Blogs from Arenal, Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 12

This is by far the coolest place i've been to. Our room is facing the Arenal volcano, an active volcano. Supposedly an active volcano is safer than a dormant one due to the fact that the dormant builds up pressure then explodes while the active slowly leaks pressure. I visited a local family today and had lunch at thier place. It was very modest, and makes me appreciate the things i have back at home, i.e. my studio apt. The people are very nice and appreciate my trying to speak spanish. I gained a reqal insite into Costa Rican culture. In addition, Costa Rican women are amazingly beautiful, who can argue with a year round tan?... read more

It's all fun and games until someone gets bit by a scorpion. But more on this later. First, we woke to yet another gorgeous day. We were on our own for breakfast, so I ate yogurt with granola and nibbled on some fruit, and Bri ate macadamia nuts and fresh pineapple. After the delicious breakfast feasts that the cook prepares, this didn't seem like much, so we headed down to the Lajas Restaurante for more food. Our server had a bird perched on his finger, and we were able to pet it before it eventually flew off. We ran into the guys who'd toured us around Lake Arenal at Lajas and were able to say goodbye, which was nice. Everybody asked us about the fiesta and were impressed by the amount of tamales and picadillos consumed ... read more

Hurrah! This morning began with another fabulous breakfast. This time, french toast and fresh fruit. Yum. While we were eating, the housekeeper said she heard about our hot tub issues, and thought she figured out the problem. Apparently, some numbskull had shut off all the breakers. (What?? The breakers were off?? Who could have done such a thing?) She said she flipped the breakers back on and now the tub was refilling. Cool, we'd finally get to use it tonight. Bri and I finished breakfast and went horseback riding with Alex. We rode around for a couple hours (this time *I* rode Bonita and let Bri take the butt-bouncing Casper) and took a completely different trail than before. Once again, we heard monkeys in the trees but couldn't actually see any. We did see lots of ... read more

Our fifth day began with another delicious breakfast brought to us by the cook. We ate outside, as we have almost every morning and some afternoons. Once again, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and it was impossible not to grin at each other. How were we to know that today was the day we'd pick up a hitchhiker? We headed out fairly early and got some gas. Brian's first credit card didn't go through and it took 15 minutes for them to bring back his second credit card. Once we juiced up, we drove past an ominous sign ("Peligro! Carretera en mal estado!") and started down the road. Suddenly, Bri shouts "Stop here!" and I swing into a building known as Toad Hall. He wanders around, looking at souvenirs. We pick up a ... read more

Our third day greeted us with bright sunshine, chirping birds, and the friendly cook/housekeeper. She was a bit disappointed to find out I was vegetarian (since she brought ham and chicken) but quickly whipped up a delicious breakfast of omelettes, toast, juice, fresh sliced fruit, and a pot of Costa Rican coffee. For Bri and I, the first order of business was to find a bank and get some colones (CR currency). Oh, and some Gatorade (what can I say?). She gave us directions to the bank in town, where her daughter works. We headed on over, planning to ask for the daughter once we got there. An armed police officer on the inside of the bank unlocked the entrance with a key, let us in, and immediately relocked the door. The queue was made up ... read more