Costa Rica: La Fortuna / Volcan Arenal

La Fortuna is the entry point to Volcan Arenal, an active volcano where the tourist attraction is watching lava slowly seep from the cracks at night. We didn't have the $60 to spend on a night tour to see if we were that lucky but none-the-less had a great time.

The entrance fee to the park is $10.00 (It is the same amount for all National Parks in Costa Rica) yet it is possible to see the sights for no money. We walked 1 km down the road and under a bridge. There was a nice little waterfall, a rope swing and tons of places to jump off. We met some locals who showed us different places to jump and some sweet views around the area.


After escaping the heat we continued our journey up the backside of the mountain. It was a steep hike but BEAUTIFUL TERRAIN. So many birds, flowers, and cows with abnormally large floppy ears, all while a massive volcano sat in the background.

It was about a 3 or 4 km walk to a waterfall which we heard is quite nice but cost $10.00 (apparently it’s a park in itself). We decided if you've seen one waterfall you've seen most waterfalls. On the other hand we were willing to spend $10.00 to see the caldera which was another 2 km hike up and had a large lake and gave a great view of Arenal. Unfortunately the weather changed quickly to rain covering our entire view with a thick layer of cloud. So we retreated. But, with rain came birds and we were able to see tanagers, small parrots and, Oropendola (They have a crazy call. You should look it up)... We got soaked but nothing a hot meal and some chocolate couldn't take care of.

Hostel: I can't remember the name of the hostel we stayed at but it was family owned and cost $5.00 a night to camp in their backyard - breakfast included. A fantastic deal aside from the roosters piping up around 3 a.m.. (Tom and I both had dreaming thoughts of slaughtering them and eating a hearty dinner the next night.)

 

Food: Costa Rican food is rather basic. They sell cansandos which is rice and beans, salad, and some sort of meat (usually fish or chicken). They are cheap costing about $4.00. It's always flavored nicely but nothing too strange. What we did get excited about was the farmer's market. We bought loads of veggies and fruits for $5 including the largest carrot I've ever seen bought by Tom.