Blogs from Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 78

Our second day arrived with sunshine, chirping birds, and a light breeze. There was no foreshadowing to let me know I would soon be attacked by a barbed wire fence. Our adventure began quite innocuously. We got up, ate a light breakfast, and decided to hike down the trail to the butterfly garden. It was recommended that we wear boots, but we couldn't find any, so we set out in our hiking shoes, t-shirts, and shorts. Two dogs were sitting at our front door when we left the house - a big white puppy and a small black dog. The dogs kept us company until we reached a blue and white gate. It was necessary to jump over, and it would have been entertaining if we could have seen ourselves attempting to do so - me ... read more

Hello friends from a somewhat more chilly La Fortuna... My final days in Delicias-Montezuma, a quick recap.... I wasn´t sure when exactly I would be leaving as I didn´t yet know where I would be heading, earliest leaving date possible was Friday (the 13th...) so my ¨goodbye dinner¨was on Thursday night. There were a couple of people there I had never met before (a regular night at our house then!) and the neighbours had prepared a great lasagna and two big bowls of salad. A great change from the rice and beans regular meals (don´t get me wrong I´m still enjoying those too). My final day at school on Friday seemed to be over in minutes. It was ¨Agriculture Day¨at the escuela and two people had come to the school to talk about the importance of ... read more

Today we awoke to a lovely view of the Arenal Volcano. It is really spectacular. Our guide informed us we are now one of the 3/10,000,000 people who have seen an active volcano. We boarded the bus at 8:00 and headed to our rafting adventure on the Sarapiqui River. After a brief orientation and lots of sunblock, we were off on a 4-hour cruise down the river. There wasn´t much whitewater, but the forest and wildlife were spectacular. We saw a monkey, a toucan and many other birds. Our river lunch included fresh pineapple, mangos and watermelon - delicious! Our trip back to Los Lagos included a stop in Muella where we saw IGUANAS! Lots of them, including the one in this picture. Wish you were here! ... read more

buenas dias amigos... i hope this finds everyone doing well and having a great holiday and wrap up to 2005! i have moved on from San Juaquin de flores, traveling northwest to the towns of la fortuna, monteverde and santa elena, in the mountainous regions of the north central coast. after calling the bus department on the 23rd to ¨"confirm" that schedules were running the same for the holiday weekend (like any good little traveler would..), i rose early, said my goodbyes to the Fallas Ramos family and headed into the San Jose bus terminal to catch my direct transport to the mountains where i would spend christmas enjoying the view of volcan arenal and taking advantage of nearby hikes, rafting, and waterfalls. HA! i was soon introduced to the first (not totally unexpected) lesson of ... read more

After the exciting whitewater rafting on the Pacuare River, our next destination is Arenal Volcano. We arrived at Hotel San Bosco which is located in La Fortuna. The hotel is nice, clean, and inexpensive. From the hotel, on a clear day you can see Arenal Volcano. Early in the morning, the volcano was partly covered by clouds and the weather was overcast, which made photographing it quite a challenge. Arenal Volcano is the only volcano in Costa Rica constantly active since it woke up after 400 years with the big 1968 eruption producing huge ash columns, explosions & glowing red lava almost every day. It is considered one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world. It is 5478 feet high. We spent the late afternoon and evening at Tabacon Resort Hot Springs, a resort ... read more