Blogs from Arenal, Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 6

We had been planning to visit the 70ft waterfalls today which is a short taxi ride away, but it was quite pricey just to go and we were feeling lazy so we stayed in, did some laundry (heaven again), read our books on the balcony looking over the volcano and went for a smoothie. There was a guy in the cafe that had dreadlocks down to his ankles, it was quite gross, how clean must they be!?!? We subtly took pictures of course... We´d prepaid for the bus-boat-bus trip to Monteverde which although was a little more pricey, cut off 6 hours of travelling! At 2ish, we got picked up and headed to gorgeous Lake Arenal which was huge and surrounded by rolling mountains covered in clouds. We could very well have been on a loch ... read more

I'm starting the blog with some pictures from last years trip to Costa Rica... read more

Today was our first day of the week long vacation in Costa Rica. We arrived in San Jose yesterday and stayed in a hotel just outside the city. Today morning we were picked by the tour operators (pre-booked) from our hotel for a day long visit to Arenal volcano and surrounding areas. The drive from San Jose to Arenal is about 3-4hrs long and on the way we passed through Grecia, Sarchi, Naranjo and San Ramon. We saw a beautiful church in Grecia. The tour guide told us the structure was metallic and was made that way to withstand earthquake tremors. At Sarchi we got a chance to visit a handicraft shop and also saw artists at work. We had a great time at the Tabacon hot springs resort. Had loads of fun in the hot ... read more

23rd May 2009 - ARRIVAL IN FORTUNA We were so pleased to finally arrive in Fortuna after another 2 bus journeys. There had been far too much time spent on buses over the last few days. We arrived at around 5pm and it seemed like a nice little town upon 1st impressions. As we got off the bus, a lady stopped us and asked if we were looking for somewhere to stay that was cheap and close to the town. We definitely were and she pointed us in the direction of some cabins just across the way. We went to check them out. They weren’t luxury but they were nice enough and very cheap. We had a private room with a bathroom, TV, fresh towels and as many friends we wanted in the form of mosquitoes. ... read more

La Fortuna had apparently been a sleepy farming community until a rather spectacular eruption of its nearby volcano in 1968. Since then regular minor volcanic activity had drawn the tourists and catalysed the arrival of souvenir shops, restaurants, cafes, hotels and spas to service the predominantly American visitors. La Fortuna was really the first clear sign on our trip that the impacts of the financial crisis is global in the full sense of the word. Empty hotels, deserted restaurants and tour guides sweating on another day of no sales. The impact may have also been compounded by a recent nearby little judder perhaps putting off more of the legendarily worrisome American tourists. The excitement was not so much about seeing the volcano in all its splendour, it never actually emerged from the clouds, but the prospect ... read more