Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Heaven in Arenal

I forgot to mention the other piece of adventure that I stumbled on (literally) during the horseback ride. As we trekked through the jungle, I came upon a wood suspension bridge. This was not like the one we saw in the cloud forest that was of metal, but it was rope and wood. Yeah, good times. It swayed like you wouldnt believe, and i unfortunately did look down. Did i mention how afraid of heights i am? Well, at that point I was invested and wanted to see the falls I could now hear, so I dashed across (of course, making it sway all the more). On the way back I did take more time, got a pic, and took pics of the stream rushing below. It was quite pretty.

We went into La Fortuna to a soda that Eliomar recommended for lunch. (Soda El rio). It was very good, basic food. I got arroz con pollo and melanie got rice and veggies. The bill with a juice drink for Melanie and a bottled water for me was I believe $10. Good deal, lot of food! Sandy, it will be right up your alley! We saw a guy run across the street with two huge bunches of bananas, and i did get a pic. The only negative of the restaurant is that its open air and lots of trucks drove by.

Took a nap as i was quite exhausted. Apparently it poured as i slept, so I guess i really did sleep deeply. The volcano was quite obscured by clouds, and interestingly, I just realized that the sonic booms that i hear periodically are likely from the volcano. Sadly though, still no lava or sparks.

We asked Eliomar where Eco Thermales is, as I didnt see it where he said it was. Its a big wooden door that is unmarked! i never would have found it if I didnt ask. Sandy, it is almost across the street from Baldi springs, on the side of the road of Hotel el Silencio del Campo (2 or 3 places towards the town.) It was gorgeous! Total jungle with plants everywhere. They have a locker, bathroom and changing area, then you walk down one of several paths to the springs. There were five pools, ranging in temperatures, and a little waterfall in one. It was really beautiful. It was just heavenly, and my body was aching from the day and my bruises on bruises, so it really was nice. Eliomar suggested that we not walk as the road is so very dark ( he didnt count on my very white legs!!!) We did decide to drive and were sure glad we did!

We soaked for a little over an hour then changed for dinner. It was a tipico dinner with homemade tortillas (yum!!), rice, bean paste, salad (i was craving salad, surprisingly enough, and decided to risk it, as they dont use purified water), juice that was a mix of pineapple juice and passion fruit (tried it but didnt want to drink much due to the water in it), chicken and steak. For dessert we had rice pudding which was very sweet but quite good. Everything was prepaid but the drinks are at cost (we got caught on this sandy, so wanted to let you know!!) They were pretty inexpensive though. As we ate it started pouring, but passed quickly. Its quite humid today and the storms didnt seem to break it, but overall the weather here is really gorgeous. Ive made good use of my keen shoes, as i wear them everywhere! So glad I brought them! And my water shorts have come in handy too!

I met a couple from Iowa in the springs who were really interesting to talk with. They were up at Coco beach and came down here for two days. They also did a horseback ride without the wading through the river, but they werent able to go right to the falls. As scary as that trip was Im glad I did get to the falls! They did get to see the Maleku village though, where i only saw one building. (Id still take the falls!!)

Tomorrow we go on a boat tour of Cano negro, that Im really excited about. Ive heard its one of the best tours to do. Cano negro is a wildlife preserve on the border of Nicaragua (only a few miles away.) Its most of the day, and a 90 minutes drive each way. We leave a little after 7 and get in after 3. Eliomar just popped in that he wants to close a little bit early to watch the soccer game (apparently in CR they call it soccer and not futbol!) Honduras vs CR. So.. signing off. Hasta manana!

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