Arenal Volcano

After our wonderful week in Manuel Antonio we headed back to San José (technically San Pedro) to start our TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) class.  We also moved into our apartment there in San Pedro, only about 4 blocks from our school.  Class was great, our teacher Iani is from Namibia and has a great point of view and tons of TEFL experience to share.  Our 16 classmates were from all over the US, from the Bay Area to Boston, and everywhere in between!  Luckily, our class was heavier workload wise in the last three weeks so we were able to take another trip that first weekend!  So Erin and I ventured to La Fortuna, Costa Rica to see Arenal Volcano.

The pool at our Hostel

View of the Voclano

When we got off the bus (which we got on at 6am by the way) in La Fortuna we were immediatly approached by tour guides, "You need bus tickets, back?" "Volcano tours?" "Hot springs, you want to go to the hot springs?"  which was a little in your face but actually very helpful because, in fact, we did need bus tickets back and we also wanted to see the volcano and the hot springs!  So we got all set up for our tour and the tour guide guy even dropped us off at our hostel.  Yup, I said hostel.  Our first experience sharing a room with 6 strangers!  The hostel was really pretty though, it had a great view of the volcano and had a beautiful pool and hammocks and a bar!

I found a hammock!

It was a little interesting because when we got in our room there was stuff by most of the beds already, but no people to go with it.   So we kind of had to guess which beds were free and claim those.  Pretty soon we had to go though, so we grabbed a beer at the bar and were off for our volcano/waterfall/hot springs tour before we got a chance to meet our roommates for the night.  It's an interesting feeling knowing that 6 other people will be sleeping in the same room with you and you have no idea who they are!  But we just went with it and were off on our way to Arenal.

The first part of our tour was a little info session about Arenal Volcano.  We got to go to this hotel/resort that is literally right at the base of the volcano and sat out on the observation deck while we learned about the volcano's history.  ONE year ago, that's right in about October of 2010 the volcano was still continuously active.  It is still considered an active volcano, but a year ago there was lava flow and volcano gasses erupting every 10-15 minutes.  It was one of the most regularly active volcanoes on Earth.  We were kinda bummed that it wasn't still that way, I guess we should have gotten our acts together and come to Costa Rica a year earlier!  But it was still beautiful to see the huge volcano, you could see where the trails of lava had fallen down the mountain side, and it was kind of a cloudy day so the mist covering the very top of the volcano gave it an eerie mysterious feeling.

There's an owl behind me!

They have some really awesome plants here.

Next on our tour was a hike through the jungle around the base of the volcano.  It was an awesome hike, and it was so nice to be back in the green Costa Rican jungle again after a week in a classroom in San José!  (Don't get me wrong I loved the TEFL program but I have to admit I love the jungle more!)  On our hike we got to see several more monkeys, a few different jungle lizards, a toucan, and (to my delight) a Spectacled Owl!   We saw a real live Costa Rican Owl!  Woooo! I was a little excited.  It was daytime of course so he was sleeping but he's there in the picture!  Miraculous :)

Elephant Ear Leaf!  

the ruffie flower, so pretty right?

I actually learned a lot on our hiking tour through the jungle.  I learned that the aloe-looking plants on all the trees (literally growing on the trees) are Bromilia, and are very important as they collect rain water and that's where all the cute little monkeys drink from so they don't have to go all the way down to the ground!  I also learned that Costa Rica has a plant with a flower that when made into tea is basically a ruffie, and can knock you out in minutes flat (but it's actually a very beautiful flower!).  I also learned that our guide can make a sound like a howler monkey and monkeys often make the sound back, but not in a nice, 'hey how ya doin' kind of way, probably more of a 'stay the hell away from my tree' kind of way, and that if a monkey ever ties to climb directly over you, move.  This probably means he is getting ready to poop on you! (Don't worry I did NOT learn these things from experience, it's just what the guide told us, although he did really make the howler monkey sound!)  It was a very informative hike!

See that hollow rail?  Sneaky.

The next stop on our tour was a waterfall!  On the hike down to the waterfall there are these rails, I assume so you don't fall down the side of the mountain, but these rails happen to be hollow tubes which (another interesting fact I learned on this tour) when blown through make a sound remarkably like an elephant trumpet.  Sounds cool right?  Well it's probably cooler if you are expecting it. I came around the corner near the end of the group and was the lucky winner of a surprise that almost did make me fall off the mountain!  Let's just say I was a little startled!  But I survived and made it down to the waterfall anyway.  And the waterfall was spectacular!  The guide said normally you can get in the pool at the bottom and swim there but there had been so much rain lately that the waterfall was on turbo mode and going way too fast that day!


So we climbed down to the bottom but stayed on the rocks and didn't venture in the water there, which we didn't mind so much because the water was pretty cold.  After the waterfall we made our way back on the jungle trail and it was getting dark so we got to go back to the observation deck and watch the sunset over the lake by the volcano. It was so peaceful and beautiful :)



After the sunset we were on our way to the hot springs.  On the way though, we pulled over and our guide found a tree frog for us to visit with!  He was the epitome of a tree frog.  Red eyes, bright green, orange sticky toes, he was awesome!  (and actually very calm, I have a suspicion that he may be working for the tour guide or something because he was very well behaved!)

The main Park in La Fortuna

Next came the hot springs.  I don't have any pictures of this (so I'll throw in some random Costa Rica beauty pics) because my camera is not waterproof and we were literally sitting in a hot river, but it was probably the most amazing part of the day.  It started out a little alarming because our group just got out of the bus wearing only swim suits and started walking down the side of the road.  The our guide told us to climb down the path to the water.  This whole time it's pitch black out and we only have a couple head lamps between the group to light our way.




Once we get down there we reach this pool and we all assume that's where we're getting in but no, our guide shows us to the big concrete tunnel that goes under the road.  Maybe it's the herd mentality but we all decide, sure let's walk down this dark sketchy tunnel together, with water rushing by our feet, we'll be okay right?  Well luckily we were right and all made it through safely.  Once at the other end we came to some rocks that were making a little dam in the river, crawled over them and were in a natural pool.  That was hot.  It was amazing.  Just out in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle in a hot river.  Totally normal.

We got to relax there for a little while, and turned off all the lamps for a couple minutes and just enjoyed the water.  I think I almost fell asleep at this point because it was so relaxing.  After a while we made our way back to the infamous tunnel, and I thought we had to leave at that point.  To my surprise our guide sits down in the rushing water in the tunnel and says, "watch me" and launches himself down the tunnel like a water slide!  Again, we all question our judgement here but proceed to follow suit anyway.  It was totally awesome!  As I neared the end of the tunnel I was water sliding through, I could see the guide standing there saying, "give me your hand."

He did not help you up though, instead he hurled you over the waterfall he was standing next to into a another pool about five feet below.  That was a surprise!  Once our whole group had been thrown over the edge there he explained to us that if you swim under the waterfall you'll come up in a little cave.  So we did.  It was pretty cool, but also pretty hot and smelly under there so we didn't stay long.  Back out in the fresh air we took in the sights for a little while.  This part of the river had a great ambiance.  It was a large pool area, and was dark except for one candle that had been set in the rock-face on the side of the river.

Erin and I found a comfy spot to stay for a little bit, just at the edge of the next part of the river that got more rapid and looked too perilous to venture into.  However, before I knew it that's exactly where our guide was taking us.  He told us, "use your butt" and he nimbly crawled over the rocks and white water in the river, so the rest of us (much less gracefully and much more cautiously) followed along.  Then we knew why we had risked our lives to brave the rapids.  We came to a natural jacuzzi.  The rapids came to another mini waterfall, and this one was strong.  It made the water in the small pool below it swirl like jacuzzi jets and the water there was extra hot!  Definitely worth the climb down there.  After a while in the jacuzzi we (carefully) made our way back up the rapids and out of the river.  Looking back I can't believe we just went along with the guide and did everything we did, from willingly being hurled over a waterfall, or climbing through river rapids in the dark, and Erin doing that without shoes on, but I'm definitely glad we did.  It was an experience I'll never forget!


After our Hot Spring River adventure we got back to our hostel and finally met our roommates.  We learned that one of them had actually done the volunteer program at Máximo Nivel, the school in San Pedro where our TEFL program is, about 6 months before!  He knew all about the class we were in and said that since it only gets harder after the first week we had to go out with all of them and party in Costa Rica while we still could.  So out we went.  Fun fact - in La Fortuna at the Stable Bar your cover fee of 3,000 colones (about $6) gets you in the bar and comes with a tequila shot! (and if you ask for an extra they will absolutely give it to you ;)  woooo!)

We had a great time there, even though we were exhausted, but it was great to hang out and dance with the locals.  I wish we had some pictures but we didn't take a camera with us that night, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  To our hostel roommates if you ever come across this blog, thanks for a great night!

Ziplines, Diving and Rafting Oh My!

WARNING! This is a long post (4 parts) with lots of pictures!!! Enjoy!

ZIPLINING!!!

Our "Teak Henna" tattoos

Erin on the Tarzan swing!

 Our week in Manuel Antonio was beyond awesome.  Our second day here we got to go zip lining!  It was one crazy experience.  On the bus ride there the tour guide Jorge explained about many Costa Rican things, like the palm groves (one of Costa Rica's biggest exports-also a great place to find snakes! eek!) the teak trees (very hard wood for nice furniture, and the leaves can be used like henna when you crush them up) and the 3 things that are needed for a town to be official in Costa Rica (a school, a soccer field and a bar!)

No hands!

Repelling!

When he pointed out a tree that was as tall as the ones we would be at the top of I got a little nervous.  It was freakin huge.  Like one of those trees I saw hiking the day before and stopped in front of going "woah.  That's a gigantic tree." 





So as we got suited up and strapped into our gear my nerves kept clamoring.  Until the first line.   Then all the nerves fell away and it was like flying!  With each line I got more adventurous and even did one line unpside-down with no hands!  Wooo! We also got to do the "Tarzan swing" and yes it's exactly what it sounds like - grab onto this rope and hurl yourself over a 15 foot gap to that platform over there.  NBD.  Then we got to repel!  I thought it was going to be difficult but it was actually really easy!  And probably my favorite part :) 
 

After the last line I really wished we could do it all again.  Luckily we still had lunch, and the butterfly garden and serpentarium to look forward to!  Lunch introduced us to two phenomenal Costa Rican delights... arroz con pollo (chicken and rice) and Lizano Salsa! 

Purple Owl Butterfly! (It looks blue but I swear it's purple!)

 Now I know chicken and rice sounds boring, but they have some secret ingredient or magical incantation here that makes this chickeny, ricey, flavorful yummyness soooooo good.   Then, when you add Salsa its a party for your tongue!  Lizano Salsa is hard to describe but its kind of tangy, kind of zesty, and completely delicious.  I'm going to try to bring a bottle home and share the magic :)







Next we got to go through the butterfly garden and serpentarium.  It was beautiful!  There were butterflies everywhere! One even landed on Erin's arm and made friends with us!









 The whole day was amazing and on the way back we even got to stop at the bar (yep, the one that made El Silencio an official town) and got some beers for the rest of the ride back!  My first Costa Rican Imperial (La cerveza de CR)!


DIVING!!!

Why hello there!

 The next day, we went SCUBA diving! Pura Vida style!  Considering it was our first dive since getting certified in July I was a bit nervous (What if I accidentally hold my breath and pop my lungs, what if I  can't keep my buoyancy neutral and float away from everyone and get lost in the Costa Rican waters?)  But luckily the guide diver and the divemaster in training were very helpful and reminded us just exactly how to set up our gear etc.  And I came out with both lungs fully in tact!  The dive was very cool! tons of fish, reefs and the waves kind of rocked you back and forth as you swam, we were like a school of fish moving around together as the water carried us side to side!  Erin even saw a huge jellyfish and what we believe was a lionfish :)  (We later heard they are actually invading the waters around here lately and are becoming somewhat of a pest!)  We brought a camera down with us but as it is not digital and we haven't been able to venture out to try to find a photo developing place, I don't have any of those pics yet.  Hopefully they turn out and then I'll put them up!  But since I have no dive pics I'll put a picture of the Toad that was on our porch almost every night during out stay at Manuel Antonio :)  Hello toad!

Coconut!

 After diving we made our way to the beach and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. Manuel Antonio is a BEAUTIFUL place. 

I love the juxtaposition of the jungle and beach, the tropical trees covering the small little islands popping up right off the coast.  We walked over to a secluded little area right where the exit of the national park is and were blown away. We just stood on the beach for a while taking it all in.  It was truly an amazing place to be in. The rocks and crashing waves, the cliffs with overhanging trees and vines, the gorgeous coast, the fallen coconuts everywhere!  It was exquisite.  Even when it started to rain. 

up to my ankles in water!

 And rain it did.  Now we knew we were coming at the tail end of the rainy season, but were still surprised by how quickly it went from clear outside to a torrential downpour!  However, we really didn't mind.  Living in Arizona all our lives has given us an appreciation for rainy days, and luckily the storms here are not cold and uncomfortable, it stays warm even when the rain falls!  So we took cover in a cute cafe and gelato shop and enjoyed some pizza and the storm :)  When we got back to our hotel the walking path was basically a river, but we dried off and I took the opportunity to enjoy the storm with some quality hammock time!





MANUEL ANTONIO NATIONAL PARK!

spot the monkey!

The next morning at breakfast we were entertained by monkeys right at the restaurant patio!  They were on top of the wall right next to us, scampered across the roof over our heads and squeaked with jubilation!  The only bad thing is that they're quick little guys and everytime I would go to get my camera out again they had scampered off!  See if you can spot the monkey in Erin's picture!

 

The first of many perisosos we saw!

Thursday was our day to explore so we decided to go down to the beach and hike through the  Manuel Antonio National Park.  All I wanted to see was a sloth.  And guess what?  Right after we bought our tickets, before we even actually got into the park, mission accomplished!  There was one in a tree hanging above the ticket office building!  Check! (p.s. I learned the Spanish name - perisoso or "lazy monkey" and have decided I like it better)

Forest Crab!  It lives on the tree!!!

These guys were about a foot long!

 Now at the park there are many guides you can hire to carry a telescope and take you through the park, pointing out the animals, but as Erin and I are the independent types and we decided we would rather spend the $40 on drinks later, we set out on our own.

Howler monkey

We learned this was the smart approach, as enough other people hire the guides, and stop to look at the animals, that it is not at all hard to tell where the animals are.  One of the guides was even nice enough to let us peek through the telescope to get a great view of the howler monkey he spotted! (It must have been my awesome frizzy humidity hair, he just couldn't resist!)  Unfortunately, I discovered that my camera was just about out of battery pretty much as soon as we got to the park.  So I didn't take as many pictures as I normally would, but I think the pictures we figured were worth turning on the camera for are the good ones anyways!

I love the Tico Monkeys!

We saw many animals on our way through the park, but amazement grew when we reached the National Park beach, where we got up close and personal with monkeys, raccons, coatis and more!



 They were down lower in the trees here, and would pretty much pose for pictures! They were beyond adorable.  Especially the baby monkeys  riding on their moms' backs.  Too cute for words!


We learned that the animals here are sneaky and daring though, as any bags left unattented on the beach were soon pillaged by  the raccoons!  People were actually having to scare raccoons, coatis and monkeys away from them rather than coaxing them to come closer for pictures!  

The evidence.

The culprit.

Next we went over to the huge rocks on the beach to take some pictures.  Erin left her bag just about ten feet away from us.  I climbed up on a rock for a fabulous photo op, she snapped the pic and we couldn't believe our eyes!

said fabulous photo-op picture :)

A Monkey was already upon her backpack, trying to get inside!  After some panicked shouts he moved away, but he had opened the top of the bag!  Clever little guy!  We didn't set our bags down anymore after that!  We later heard that monkeys also love to steal electronics, play with them and throw them to each other!  Glad my camera wasn't nabbed!

view from the trail!

 Next we decided to take what we thought was a '5 minute short cut' to the other beach past a part of the coast that jets out a little ways.  Well it turns out it was the exact opposite, and we ended up hiking for about an hour and a half through the jungle!  

The elusive R.O.U.S.

 We were actually glad we went that way though, as we saw some of the prettiest views from up on that trail, and we saw what we like to call "The rodent of unusual size" (5 points if you can name the movie that comes from!)  We had seen one scamper across the road as we were walking through the main park, and made it our mission to get a picture of one!  They're very hard to spot, and we were actually able to find this one thanks to it's little munching sounds!



We also came back to beach right at the spot where we got our best view of a perisoso!  It was like 5 feet away from us!  Those things are so cute and slow and relaxed.  Again I was tempted to try to hold it.  It looked like it would be so nice to cuddle. So our trip to Manuel Antonio National Park was a success!  We saw the animals we wanted to see and conquered the jungle trail.  However, we then learned that the hard part was getting out of the park.  We somehow missed the memo about the little boats that take you across a small stretch of water that separates the part of beach where the park is (It jets out into the ocean) from the main beach.  At low tide it can be dry between the two areas, but we didn't come out of the park at low tide.  Nope, we came out of the park at high tide and mid-storm.  We walked along the peninsula and found what looked like a shallow spot to cross, but still ended up wading in over-the-knee water!  Needless to say I was eager to get home and dry off after that!


RAFTING!!!  (Oh my!)

 We woke up the next morning and couldn't believe Friday was already upon us.  Now this was bad, because that meant we only had two days left in Manuel Antonio, but fantastic because it meant it was white water rafting day!!!  And I LOVE whitewater rafting day!  It was my first time rafting, and Erin hadn't been since grade school so we were both a little anxious but super excited.  We ended up having just two other people in the raft with us, Sandy and Joe, the lobbyist from Louisiana.  Interesting man.  So those are the people you see in many of the pictures.  The "learn how to raft" session was very quick and before we knew it we were off!  (I do remember that if you fall out you should try to put your feet in front of you to go down river)  After trying a few different foot, leg, and paddle positions I settled on the one that felt most comfortable and shoved my feet into the footholds as sturdily as I could.  I felt almost safe.  I really couldn't believe that I was just supposed to sit on the side of this raft as we flew over the rapids.

 Soon I found out it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and I'm happy to say I never fell out of the raft! (Although I did fall IN the raft once!)  I can't quite say the same thing for Erin though (more on that in a minute). 













Rafting down that river was a mix of adrenaline and serenity.  The rapids were exhilarating and during the calm part floating down the river we saw some of most beautiful scenes I've ever seen.  Soon we came upon one of the most amazing places of all, the waterfall!  We got to pull the raft over and get out to go stand under (and I mean literally under) a gigantic waterfall!  It was amazing (for the whole river actually) how warm the water was.  When you have a rush of water over you it's expected to be cold but the water in the Savegre and this waterfall area was so comfortably warm! We got to stand under the falls and get a natural back massage, hang out on the rocks and take it in.  Definitely an unforgettable experience!

So back to the part about Erin falling out...
There was one part of the river that, as we were approaching, our guide goes, "So guys, this next part is where many people flip.  So If we do, just stay calm, there's a nice swimming pool on the other side and we'll get you there!"  So we braced ourselves for the rapids, approached like pros, and managed to keep our raft right side up!  However, Erin and Joe flew over the side, only being held in by those wonderful footholds!  I think I was more worried than Erin was, she was actually very serene laying there, half in and half out of the boat, at the base of about a 6 foot waterfall rapid with water rushing all around.  All I could think to do was try to stay on my side of the raft so we wouldn't tip, and the guide got both Erin and Joe back in the boat with his oar, letting them grab it to pull them back up.  The guides said we actually did really well and are the only boat in the past couple weeks that hadn't flipped!  Here's how it went down.....

 

 WOOOOO!!!!!  That was fun:)

 That was the big finish to our rafting trip and after we were done we got another fabulous Tico lunch, chicken a la leña, rice, potatoes, natural "cas" juice and of course some Salsa to go with it!  So yummy.  It was made right in the little town we stopped in on the way back from the river, over an open wood burning grill (a la leña).  It was some of the best chicken I've ever eaten!  

  For dinner after rafting we went to "El Avion"  the local restaurant with a plane in it.  Yep! a plane!  We got to sit right by the edge of the patio, and since it is situated on a hill, it was like eating dinner on a cliff!  My burger was about the size of a football and Erin was delighted to be able to get fajitas.

 

Later that night we went out to "Bambu Jam" the bar we heard had live music on Friday nights.  It was fantastic!  The 5 person live band was awesome, the music was so fun and everyone was dancing!  We actually were very entertained by a woman we watched who danced for the entire time we were there.  Without breaks.  By herself.  She was a dancing machine.  We're going to need to perfect our Salsa skills here in Costa Rica, it's the dance of choice!  


Our week in Manuel Antonio was amazing to say the least.  We tried new things every day, had relaxing times and  we also went like crazy hiking, rafting and more!  It was the perfect start to our adventure, an experience I will always treasure and I can't wait to see what comes next!!!