Advertisement
Published: February 8th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Day three journey:
How surreal it was to wake up in a canopy of trees in the heart of the Costa Rican rain forest! The many sounds surrounding us were mesmerizing; the highly vocal Howler monkeys howling, Toucan birds croaking "RRRRRRRRRRRRRK", insects clicking, and more. As a result of this "music" we all awoke rather early and excited for the day.
After being served a delightful breakfast (fresh cut papaya, mango and pineapple, banana stuffed french toast and guava juice) we jaunted North toward La Fortuna, which is at the base of Mount Arenal - http://www.pbs.org/edens/costarica/breathing.html - and near our next destination, Leaves and Lizards Cabin Retreat.
Along the way, we decided to stop for a visit at “Souvenir Leo”, as recommended by Mark the Tree House hotel-keeper. Mark mentioned that this particular shop is where some of the most authentic Costa Rican souvenirs can be found, as almost everything there is handmade/painted by Leo and his family themselves. WOW, was he right! When we located Leo’s shop just off the side of the road we made our way down his driveway. Instantly, a native gentleman approached us with a grande smile and welcoming demeanor. Oh, and he
was armed with a bird in each hand (and not the flippin’ kind that you might find in America if you drove down some strange man’s driveway)! He was clearly excited to see a batch of visitors stop by and was eager to show us his small slice of heaven. We spent nearly two hours with Leo and his family playing with the dozen or so parakeets and parrots they keep as pets in their yard, Nikki chasing the iguana, touring his open air shop (where he demonstrated use of his band saw and brand new planer) and Mom and Shae grabbing handful after handful of handmade souvenirs. More photos of this experience to come…
Onwards we went for the remainder of our short drive. The last half hour of which was rather steep and rugged as we approached the Leaves and Lizards retreat, which is positioned among the rolling hills northwest of the Arenal Volcano. When we arrived, we were greeted by Steve and Debbie Legg, owners of the retreat. After having some time to acquaint ourselves with the cabin, the barn, the restaurant and the farm, we zipped down to the river for a late afternoon swim
Mount Arenal
The spectacular volcano view from our deck! and adventure; Nikki and Jeff floated down river, hiked back up and did it again, again, and again, while Mom and Shae positioned themselves between rocks for some massage and exfoliation and Dad perched himself among the butterflies and birds for picture-taking. The highlight for Nikki on this particular adventure was her being enamored by the many pools of tadpoles that she found along the river bank.
Back to the cabin we went for clean-up and relaxation. Each of us sat on the porch, in hammocks, rockers and rustic porch chairs while awaiting the sunset to the northwest of Mount Arenal (all the while, Nikki made friends with a hummingbird named “Hector” who calls the clothesline on our cabin’s porch his home). After sunset, which was spectacular, we enjoyed a delicioso family-style dinner with other guests of the retreat (who were down from the East coast) and Steve and Debbie atop a hillside adjacent to our cabin which housed yet another SPECTACULAR view of the Volcano. It was a great end to another great day!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.115s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 13; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0789s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Jodi
non-member comment
Unlce
That picture of you, with the bird on your shoulder....CLASSIC!