We picked up the girls at 7 in the morning at the Liberia airport. Neither slept well on the red eye so they were asleep almost as soon as we hit the road to Arenal! No matter, it was so awesome to see them and be able to hug them.
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| Sleeping beauties! |
The weather was cool for Costa Rica, even in the higher elevations, and we had heard forecast that did not sound good. Even our poor Spanish could get the gist of 'tormenta tropicale'. It turned out the we would see a tropical storm from the Carribean come over the isthmus right over Lake Arenal.
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| The road towards Lake Arenal. |
After their nap we stopped at Bagaces, a small town on our way, and had a typical Costa Rican, or Tico, breakfast. Steph really liked the gallo pinto, a rice and bean combo commonly served with any meal but particularly delicious in a Tico breakfast. Nicole was even able to keep her breakfast gluten free so everyone was set for the day.
True to the forecast for Lake Arenal, as we got closer to the lake it was obvious those dark clouds did not bode well. In the end we endured five days of driving rain and howling winds. We heard that the coastal regions were getting a lot of wind but no rain. Only a few hours away but such a different climate!
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| Our place at Lake Arenal. Nice when it wasn't pouring! |
The house we rented was in a small residential development overlooking Lake Arenal. It had a small central pool and sun lounging area and the most unique marina, ever!
The house itself was beautiful, surrounded by windows it had four bedrooms and two full bathrooms. It had an open design overlooking the lake view with a large gourmet kitchen (the owner was a chef from Miami), a spacious living room, three bedrooms upstairs, and a full bedroom downstairs.
It would have been an amazing place under normal circumstances but with the storm raging it was being sorely tested. We strolled around the housing complex on several morning and occasionally got caught in a downpour. We never made use of the pool so most of our time was spent at the house was visiting, cooking together, and playing cards in the evenings.
We did however make several outings that could not be ruined by poor weather. Our first trip out of the house was to the Baldi Hot Springs. What a great way to keep warm in the rain!
The Baldi Hot Springs are one of many such facilities at the foot of the Arenal Volcano. They range from opulent to public access pools in the river. Baldi is an upper midrange resort that is perfect for day visits. It is large by comparison with about 30 pools of varying temperatures, most with swim-up bars.We spent most of the day and had a great time.
Unfortunately we have no pictures of Baldi as no one wanted to risk damaging or losing their phones or cameras in the pools. We opened a tab at the reception and set off on a hot tub pub crawl in bathing suits. Best day of Brad's life.
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| Checking out the scenery! |
The next outing had been planned for earlier. On the way to Arenal from the airport we had mapped out a little known jungle waterfall as a possible stop if everyone was up to it. Poor weather and the girl's need for a nap had made us put it back in the calendar for when the weather improved. With the house taking a beating we hoped that lower lands might be warmer, maybe not even raining.
We decided to give the waterfall at Llanos del Cortes a shot. It wasn't far from the house, just just off the main highway to Liberia. Even with the prospect of rain we geared up and ventured off, found the turnoff, paid a small fee to local caretakers and wandered down a well marked jungle trail.
The waterfall was spectacular and would have been more so without the persistent drizzle. It was cool so we did not go swimming, but many brave souls not only went swimming but also ventured behind the 'curtain' of the falls. It would have been a treat on a hot day but on this occasion we took a pass.
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| The girls dressed for the wet weather. |
Our next outing, we drove about an hour to the Butterfly Conservatory near the Arenal Volcano. A very informative and beautiful place with guides included in the entrance price. There was a small hike along the river and areas dedicated to butterflies, one for reptiles, and one for rain-forest regeneration as well.
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| They were everywhere, so cool! |
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| A morpho butterfly took a shine to Brad |
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| Heading on our hike along the river |
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The intrepid hikers
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Along the paths were planted many varieties of Heliconias. Leona has bundled a ton of crap about butterflies and flowers and stuff so I've put it all at the back of this blog in case you like that kind of stuff, If so, fill your boots.
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| The Morpho is the national butterfly of Costa Rica |
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| A Mom and daughter selfie |
After five days of rain and wind, we gladly drove away from Lake Arenal without ever having seen the Arenal volcano because of the low cloud cover surrounding it. We were looking forward to seeing the sun! We were heading to Quepos near Manuel Antonio Park, about a four hour drive.
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| Croc watch at Rio Tarcoles |
Enroute to Quepos, past Jaco, a well known beach town, we drove across Crocodile bridge as it's affectionately called by the locals. The bridge spans the Rio Tarcoles where many American crocodiles have found a home and unlimited food, courtesy of the locals who have found them to be better tourist attractions than dinner fare. There is an urban story about a man being killed there after having fallen (or jumped) off the bridge and was eaten by these same crocodiles. I don't think our girls were all that impressed!
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| There be monsters! |
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| Who's that bathing beauty? |
We had booked an eco-condo at Manuel Antonio Estates for the four of us and found the condo small but functional. It seems that 'eco' is Spanish for over-priced. It was a definite change from the big rambling house we had just left.
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| Niki and Steph enjoying the pool |
The most difficult adjustment was to no air-conditioning in the main living area and the heat and humidity were much higher here than at Lake Arenal.
Brad and I were acclimated to this but not the girls. This took a day or two of adjustment and the pool at the complex definitely helped! Pool time was always a treat with all of the critters that came to play. Iguanas, monkeys, and all manner of birds were constant visitors.
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| Lounging by the pool |
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| Big male iguanas run the show. |
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| The many wives spend their day sunning. |
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| Whitefaced monkey taking a dip in the pool. |
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| The troupe came to eat around the pool. |
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| Eating forming bananas, not the ripe. |
My sister Chris and Jeannie joined us for a few days in the condo below us and brought some beautiful shrimp, fresh caught in the Bay of Nicoya near Jeannie's home in Puntarenas. Amazing!
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| Chris and I cleaning shrimp. |
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| Chris and Jeannie lounging on the beach. |
The next day, we took a trip to the Manuel Antonio beach and park area where everybody got some much needed Vitamin D! What a fantastic beach.
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| Niki getting a little sun. |
"For those wanting an even further off-the-beaten-path activity, there’s Los Campesinos, a little known rural tourism organization deep in the mountains north of Quepos. It takes about an hour from Manuel Antonio to get there. Along the way, you’ll pass through charming Tico villages in the heart of the countryside. The drive is a bit of an adventure, along bumpy and sometimes steep dirt roads, but entirely worth the effort. Once you arrive, you’ll be greeted by a friendly local at the small ticket booth/store where you can buy your tickets for exploring this wonderful nature reserve."
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| Los Campesinos |
This was the blurb on Google that we thought sounded like a fun place to take the girls to that didn't involve anything too adventuresome like night hikes or hang gliding! Boy, was I wrong! Turning off the main road it became a harrowing drive along a narrow, dirt, jungle track with steep curves cut along cliff faces. Much of it had been recently rebuild (the backhoes still working on sections) and it took us well over an hour!
Brad was cursing as it started to rain and held back his visions of us slipping off the track and careening into the jungle below. Luckily, it only rained for about 10 minutes and none of the above happened but we were very glad to have four wheel drive!
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| The waterfalls |
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| The intrepid hiker |
The place itself was actually well set up and the hike to the waterfalls was only about a half a mile down a well established path.
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| Steph on the way to the bridge |
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| Brad and Steph |
We could also reach the waterfalls by crossing on a hanging bridge. Steph surprised us all by going partway across as she has a fear of heights. The waterfall area was very beautiful and we enjoyed our visit.
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| The second set of falls with a ladder to climb for the more adventuresome |
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| Leona and Steph |
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| Too soon they were bound for home |
Our week at Quepos went quickly and this brought our two weeks with the girls to a close.
Spending this time with the kids really helped me to be able to continue on our journey. Not being with them for the first time at Christmas had been very difficult. We spent one more night in Liberia and sent them on their way home to Canada.
For us the adventure continues and we prepared to take on a passenger and head for Panama. Hasta proxima, B&L
PS:
Heliconias are some of the most attractive and interesting plants in the tropics. They are easy to grow and their flowers last for a long time, therefore you find them everywhere from deep in the rain forest to peoples porches and gardens.
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| These butterflies land upside down to confuse predators as well |
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| Loved this one! |
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| The entrance to the amphibian area |
These are pictures of 3 different frog species, the red-eyed tree frog was pretty cool, usually all of these frogs are nocturnal but the tree frog was awake so we could see his eyes.
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| The poison dart frog-2 together |
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| Red eyed Tree frog |
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| Brad begs to go back to the car |
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| The scenery was outstanding |
It would have been an amazing place under normal circumstances but with the storm raging it was being sorely tested. We strolled around the housing complex on several morning and occasionally got caught in a downpour. We never made use of the pool so most of our time was spent at the house was visiting, cooking together, and playing cards in the evenings. 
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