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Published: June 27th 2014
Marshall on horseback
The volcano has been covered by clouds for the last 10 days, but it opened up just in time for a picture!It rained all night, and when we woke this morning, it was still coming down. (We're in a rain forest). Apparently, nothing stops the locals from earning some tourist dollars, so we went horseback riding in the rain! Marshall had never been on a horse before, and it had been decades since I had ridden one, but we were ready to go! There were three honeymoon couples plus the two of us. I didn't feel old, did I? The caballeros matched us to the right horse, and we were off. Marshall got a really pretty gray one, and I got the biggest one (I wonder why?); it looked like an Arabian horse that we had when I was a kid. For the next hour, we rode through fields, across streams, and through the rain forest. Occasionally, the horses would trot or even break into a canter. Marshall was pretty thrilled! Our guide pointed out a couple of toucans perched high in the trees. Their big bills made them very easy to identify. We also saw fields of yuca which is a starchy plant that they use in place of potatoes. Sometimes the horses would slip on wet rocks or slog through
La Fortuna Waterfall
This is just the bottom of it as it empties into the pool. deep mud. The water was up to my shoes when we crossed the deepest stream, but we didn't lose any one! After an hour of riding, we arrived at the entrance to La Fortuna Waterfall. The horses were rested and watered, while we hiked to the entrance to this park. The government has built a wonderful system of 400 steps down through the rain forest to the pool and stream at the base of the waterfall. Normally, you can swim in the pool, but since there has been so much rain, it was too dangerous to swim today. I went down into the jungle far enough to see the waterfall, while Marshall traveled all the way to the bottom. I like to blame my fake knees for not going all the way to the bottom, but it's actually that I'm not in any shape to hike back UP the 400 steps. There's no way to bring in a helicopter to rescue me, so I decided not to go all the way. The waterfall and tropical vegetation were breathtaking. Marshall said it gave him the most glorious feeling to experience it. That's what this trip is all about. We all returned
Ecothermale Hot Springs
Notice the steam an humidity surrounding the area. to our horses and started the ride back to the stables. The past 24 hours have been at the base of the Arenal Volcano, but we hadn't actually seen it because the clouds were so low. On the return ride, the clouds floated away and gave us a great close-up view of the volcano. In the late afternoon, we went with some other tourists to Ecotermale Hot Springs for a soak and dinner. After the last eruption of Arenal, about 40 years ago, several hot springs surfaced in areas around the base of the volcano. The local families who owned the land have turned these springs and the local river into wonderful thermal pools. This place was out in the jungle with all of the vegetation and wildlife. They have a changing facility, lighted paths, and 6 paved pools. Somehow, they are in the river, with the hot springs funneled into different pools at different rates, so they can control the temperature of each pool. I don't do well in hot water (something to do with blood pressure), but Marshall loved them. I stood in one of the pools just up to my knees, and then decided I would be
Hot Springs After Sunset
It's very exotic at night. Because it's so close to the equator, the sun sets at about 6:00 all year long. better off with a caipirinha and a lounge chair. How often can you have a frosty beverage while enjoying a natural outdoor sauna in the middle of a rain forest? It was wonderful. When we first arrived, there was a loud racket in the trees along the path to the pools. When we went to investigate, it was 3 howler monkeys playing around in the canopy of the trees. Those were our first monkeys of the trip, but I'm sure there will be more. When I returned to the changing room, it was dark, and there was a giant toad sitting in the light waiting for bugs. It's called a cane toad or giant toad and it really is giant! Our biologist-guide said they weigh about a pound. It was easily the size of a small bunny! I also came across some leafcutter ants marching single file under a pathway light. I can only imagine what else was lurking in the dark. We followed the path to an open air restaurant where we were served a typical Costa Rican dinner of rice, beans, salad, and meat. All of the food has been very good. We leave this great location in
the morning to head to Monteverde Cloud Forest. First, we're taking a nature walk over the area that was covered by lava during the last eruption. Sounds good!
Guest Blogger, Marshall Ores:
So. I haven't blogged before in my life. It would be best to get that out of the way before I begin.
The first thing we did today was go horseback riding. My horse's name was Janet, if that means anything at all, and I had a fun (albeit messy) time. the whole tour was 3 hours long, 1 hour to the waterfall, spending an hour at the waterfall, and another hour heading back from the waterfall. My grandma claims that I said it was the "most glorious feeling to experience it" ("it" being the waterfall), but I rather insisted that she typed it down as: "The most glorious thing I have ever experienced so far lol yeh." So I had to make sure that was changed. My horse was pretty wild at times and would often break into a canter, bouncing by butt against the rough leather saddle several times. They are currently sore as I type this. That was the highlight of my day. Afterwards, I immediately took a shower to cleanse all the water and mud and general smell that was on me from the horse. I then proceeded to eat a delicious lunch consisting of chicken fajitas with a tasty sauce, tortillas, and a bunch of other tasty crap. For the next 3 hours or so afterwards I proceeded to do pretty much nothing at all. That was fun. We had a pretty sweet view of the Arenal Volcano for half an hour, then the clouds covered it all back up again. At 4:30pm, Our bus picked us up and took us to the hot springs where I swam for 3 hours until dinner was ready. The hot springs were soothing and nice and I only scraped myself 4 times on the parts that I always miss when I'm trying to get out of the pools. Dinner was pretty good. Nothing to say.
Bye bye!
Marshall Ores. Yeh.
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Carli Siegfried
non-member comment
Horseback Riding
Hi There! I am a U.S. student studying in San Ramon, Costa Rica. I have been wanting to go horse backing riding on one of my weekends and was wondering how the prices were and where this was? Thanks!