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Published: September 6th 2006
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Beautiful setting
The landscaping and setting at Tabacon were beyond compare with anywhere else we've been in Costa Rica. It really was a beautiful place to relax for a day and there were so many pools to choose from that, while we were there, you could always find a quiet, private spot to relax. With a thunder-like rumble, a spurt of bright orange broke the velvet darkness of the cool night. Mesmerized, oblivious to the pesky mosquitoes, we couldn’t take our eyes off the incredible sight of red-hot rocks being hurled out of the top of the nearby mountain and tumbling and breaking up down the steep slopes. This was Volcano Arenal, one of the most active volcanoes in the world and we were lucky enough to catch it on a clear night. After basking in the luxuriousness of jungle hot-springs during the day, it was the perfect way to spend the evening. Thus we spent a few days of Nana and Pop-pop’s visit.
Since I haven’t written for a while, I figured I needed a dramatic beginning. At the end of July, for the last week of the summer vacation, Nana and Pop-pop, my parents, came for a visit. As you can imagine, their visit was eagerly awaited, especially since it fell in the same month as Ari’s birthday. The build-up began about two months before their arrival when my mother asked what Ari wanted for his birthday. I told her Ari would think about it and send her an e-mail. Well, if
Presents!
Nana and Pop-pop brought two HUGE suitcases with them...one filled with clothes, and one filled with presents for Ari's birthday (and of course a few things for Ellie too). Thanks Nana and Pop-pop! you thought your computer was slow during June and July, it is probably because the volume of Ari’s e-mails clogged up the worldwide web. Not only did he have a lengthy list (that kept getting longer), he also figured out how to search Amazon and other sites and include links to the products and product reviews that he liked.
(I must insert a quick disclaimer -- or mea culpa -- here. This was actually the second visit from Nana and Pop-pop - their first was way back in March. Despite not having a blog written about it, it did occur and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Just by luck, that visit coincided with Ellie’s birthday so the grandparents were 2 for 2 in hitting and contributing heavily to the birthday month celebrations.)
Needless to say, their visit was anticipated -- and not just for the possibilities of the goodies they were bringing. So even the slight delay to their flight didn’t dampen our enthusiasm as we headed to the airport to pick them up. The first afternoon was spent very enjoyably just hanging around our apartment unwrapping and playing with the gifts they brought. I’d say the most
Birthday Celebration #3
Of course we had to celebrate Ari's birthday (again) with Nana and Pop-pop. This is the third time...once with friends and a party, once on his actual birthday at home just us, and now again. popular gifts were the hangman game for Ellie - she is too adorable playing… she has expanded her word list from just Ari and Ellie to include cat, Nana and Dara. And Ari’s favorites are the game Clue and the book Oh Yuck! (check it out --- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0761107711/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/104-4127980-5618311?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books).
Since we’re not ones to sit around and relax on vacation, early the next morning we were up and on our way to the area around Volcano Arenal. This is, in our humble opinion, the must-visit area of Costa Rica -- it is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. We first caught a glimpse of the beautiful, picturesque cone way back in December during our stay at the Instituto Asis -- and only a glimpse it was. Of the ten days we were in the area, there was only one afternoon that it was not shrouded in clouds. Unfortunately, back then, we didn’t realize that a cloud-free Arenal was a rarity, so we just stayed by Asis - about 15 miles away - and didn’t make the trek over closer to the volcano and really experience it. In April, however, we did make another trip up to Arenal
Zarcero Park
Volcano Arenal sits just outside the village of La Fortuna, about 3 hours away (over good roads - an important attribute) from our house. To break the trip up a little, we stopped for breakfast, then in the little town of Zarcero (which is unremarkable except for the fantastic topiaries in its central park) then on to Instituto Asis. (yeah, yeah, another un-blogged adventure - we have too many to count). Although for that trip we weren’t really sure what to expect, we were so wowed that we made an almost exact repeat of the itinerary for this expedition with Nana and Pop-pop.
As I mentioned before, if you can only make it to one area of Costa Rica, it should be Arenal. As you drive out of La Fortuna, the small town nearest the volcano, the volcano rises in a picture-perfect cone right in front of you. Even though the top almost always pokes into the clouds, it is an impressive sight. Although the anchor of the area is the volcano, there are also hot springs in the area which are an equally enjoyable attraction.
There are various spots in which you can visit the hot springs but Tabacon is the best known. We’d heard differing reports - Tabacon supposedly is the nicest area of hot springs, but also much more expensive than the rest and we’d heard that it is not worth the extra expense. During our last visit back in April, we’d tried out a different hot springs development called Eco Thermales. It was
Zarcero Park 2
The pictures of Zarcero and Asis are actually from our trip back in April. very nice - there was a small river running out of a hot spring, through the jungle and cascading into 5 picturesque pools. These pools ranged in temperature from barely bearable to hot Jacuzzi as they tumbled away from the river (in the hottest pool, a sprinkler sprayed a mist of cool water, providing some respite from the heat -- on the part of your body that was out of the water, anyway). The whole place had a very rustic, jungle setting, enhanced by the fact that it was virtually empty.
We weren’t sure what to expect at Tabacon, but we were excited to check it out. So we checked into the hotel then took the shuttle down the road to the hot springs. When you first enter, it doesn’t seem like much more than a standard tourist trap - you pass through a big restaurant and downstairs to the deck of a big swimming pool and bar. Past that, however, it is incredible - lots of beautiful paths through the jungle leading to many different natural pools. Of course, Ari and Ellie (with me in tow) had to test every pool and trek down every river. The temperature
of the water in the pools ranges from bearably hot to warm bathtub.
Down by the big swimming pool, there are lounge chairs for the less active types, a swim-up bar, and a great view of the volcano. While sitting there, even with the top of the volcano in the clouds, you can see boulders tumbling down the side of the cone (not to worry - you are far enough away so you won’t be bowled over). When we were there in April, we first heard, and then saw these boulders and rockslides from the national park that is on the other side of the volcano. As we pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car to take a little hike, we heard a long deep rumbling - like thunder, only longer. Dara and I looked at each other quizzically (worriedly?) -- we weren’t really sure what it was. As we took our hike, we continued to hear these rumblings off and on. In the places where the path afforded us a clear view of the volcano, we could see rocks rolling and bouncing down the side of the volcano and the puffs of dust that
Monkey Boy
On our way to Arenal, we also made a quick stop at Asis. Although the visit was brief, the kids really enjoyed the chance to see the monkeys again and my parents enjoyed meeting Alvaro, the director of Asis and seeing the wildlife there. Even though we don’t see Alvaro very often, we do seem to have made a connection with him and it is always a great pleasure to see him. they kicked up. We thought these were just rockslides somehow caused by the volcano or just due to the steep sides of the cone. Later we realized that these were boulders being ejected out of the top of the volcano and tumbling and breaking up as they rolled down. It wasn’t until nighttime that we figured out that these rocks were red-hot.
Just as we were preparing to leave the hot springs, it started to rain. Then it started to rain harder. Then it really poured - hey it’s the rainy season here. One of the people we were talking to said it was a good sign - after a hard rain, according to him, the volcano is more active than usual. That night, after the rain had stopped, we went out to dinner at a restaurant that had a view of the volcano. I don’t know if the volcano was more active than usual, but it certainly was active. We sat through dinner with our eyes glued to the volcano watching glowing rocks rolling down the volcano. If you’ve never seen an erupting volcano, it is something that you can’t take your eyes off of -- even if
Dara and two monkeys
Thanks to Pop-Pop for the name of this picture...get it?? Once Nena (the monkey) found Dara she wouldn't go to anyone else. Apparently she has a fixation for women, especially moms. Somehow she can tell. It's kind of sad since she's an orphan and lost her mom a few months ago...she must miss her. it means waking up in the middle of the night and sitting on the patio behind your hotel room.
After Arenal and a stop at La Paz, we just hung out in Heredia for the last few days of Nana and Pop-pop’s visit. At the recommendation of friends, we found a beautiful, out of the way hotel not far away. Of course, we found it by going the back way - along a road that went from dirt to rocky to is this really a road? Luckily, going in the front way, it wasn’t that bad. We really enjoyed those last couple days - hanging around at their hotel admiring the view, using the swimming pool and getting our money’s worth (well, Nana and Pop-pop's) from the Clue game.
One day, we visited another hotel down the road for lunch and used their pool. This pool had a monster waterslide - it started about 12 feet up above the pool and ended about 4 feet above the water. (You would never see anything like this in the US - liability lawyers would be drooling so the pool would overflow and insurance companies wouldn’t allow it. But here in
Beautiful
Tabacon's hot springs extended up through the jungle, with paths that wind up through beautifully landscaped jungle foliage, wending amongst 3 rivers and a smorgasbord of natural pools and waterfalls. Costa Rica, they have a much different attitude -- much more of a caveat slider -- or something like that). Needless to say, the kids loved it. It took Ellie a little bit to work up the courage to go down, but once she tried it, look out below. Of course, none of the adults tried it - but only because the water was too cold.
So that was about it for our adventures with Nana and Pop-pop. Anyone else who would like to come down and visit is more than welcome - except we are running out of time. It looks like we are going to be heading back to Pennsylvania around December 20 or so. Hard to believe only 3 ½ months left. And still so much to do (and even more that we have done that I haven’t written about yet!)
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Pop-Pop
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Great report
Wonderful report -- thanks for reminding us what a great time we had. And the photography is terrific, too -- I was particularly impressed by the photo down the bottom, of Ari in mid-air going off the water slide.