Ola amigos!
So, although we’re in Monteverde now, I still need to catch everyone up on our La Fortuna adventures. We did two tours in La Fortuna: horseback riding and a volcano hike. We booked both of the tours with the Arenal Backpacker’s Resort.
Horseback Ride
We left around 8 am for a 4 hour ride in La Fortuna. It cost only 35$ and thankfully, it was just the two of us. We were galloping in the valleys, through streams, uphill, etc. It was amazing, but my tush hurt after a while. This keyboard doesn’t have the right symbols, but if it did I would do a sad face. My horse and Stef’s horse were racing each other, and they both wanted to be the leader. One time, stef’s horse took a bite at mine, but my good ol’ boy was too fast for that nonsense!Â
We rode up to a rest spot, left the horses and then hiked up a smaller hill to overlook Pino Blanco, an emourmous waterfall, then we hiked down to see the La Fortuna Waterfall, and (WOW) it was magestic! First, we went for a dip in the run off water. It was very cold, but quite refreshing. Later, we hiked to the where the waterfall pools. There were some ticos (Costa Ricans) swimming, so we figured it was safe enough. We stayed near the edge and it was fine. I miss it already! However, I do NOT miss the hike back up. It was trecherous! I think it was over 400 stairs, and by stairs I mean Costa Rican stairs, which are basically just dug outs with a board of wood.
On our way back with the horses, we heard some howler monkeys, so our guide stopped us and tied our horses to a nearby tree. He led us into the bush, no trails, nothing and we followed the howler monkey’s call. We saw him high up in the trees…. this was our first sight of a wild howler monkey, but it wasn’t our last!
The ride ended at a butterfly garden and frog pond. I hated the butterfly garden because they freak me out. I think butterflies are nice from far away, but they are freakish looking up close. I hate it when they land on me. There are still insects! The frog pond had some turtles and poisonous frogs… both red and lime green ones. Our guide just picked one of the poisonous frogs up to show it to us up close… then he just rinsed his hands in the pond water. All better? I think NOT!
We arrived at the tour in a nice air conditioned van, but on our way back, we rode in the front of a man’s pickup truck with another random guy in the cab. The driver dropped off his friend and then he dropped us off. I don’t mind sharing, but it was strange.
Volcano Hike
Later that night, we went on an Arenal volcano hike. First, we went on a guided rainforest hike where we saw army ants, leaf cutters, toucans, and sensitive plants. There is only one case where a human was eaten alive by army ants. It was a Brazilian man who got drunk and passed out in the rainforest. They are so tiny, but there are millions of them. I’m surprised there aren’t more deaths! Advice: do not pass out out in the rainforest. The leaf cutter ants are pretty cool. Millions of them carry pieces of leaves up and down trees and along the ground. We took some videos, which I will hopefully post on Facebook later.Â
However, we also saw more howler monkeys… maybe 5 or 6, but the guide said there could have been more. They were quiet, but more active. After staring at them for a bit, the monkeys started peeing and pooing, so we had to get out of the way! You don’t want to walk away from that battle defeated!
When we were finished the hike, we went to the Arenal Volcano observation point. I guess there is a 50% chance you’ll see lava. Our guide was telling us to cross our fingers the whole way! And guess what.. we saw lava! It was beautiful. At the base of the Arenal volcano, there are very dangerous gases that can kill people, so we had to be far enough away to view it. The pcitures didn’t turn out so well, but hopefully the memory lasts forever. That was the second time I’ve seen molten lava. When I was visiting family in Hawaii, I saw active lava a foot from my feet – too close! At Arenal, it was very far away.
The next morning, we left for Monteverde where the cloud forest is. We took the “jeep boat jeep” method of getting here. The boat ride provided a great view of the volcano. Our hostel here in Monteverde is called Sleepers Sleep Cheaper and it costs $30 for two nights in a private room, including breakfast. It feels like we’re staying with a host family. The owners live downstairs and they have the hostel rooms upstairs. There are 3 younger kids who are so cute and friendly. It’s a nice change from La Fortuna. It’s also much cooler in temperature here and is really refreshing. We’ve done some amazing tours here as well, but I’ll leave that for the next entry.Â
Tomorrow morning, we wake up at 5:30 am to catch the 6 am bus the Puntarnus. From there, we’ll be taking a ferry across to Montezuma. I cannot wait for some beach time! It will be nice to just sit, relax and hopefully get a tan!Â
 adios!
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Melissa To and Fro 