Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Costa Rica: Saturday November 18-Arenal

We made it to our hotel on Thursday night with plenty of time to explore a bit and enjoy the views and sunset before getting dinner.  We then got to relax in the hot tubs-natural hot springs warmed by the volcano.  
Each day our room was made up with a different towel animal.  The kids loved to run to see what it would be when we got back from our day of adventures.
Our first full day in Arenal region we went to Mistico for the hanging bridges.  We did not find out until after we left the area how lucky we were to have such great views of the Volcano everyday.  Starting the day we left it was fogged over completely.
We enjoyed the gorgeous day of hiking.
Larry chose not to join us (the previous hike still too clear in his memory).  He went to town for souvenir shopping.
We did not see as much wildlife as we'd hoped to in the rainforest.  Brielle spotted this walking stick.  We found lots of leaf cutter ants and lizards.  Ethan kept checking holes for tarantulas and we watched the tops of trees for sloths but didn't see anything.  We were told a guide would make the experience better, but it cost quite a bit more.
It was a relaxed enjoyable hike, but as we reflected back we all agreed it was the least favorite activity we did on the trip.
From Mistico we drove along more bumpy dirt roads to Sky Adventures where Larry and Donna were planning to Zipline the following day.
We loved the view and the pineapple smoothies on the back porch of the restaurant for lunch.
We got a pretty good show from the toucans.  We'd seen a few from further away but were excited as they came to closer trees.  
We were amazed when one of the workers came out to tell us he heard the sound of the toucans coming a few minutes before they showed.
The kids wanted pizza that night and we tried another one of the top rated Soda's (Costa Rican word for a more authentic restaurant).  Pizza was okay, but not great.
The fish casado (typical Costa Rican dish), that night though was one of my favorites from the trip.





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