Costa Rica, 2006

Teri and I with Janet and Herb.

The Arenal Volcano.

The waterfalls at the Arenal Volcano Gardens.

Ziplining through the rainforest.

Having a cleansing mud scrub and bath.

The resort as seen from the hill we hiked up.

Maybe I don't want to swim in that river.

Whale watching.

Sunday. August 6, 2006

After returning from our motorcycle trip to Quebec, Terri and I booked flights and flew to Liberia, Costa Rica, where we caught a bus to the resort on Papagayo Bay.

We did the usual resort activities but also took a few trips into the rainforest and out onto the ocean.

On the first day we met and became friendly with Herb and Janet from Brampton, who were traveling with their two daughters. We all took a cab into Coco Beach to visit the local town.

We took a tour into the interior. We stopped en route to see a troop of howler monkeys and some kudamundis (similar to raccoons). We stopped at the EcoLodge where we took a guided walk through the rainforest which was beautiful, quiet and wet. Then we drove past the man made Lake Arenal to views of the volcano. We stopped at a hot springs and spa which had beautiful gardens and a series of hot water pools and waterfalls, the hottest of which was 110F. After dinner there we went back to Arenal to see it erupt at night, that way you can see the red rocks rolling down the slope. Then the drive back to the resort.

The next day we went on another tour for a day of activities at Bienevesta Lodge. We went on a canopy ziplining tour, then change into our swimmers for a 400 metre waterslide through the rainforest, then lunch followed by a horseback ride to another hot springs. Here we went into steam rooms to open the pores and then smeer volcanic mud all over us, stand and let it dry before going into the springs.

The next day Terri and I climbed a large hill beside our resort where we got excellent views of the resort and the bay. A security guard came up to see who was there and then met us at the bottom when we climbed down to make sure we were okay.

The next day we took a river cruise with Herb and Janet. We saw iguanas, crocs, howler monkeys, long nose bats, Amazon kingfishers, tiger herons, spoonbills, woodstorks, kisskedees, and a coatimundi sleeping in a tree (looks similar to a raccoon). Back at the resort we met up with another couple from Toronto, Kike and Joanna.

When we went snorkeling we saw lots of beautiful fish and coral and a couple of seahorses. Then we took a tour boat around the bay. We saw a humpback whale and calf. 

Then it was time to fly home.