Costa Rica Trip, Part IV

So... to the Arenal Volcano I went. The volcano is about four miles southeast of Tamarindo. It was really easy to get there on a bus/van - basically a tourist transport service. I met some great folks on the bus who were also going to the volcano and we all ended up staying at the same hostel :) A woman around my age later told me that she thought, "Woah, she's tough, I'll stay out of her way." when I boarded the bus and my sunglasses fell down, exposing my black eye. Ha! Just a few hours later we were chatting it up in the bathroom at a rest stop and ended up hanging out at the volcano.

The area around the volcano was beautiful. Lush, green, rolling hills... and then the unmistakable shape of the volcano, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

That first evening that we were there was great - the rain stopped just in time for us to do a hike in the forest near the volcano. Then, at dusk, we watched as the hot rocks tumbled out of the top of the volcano. These giant, glowing rocks would just pop out of the top and roll down the side of the volcano. At times it looked like red fireworks - the kind that look like waterfalls.

After the "show" at the volcano, we went to a local hot springs spa. I learned that volcanic hot springs are not sulfury. And also, my concept of a hot springs spa does not hold in CR (at least where we went). It was not a spa at all, more like an adult water park with "natural" hot water at varying temperatures. The 80s music took away from the relaxation we had expected, but it was fun to run around and try all the different pools - and the waterslide that went 45 (?) kph.

The next day a group of us went to a local waterfall. There was a great rope swing and rocks to climb. It was sunny in the afternoon and it was great to take advantage of the beautiful day with some more time in warm water. Especially because that evening it poured and we were stuck inside... drinking 40s of Imperial and playing Canadian drinking games.

My last day was just another van ride to Liberia and a chill day wandering around town... pretending I spoke some Spanish, finding Linzano sauce to bring home and enjoying more gallo pinto (CR beans and rice).


Overall, I'm really happy that I went on this trip by myself. It was very calming and I got to be completely selfish, just doing what I wanted to do. Still, I'm looking forward to taking my next vacation with friends!