake Arenal. What we saw was a long line of traffic waiting to cross the bridge which was closed while the ladies finished their race. The delay turned out to be a blessing as we were able to
Baldi Hotsprings
Callista just after we arrived.Arenal Volcano in the background spot our first toucan perched in a tree above the stopped traffic. He was beautiful! It was great for us all to share the experience together.
Returning to the hotel Bill spotted what he thought was a huge cat in the road. Callista and I convinced him to stop the car for a closer look and discovered it was a coati. I jumped out of the car to get a better picture and he ran up to me. It scared me as I didn’t have shoes on and he looked hungry. I quickly took a couple of shots and jumped back in the truck before he could follow me in. I think he wanted a ride somewhere. Bear does not approve of hitchhikers.
We met a Japanese photographer during breakfast and ended up reconnecting with her at Baldi Hot Springs, (www.baldihotsprings.com). Arenal not only has the volcano for tourists but the added benefit of hot springs for enjoyment. We enjoyed the afternoon soaking in the 16 different pools with temperatures ranging from about 85 degrees to 172 degrees. If you go remember to drink plenty of water and bring your own towel. Rumor has it they charge $10
per towel per person per day. Admission was about $23, less for Callista. You can stay from open to close 10am to 10pm. It would be really nice to sit relaxing at the swim up bar watching the volcano erupt. Maybe next time.
One of the best things about our trip to Arenal was connecting with other people from all over the world. We enjoyed our time with Maki, the Japanese photographer who was traveling alone in the country for 8 days photographing monkeys. We met several people at the hanging bridges from the states, even one young man from Arizona. At the hot springs we were fascinated by a group of young world travelers touring the country. One young man was from the states while the others were from Sweden, Norway & Switzerland. While we were intrigued by their adventure they were interested in ‘our’ adventure, moving to Costa Rica for a better life with our daughter. I get warm fuzzies today thinking about what fun it was talking to them. Maybe our paths will cross again.
Pura Vida,
Jen
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Tom Walters
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Hi folks, I am so excited for you and it really sounds like you are really getting into the homestead thing. I love the pictures and the geography lessons. I share these with a woman I work with who has traveled to Costa Rica. She enjoys them too. TW