Catarata La Fortuna

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We awoke to the the sound of heavy rainfall this morning. When the cleaning lady came to do our room we headed over to the communcal kitchen to have breakfast. There was a rather large, extended family there who whole-heartedly wished us "Buenos Dias". Curtis went into cook his eggs while I sat at a table. The grin on his face when he came out with his plate was worth a million dollars! He must have batted his eyelashes or maybe salivated a bit while ogling the food the ladies in the kitchen were preparing for their family as he came out with two cheese filled tortillas and a piece of cooked meat! They were so kind to give it to him and it was absolutely fantastic and oh so simple to make! We sat there listening to their animated conversation. When our room was done the rain eased and the clouds parted to let the sun dry up the earth. We retired to the pool where we caught up on some reading. After a couple of hours we decided to head into La Fortuna and hike to the Catarata, which is the waterfalls. We knew that it was a bit of a walk and very hot and humid. We chugged along and at about 5km we finally saw a sign for the falls. Imagine our surprise when we learned it was still another 2km uphill! We must have looked somewhat defeated and a little overheated because a car stopped and offered us a ride. We gladly accepted. It turned out to be a couple from Seville, Spain who had been here since Thursday and were also heading to the falls. It was so generous of them to stop and we thanked them profusely. The reception area to the falls is beautiful. We paid for our tickets and then proceeded across the bridge to a set of 480 steps going down. The first half of the steep walk was very nicely done with wide stairs and beautiful walls and railings. They are still working on finishing these steps because at this point it became a bit trickier, with only decorative cement blocks to walk on. We could hear the roar of the falls below and as we hit the last step we received our first glimpse of the magnificent cascade. They were spectacular! The water crashed down from the rocks far above, ending with a fury in the pool below. Several people were venturing into the frothy water. It was closely patrolled by a lifeguard and the shrill sound of a whistle resounded if anyone tried to go below the falls. We made the trip back up the steps where we heard a strange sound. We both stopped trying to figure out the mysterious sound. Turned out to be a zip line that went over the falls. We got back up to the top where we called for a taxi. As we drove down the hill the driver suddenly said, "Toucan!", backed up the car and out we got to find a toucan in one of the trees. We took pictures and then he drove us back into town. We walked through the park which was alive with people, the majestic Catholic Church served as a backdrop across the street. The park was full of Ticos playing, talking, eating, biking, etc. We found a small soda for supper and when Curtis ordered a beer the waiter said, "Sorry I don't have beer here, but you can go to the grocery store, buy beer and bring it back." Which is exactly what we did! We enjoyed another tasty meal and then headed home, making a brief stop at the bakery for something to quell Curtis' sweet tooth.

Tomorrow we get our rental car which will allow us the freedom to explore the outer areas of La Fortuna. Fingers crossed that there are no posts hiding when Curtis backs up!! 😊

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