The final stop on our road trip through Costa Rica was in the Arenal Volcano/Monteverde Cloud Forest area. We had five more nights before heading back to San Jose to catch a flight home. We decided to splurge and stay at Tabacon Hot Springs Resort. This meant that we could use the hot springs for "free" everyday when we returned from our long hikes and other activities. It was a fairly expensive entry fee, so this was nothing to sneeze at. They also had a fabulous restaurant at the hot springs, so it was a one stop shop in the evenings. I really wanted to completely relax, as well as have a few more great adventures, before having to leave this beautiful country. We had an all day hike to a waterfall planned, a zip line tour, and a walk in the cloud forest on suspended bridges....as well as going into town a few times and spending LOTS of time in the hot springs and enjoying the wonderful food. Costa Rica really does have the best food! Everything is so fresh and good.
Arriving at Tabacon Hot Springs and Resort
The view right outside our room.
I loved these trees with purple flowers all over the Tabacon Hotel grounds.
This is simply a picture of a cute little calf that I saw.
The start of our hike to La Fortuna Falls.
Down, down, down, down and down, we went....seemingly forever. I kept thinking about the way back up! This is the hike that I learned the importance of wearing good supportive shoes...because I didn't!
We finally made it! It was well worth the hike..even going back up! You can see how large the falls were by looking at how tiny the people are in the pool. The current here was really strong... if you got too close to the falls, you were pulled under.
It was beautiful down here. There were pools all over that you could swim in. We found the pool where all the locals went, and swam there..clear, turquoise, calm water.
After the long hike back up out of the canyon, we went out near the volcano and did a bit more hiking. After that, we went to the hot springs to soak the work of the day away, had dinner, and called it a night.
The next morning, we were up and ready for the next adventure. It felt like a zip line kind of day!! I had never zip lined before (and I'm a bit scared of heights), but I can say that after the first little test zip line we did, I was more than ready to go! What an adrenaline rush!! I could have done it all day and not gotten tired of it! I highly recommend Sky Adventures/Sky Tram in Arenal and Monteverde. It is a reputable zip line company, and you certainly want that when you are flying hundreds of meters above the ground! I can't wait to do it again!!!
Here we are sporting the zip line gear...very flattering, don't you think?
Here we are in the Sky Tram going up, up, up, up and up!
It's a jungle out there!
Volcano shot from one of the zip line platforms.
Lake Arenal far below.
There is a Toucan in this picture...the question is, can you find him?
Here I am coming in for a landing.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh.....Tabacon Hot Springs and pool bar. What a welcome sight.
Here are a few photos from around the grounds of Tabacon Hot Springs. There were, what seemed like, hundreds of paths leading to different types of pools, springs and waterfalls. It was a beautiful maze, and I wandered around until I got lost several times...trying pool after pool.
I generally don't believe in posting pictures of oneself in a bathing suit, but being at these hot springs made me make an exception...just this once.
You could get behind the waterfall that I am standing in front of and just hang out there. You could even take a drink back there and sip it. It was like a steam room...pretty cool!
The following day was a lazy one. We slept in, had breakfast, and went into town to do some shopping. We drove around the Arenal area a bit and went on a couple of short hikes. We decided to eat dinner in town that evening. After dinner, of course, we went back to the hot springs for several hours.
The next day would be our last full day in Arenal before heading back to San Jose. We decided that we would drive up to Monteverde and do a suspension bridge rain/cloud forest tour. Here I am on the first of many suspension bridges.
Luckily, I didn't see any of these while on the bridge
Here are a few photos from the walking tour.
Rest Stop.
I was fascinated with these holey leaves that we kept seeing. I loved the way the sunlight came through them. Too bad I didn't have a great camera with me. *sigh* Later on, during this walk, I saw the ants that actually do this to the leaves. They are called Leafcutter ants. Apparently, they do not eat the leaves, but use them to build their huge nests. Interesting....
One of the suspension bridges high above the jungle canopy.
I thought these branches were cool. We saw (and heard) a few Howler Monkeys during this walk too.
Every inch was covered in green.
As we walked through one particularly dense jungle area, we heard a sort of clucking sound coming from right off the trail. We looked around some bushes, and there were two large interesting-looking birds (pictured below).Later I found out that they were Great Curassows. They were very cool. They just walked around kind of clucking. The black one with the yellow beak was the male and the brown and black one with the white and black crest (second photo below) was the female. The black bird was definitely the protector bird. They didn't seem the least bit bothered by us...they just went about their merry way looking for berries and bugs to eat. After I got home, I looked them up online and found out that they are monogamous, travel in pairs, have a low reproduction rate and mate for life. I also found out that while the range of their habitat extends from southern Mexico to Ecuador, it is now limited to national parks due to deforestation of tropical forests. Anyway, they were pretty cool to watch.
One more shot of Arenal Volcano before we leave. Do we really have to go?
During our last breakfast buffet at Tabacon, I noticed something moving out the back door. I stepped to the doorway and much to my surprise, there were a bunch (probably about 20 or so) of Coatimundi (Raccoon family) coming out of the jungle! I was thrilled! We had seen these down in the Osa and again by the side of a small road while driving in Arenal...but this was up close and personal! Some may say they are creepy, but I say they are very cool! This was a great send off for me!
This little guy put on a show.
After breakfast, we loaded up the car and off we went to San Jose. It only took us a couple of hours to get to the airport, where my cousin dropped me off. I was early and was able to catch an earlier flight home. They offered me first class since the earlier flight had a stop in Guatemala (and my original one was a non-stop)...I happily agreed! Bye for now Costa Rica...I'll be back!
