Author: Maggie Page 29 of 34

This morning we visited the La Fortuna Waterfall. The waterfall drops about 70−75 meters and is at the base of the dormant Chato volcano, about 5.5 km outside of the town of La Fortuna, near the Arenal Volcano.

8 of us were on the trip and 6 were brave enough to swim in the rather cold water. Those who know me well will know I opted for staying dry! There are many visitors to the falls but they were worth seeing. However there are some 500 steps down to them and then of course 500 steps back up. There is no other way of accessing them. I needed a large beer on finally reaching the top.

There is a butterfly trail at the start of the walk down to the falls and I spotted this beauty. A type of moth but no-one can tell me what it is.

We had a lazy afternoon by the pool which I think we all needed. The gardens are small but beautifully maintained.

In the evening we we visited a local home and learned how to make tortillas. They were then followed by a very tasty and filling local meal, which was cooked by the most charming and hospitable hostess. Our hosts have just built a very large house, which they have only been in 3 weeks, so that they can more easily entertain tourists. They have a river and some rain forest so are planning some nature activities too. This was a very enjoyable and educational experience.

We are staying at the Hotel Monte Real in La Fortuna. It is a very simple place but good sized rooms and spotlessly clean. It has a lovely little swimming pool set in its tiny, but immaculately kept, gardens. The hotel has no restaurant or bar so breakfast was taken in the little restaurant next door and was good. Several choices – fruit, eggs, sausage and toast! The first toast I have seen here and very good it was too accompanied by a fresh pineapple conserve.

At 08.00 we boarded the bus for a visit to the hanging bridges at Arenal for a walk through the rain forest. There are 16 bridges in total and 5 or 6 of them are hanging, set high in the forest canopy.

We had no afternoon activities so could take our time on the walk through the forest. Most of the trip concentrated on the flora as the forest birds were hard to spot. We did however see some really tiny bats 1-2” long roosting under a tree root and also some long-nosed bats. We were shown a palm tree which can actually move itself up to 20cm to gain more light. It puts out roots on the side it wants to travel towards and kills off the roots on the opposite side. It is nick-named the penis palm as the new roots do look somewhat like penises. There was inevitably some joking and smutty comments !!

Fortunately today the rain had stopped and the temperature was very comfortable. The views from the bridges were fantastic but the bridges are surprisingly mobile and move a lot. If you suffer from vertigo this would not be for you! It also made taking photos tricky as the bridge really bounces around and you need to hold on.

As we were nearing the end of our walk wildlife sprang out from everywhere. We saw 2 crested owls and a scarlet rumped tanager (stunningly beautiful jet black and vivid scarlet) both too difficult to photo. Then a crested guan landed in the tree above us.

No more than a few feet away we noticed 4 coati high in a tree. These are racoon like creatures and really cute.

However, I was most excited by spotting a column of leaf cutter ants. I had really hoped to see them. They have such an amazing community structure. The leaves are cut into manageable pieces and carried back to the nest where they are composted. The ants grow a specific type of fungus on the decaying leaves which the ants feed to the larvae.

We crossed the last bridge and were treated to a partial view of Arenal Volcano which had been totally shrouded in cloud earlier.

Our driver had bought fruit for us to eat and had cut it up beautifully.

As we were driving back we encountered a whole family of coati by the roadside. I could have watched them for hours.

Then back to the hotel for lunch in town before setting off at 16.30 to bathe in the hot springs. Apparently the river water became hot after the last eruption of the Arenal Volcano in 2010 so must now be flowing over hot lava somewhere. This turned out to be the most brilliant and fun excursion.

We all bought our preferred drinks (no glass bottles allowed) and filled a cold box to take with us. We left the bus with towels and torches and made the short walk to the river which we had to cross. The crossing point was flat but the water flowed very strongly and crossing without falling focussed the mind. Then our guide took a belongings and we climbed down into the water which was just a perfect temperature.

Bliss. Nature’s jacuzzi. The water flow was really strong and you really needed to wedge yourself into a rock to avoid getting your beer wet! Our guide, Deinor, had brought volcanic clay and treated us all too a facial.

There was a waterfall flowing into the pool and it was possible to claw your way through the strong current to sit behind it. This was a fantastic experience. You were out of the current and could see the whole way along the wall of water cascading into the pool.

We stayed in the pool for two hours and as it grew dark our guide lit candles around the edges and we continued drinking and chatting. Fireflies started to twinkle in the trees. Magical.

After two hours or so we reluctantly clambered out of the pool and headed back for showers and a meal at a local micro brewery called La Fortuna. The entertainment was a man singing karaoke and playing bongos or drum in the instrumental sections. We think he did actually work at the restaurant but didn’t know the words to the songs. All in all another really excellent day and very different experiences.

As we were leaving dinner last night one of night watchmen spotted a potoo high up in a tree. The locals call them stick birds for they look exactly like the end of a dead branch. They are related to nightjars and have an eerie call.

I was woken at 04.30 by torrential rain hammering on the roof. That was a good opportunity for me to write up my blog as sleep was impossible. There were intermittent power cuts and literally the only light was the glow from my iPhone. Pitch black without it.

We are leaving today for the 200km road trip to La Fortuna. First we must make the 1-2 hour boat trip to reach the road. I take some photos of the hotel before leaving. The rooms at the lodge were VERY simple but clean and the shower was fantastic. There was a lovely pool area and the lodge grounds extend down to the beach and the Caribbean Sea. We were advised not to swim in the sea as there are strong currents.

The sea was less than inviting – wild and raw!

The cases were loaded onto our boat and we setoff through the narrow channel that led to the main waterway.

We made no stops for wildlife but did spot two king vultures which apparently are a rare sighting here. As soon as we left the boat and hauled our cases up the muddy bank it started to rain. It was that heavy tropical stuff and it continued all day so it turns out that this was a good day to be making the long transfer. Buses are dry! It was a 4 hour drive up to Sarapiqui where we visited the Mi Cafecito Coffee Cooperative. We had lunch here and then a tour. Lunch was both welcome and good with freshly caught tilapia fish and the obligatory plantains, beans and rice.

It turns out that producing coffee is complicated. It takes 4-5 years for a plant to be productive and the beans are hand picked. The bean has 4 skin layers which need to be removed, it has to be dried and then roasted. Next time I have a coffee I will be much more appreciative of the hard work involved. 12kg of freshly picked beans produces just 1kg of coffee.

After the tour, some of which was outside in the pouring rain, we were rewarded with coffee liqueur shots. The liqueur is made from the juicy second layer of the bean. This layer tastes similar to a lychee.

We rejoined the bus and 90 minutes later we reached La Fortuna which will be our base for the next three nights. The town is close to Arenal Volcano and offers lots of adrenalin rush activities as well as some less life-endangering ones (which I have opted for).

It was now 18.30 – a long day indeed – so we dumped our cases in our rooms and strolled into town for a pizza and beer. I have to say it was one of the best pizzas I have ever had…or maybe it was the lack of rice and beans on the plate that made it taste so delicious!!

Today has been busy. Partly due to excursions and partly due to sitting by the pool and drinking wine and chatting with new found friends. So a brief summary of the day’s activities. We made an early start at 06.00 and saw a 2-toed sloth in the trees at the lodge before we had even ventured out. The weather looked ominous and indeed light rain fell throughout most of our morning excursion. We did make some good sightings – howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, raccoon, agouti, various species of herons including the agami heron which is rare, reclusive and very beautiful.

We visited the Sea Turtle Conservancy centre which was interesting. We learned about the turtles life cycle as well as the research carried out at the centre. Turtles visit Tortuguero to lay their eggs between March and September depending on species. Four species can be seen – green, hawksbill, leatherback and loggerhead. It rained during the river trip there and during the lecture – so a good activity during the wet weather. I was very glad to have brought a poncho, which provided total protection for me and my camera equipment – not a great look but very practical.

Once we left the Sea Turtle Conservancy we had a boat trip through the waterways of the Totuguero National Park. The rain eased and we saw some wonderful birds.

Some of the other wildlife we saw today below….

On our way back we saw something truly amazing. Five long-nosed bats were roosting on a dead branch in the middle of the channel. Tiny and absolute masters of disguise. SOooooo cool!!

We left the hotel at 06.30 to start our journey to Tortuguero. Traffic was slow but after 30 minutes we were making good progress and starting our ascent into the mountains and clouds to reach the continental divide. The vegetation was lush and as we ascended the clear blue sky gave way to cool weather and murky cloud. The road was in good condition and before long we were descending towards the Caribbean and the sky brightened. The bus had extremely efficient air conditioning and I had to put my jacket on!

At 08.00 we stopped for breakfast and I was relieved to discover it was pretty warm outside. Jacket was removed and we made our way into the restaurant. Breakfast was local and good. Fruit juice, rice, beans, sausage in tomato sauce, egg and fried plantain. There was a small butterfly farm to the rear of the restaurant and we made a brief visit there before rejoining the bus.

Within minutes of setting off down the road our driver pulled in. He had spotted a sloth. We all clambered out and strained our eyes to see what he was pointing at in the trees high above us. As we watched we realised there were 5 sloths! Two mothers with babies and one lone adult. We had all put sloths on our wish list. How amazing that this was the first thing we saw and fantastic to be so close!

After a great photo session we reluctantly setoff on our way to pick up the boats which would take us on the 2 hour river trip to Tortuguero. On arrival we wheeled our suitcases over pretty rough ground down to the river and our awaiting boats. There were lots of boats and seemingly 100s of tourists doing likewise so it was essential to be responsible for your own luggage. The odds of bags going astray was only too real.

The river was beautiful, lush jungle lined the banks. The water was calm and wonderful wildlife surprises seemed to appear around every bend. Iguanas, basilisk lizards, turtles, caiman, crocodiles and many birds. The water was very shallow yet the boats moved at quite a pace and the skipper showed tremendous boat handling prowess.

2 hours later we arrived at Tortuguero where we disembarked to see the town, glimpse the Caribbean and down a very well deserved beer. The town has a wonderful ambience. It is laid back and sleepy with no cars so very tranquil indeed.

From Tortuguero another 20 minutes down scarily barrow and shallow channels brought us to Turtle Beach Lodge – our home for the next two nights. The lodge is in a stunning location, pretty rustic but clean and comfortable.

We had a quick lunch, a very brief swim in the pool then set off for a walk through the forest. We were treated to good sightings of spider monkeys, poison arrow frogs (which are minute) and two beautiful red and blue tragons. There were many mosquitos but fortunately I avoided any bites. Long may it last!!