In the Shadow of the Arenal Volcano

Our story left us at the pineapple plantation. After some delicious pineapple treats, we boarded the bus for the drive to La Fortuna, the town closest to the Arenal Volcano.  Arenal is one of the 300 volcanoes in Costa Rica.  Five of them are active.  Arenal is one of them, but its last eruption started in 1968 and ended in 2010.  

We were extremely lucky to get a perfect view as we arrived.  Most people see only the clouds that settle around it.

Our rooms were lovely little individual cabins with only one catch - everything at the hotel was UPHILL.  My cabin, of course, was at the top.  Oh well.  It more than makes up for the water aerobics classes I’m missing at home.

Because of the volcanic activity, the area is filled with hot springs.  Our hotel had some of its own, so naturally I soaked my tired muscles in the hottest one of several.  Actually, it wasn’t terribly hot.  I expected bubbles, but there weren’t any.  Still…what a view!

Unusual wildlife and stunning birds crop up everywhere.  A block or two from our hotel we stopped to take a peek at another sloth.  This one was a 3-toed sloth with a baby.  She, too, was camera shy, but, heck, a sloth spotting is thrilling regardless.

I stumbled upon several interesting species wandering the hotel grounds.

This Great Currasow strutted near the hot spring.

There’s his missus trotting behind.

This Plain Chachalaca loudly called for attention.

This giant hamster is called an agouti. He was fearlessly nibbling something tasty near my front door.

After breakfast the next morning we headed out for a hike through the Hanging Bridges park.  True to its name, the park contains 16 hanging bridges, some more stationary than others.  Many of them did sway, but they didn’t phase me.  I’m a thrill seeker at heart.

Yikes!  A termite nest!

This tree sounds hollow.

Don’t touch these leaves…the tiny ants have a powerful sting that keeps predators at bay.  Toucans manage to avoid it by slurping them up with their very sticky tongue.

The vine-y growths on the tree are called “strangler figs.”  They are parasitic and eventually kill the tree.  They grow from the top down to the ground.

 Pit viper

Eyelash Viper

These leaf cutter ants were one of my favorites. I’ve seen them on video, but they are much more fascinating in person.  They take the leaves back to their nest and chew them up to produce a fungus that they feed to the queen.

More howler monkeys!  How cute is this guy?

“You lookin’ at me?”

Right about here, misfortune struck.  The howler monkeys started howling and I fumbled to get my phone to record it.  In the process I dropped my camera on a rock.  I tried to fix it, but I think it’s kaput. I still have the camera in my phone, but that’s much harder to stabilize and zoom in for the animals. 😩

BUT…I did record the howler monkeys.  I guess it was worth it.

Some bats taking a snooze. Did you know they were precursors to monkeys and aren’t rodents?  We learned all about them at the bat exhibit.

Three of us brave souls climbed down to see the waterfall.  It was beautiful and very serene.  Of course, the three brave souls had to climb back UP again!

Green Hermit Hummingbird

Broad-billed MotMot

They make their homes in holes like these.

Crested Guan

If you thought this was a full day activity, think again.  We stopped for lunch, had a little time to relax and off we went for a cultural experience and tamale making!  More about that in the next installment.