Arenal - also known as "do we really want to sell out for air conditioning and a pool?"

The answer to that question was a yes. An emphatic yes.

This last weekend, Stanley and I headed off to Arenal to have some rest and relaxation. For some reason, week 3 had been a little more stressful than the rest, and we were excited to have some chill down time. You know, look at a volcano, visit some hot springs, the usual stuff.

Because of the desire to have a relaxed weekend, combined with the fact that I wasn't feeling too hot the previous week, we managed to end up going, just the two of us, which turned out to be really nice for several reasons.

The first reason being we ended up having to take a day off work to go - something that's hard to do with a large group of people. Because of how the bus schedule works, there are no afternoon buses that go from San Jose to Arenal. The past few weekends it's always been: get off work at noon, catch a bus between 2-3. Unfortunately, the only buses left at 6:15, 8:40, and 11:45. So instead of leaving Friday afternoon we left early Saturday morning with the plan to come back Monday afternoon, meaning we wouldn't be rushed and would really be able to kick back and relax. We cleared it with our projects and Maximo and we were set.

The second reason this was really nice was this place:

Luigi's Hotel/Casino/Restaurant/Bar/Discotheque. Yeah, we stayed here.

Don't judge. As usual, we got off the bus and the first thing on our to-do list was find a hostel. We had scoped it out before and while there were cheaper options, upon viewing them - and realizing just how awful and sticky it was there - we decided we'd splurge a little. We had budgeted $14 a night if we wanted to stay at the Arenal Backpacker's Hostel which was our back-up place and had a pool. However, a lot of people we knew from Maximo were going to stay there, and while we love them we wanted to be able to just veg and exist as opposed to running around and doing activities with everyone. So instead, we stayed at the above mentioned place for $25 a night. Not per person, that's per room. So Stanley and I, instead of paying $14 a night for a bed in a giant dorm room, ended up paying $12.50 a night for our own private room that - and this is what sold is in the end - had air-conditioning!!! The pool was a fun perk, but we didn't end up using it all that often as it was dominated by loud, splashing 3-12 year olds a majority of the time. However, the A/C? Oh...we more than got our money's worth on that!!

So after finding this gem of a place (which was a fluke, really. We were looking at a cartoon map of the city and some random guy comes up and asks what we're looking for. We tell him we're looking at hostel's and he's like "this place is nice." SPIRIT GUIDES!!!) we do our typical thing: buy lunch supplies and figure out what we want to do on this trip. There were 3 things we really wanted to do in La Fortuna/Arenal. 1) see a waterfall, preferably the waterfall. 2) see the volcano. And 3) go to the hot springs that existed because of the volcano. So on our way to and from the grocery store (where I discovered and fed my ridiculous love of Tang) we discussed various options for tours, finally deciding on doing the lazy one - meaning the one where we hiked as little as possible. While we weren't able to see the big waterfall - which had lost some of it's allure when we realized we couldn't really swim there - and we weren't going to a hot spring resort, we were going to the river where the hot springs got their water from, walking on hanging bridges, seeing a smaller waterfall that you could swim at, and getting to see the volcano, all with a guided tour. Also, the guy we booked it with told us about a free local watering hole where the ticos went to go swimming and cliff-diving, plus it had a Tarzan swing.

With all this information in mind, we sat out by the pool reading for a while before finally deciding to head out for dinner. While I can't remember the name of the soda we went to, we had seen it in Lonely Planet and were very excited to go. When we got there we were a little stressed. As server's we can tell when the wait staff is a little over their head, and trust me, this chica was. She was serving probably 30 people - and she was the only one. However, she was super nice and was effective in that she took our orders and made our delicious fruit smoothies. So while we had something to sip on, we were still waiting a while for our food. We've learned to bring playing cards with us during these experiences, but in the hustle to leave the blissfully cool hotel room, we had forgotten. Instead, we were armed only with my camera, which we put to good use:

Yeah...this happened. Instead of sitting there awkwardly like most people would do, we took various pictures of ourselves, going back and forth, portraying different emotions or experiences. 10 points if you can name 1/2 of what these photos are.

Don't worry, we also built things with the ketchup and mayo packets. Like a little "log cabin." Finally though, the food arrived, and it was divine. Definitely one of the better choices we have made. Stanley had bleu chicken and I had nachos con pollo y carne. By the time we left we were happy fat kids once more.

The next day dawned bright and early, and after a breakfast of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we decided to head out and find the local watering hole. It was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel, though it was a bit longer on the way there and we were trying to find it. However, once we saw it, we knew we had made a good choice.

The local watering hole as seen from above

It actually was that beautiful!

We got there around 10 am, and the only other people there were 2 American girls and 2 ticos who clearly came here a lot. They were climbing and diving. So Stanley and I had to join in.

Stanley posing as he lets go of the Tarzan swing

Jumping into the waterfall. Don't even worry about it, guess who forgot their actual swim suit and board shorts? That's right, THIS guy!! Luckily I had stuff for less intense swimming that made due...

This little dog was legit.

So, story time. You'd think with all the dogs running around like crazy, people would be less likely to let their dogs run amok for fear of them running off. Not so. Rather, I think they're so careless with them because if they do run off or get hurt they can readily find a replacement. Take this dog, for instance. Around 11:30 or so, these 4 teenage ticos showed up with this little puppy in tow. They quickly shed their over garments and ran - literally - across the rocks and dove in like pros, leaving this white little dog to sort of scitter around. I had already had to rescue a little dog who was stuck on a rock in the river and was not liking how this dog was poking around the very edges of the cliff with a tumultuous river 10 or 15 feet below.

At first, when one of the boys came back to grab the puppy, I felt relief. They were going to take him to the bottom of the river bank where he could splash in the puddles and enjoy himself. However, instead of carrying him down, the boy does just what this picture shows. He lowered the pup down to a lower cliff, wagged a stick in front of its face, and then threw the stick in the water. When the pup didn't immediately follow the stick, having lost it in the turning of the waterfall, the boy took the puppy and threw him in the river! Not going to lie, I freaked out a little bit. However, the dog resurfaced, stick in tow, and paddled his little way over to the bank where he continued to skitter around the rocks as nimbly as his human counterparts.

Necessary Chaco picture

Stanley mid-back-flip off one of the cliffs

We splashed around until 12:30 or so before we decided we needed to start heading back to our hotel to get ready for our tour. So, happy and soaking, we took our leave of the, now busy, swimming hole.

Along the way, we saw the most beautiful tree! It looked more like it belonged on some African nature documentary than in the middle of a Costa Rican field, but it was beautiful, nonetheless.

So, after a quick lunch on the floor of our deliciously chilly hotel room, we walked down to the hotel lobby to wait for our shuttle that would take us on the tour. After picking up a few more people, our 10 passenger van was filled to the brim and we took off towards the cloud shrouded volcano. At the entrance of the park though, our tour guide and driver, Luis, pulled off to the side and could be seen climbing a tree. We had no idea what was going on until he showed up with this little gem.

Obviously, I was not pleased. Cuz here's the thing, I'm okay with bugs as long as I know they won't touch me. So like on a documentary or something. However, when they're free ranging all up in my business I immediately start imagining how it could fly at my face and how I would freak out and probably kill it or it could kill me. Those are the only two options. Stanley, however, was a bit more brave...

That is, until Luis decided to make the bug move...

...then Stanley lost his cool a little bit. I was lucky enough to take a picture at just the right moment.

So after Luis put the bug back into the tree we headed up to the official observatory platform where we got our first looks of the volcano and the lake, which we promptly decided was where Hogwarts was actually located.

You can almost see the Hogwarts Express coming around that bend...

Necessary tourist photo in front of the shrouded volcano

After a little while there we hiked into the cloud forest - which is the same cloud forest we trekked into when we were at Monteverde, just the opposite side - heading towards a waterfall. Along the way, Luis pointed nature things out like the Citronella plant and sugar cane leaves. Overall, it was a super nice hike and we started talking with our fellow tourists, who were actually 3 couples and 2 other girls. All of us were excited for the falls, mostly because while there we would do impromptu facials with the volcanic and ash rich mud that all the expensive spas were using. And it was just as entertaining as it sounded.

Stanley and I did war-paint, naturally

The waterfall itself was fairly fun, though was a little underwhelming after our original watering hole. We were only there for a little while before hiking back around and playing on some of the hanging bridges. While there, Luis gave us a little history of the area, including how Arenal had been the most active volcano in all of Central America, and, up until 5 months ago, could be seen to be spitting lava almost every day since 1968. It was interesting and wonderful to hear it from a native of the area. After the mini-less though, we continued to hiked back to the observation deck to watch the sun set. It was a little sad as well as the clouds had moved in full force, but the pinkness that peeked out was truly beautiful.

After being fodder for mosquitoes we loaded into the van again to head for our last thing - the hot spring river. However, along the way, Luis had promised to stop and show us some frogs. His favorite frog was this little guy, affectionately known in Costa Rica as the marijuana frog because of its red eyes.

My new best friend

The frog jumped from Stanley's hand into his hair, making him the most photographed person on Facebook.

Stanley told me he'd get me one of these guys for Christmas. However, if he fails, it's up for grabs!

After replacing the frogs we made it to the hot river. It was amazing, the water was only slightly cooler than a hot tub, meaning you could spend more time in it without feeling queasy. Plus, the currents were nice and since it was outside there was a wonderful amount of steam coming off the top. It was a little crowded, but so nice and relaxing. We spent time just sitting in the depths, laying in the current - fighting against it as it tried to pull us downstream - and, my personal favorite, sitting just under the waterfall so it served as a massage. It was the perfect ending to our tour.

So, calm and relaxed, we loaded back in the van to be dropped off back at our hotel. By this point, the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were seeming like a really long time ago. We had already decided the day before where we'd go and Stanley had even decided what he was going to eat - pizza. And let me tell you, it was some good pizza, loaded down with greasy cheddar cheese. I had a cheeseburger and fries and we split, making it one of the most American meals that we'd had. Especially considering we went and bought some ice cream to share afterwards as well. So, there we sat, watching the only English channel on our TV, eating ice cream on one of our beds in the hotel room while the A.C. pumped happiness into our room, exhausted from a day of fun activity and good food. Needless to say, as soon as the ice cream was gone bed came soon after.

The next day was the day we were to head home. We had purchased tickets for the 2:45 bus ride home, but we needed to check out of our hotel by 12. We had thought we might go back to the watering hole that morning before leaving, but our sore bodies told us the amount of body-flopping had taken its toll and decided to just chill at the hotel. It started raining around 9:30, so we just read and laid around before packing everything up.

Right after check out we looked at our bus tickets and it turned out we had somehow - most likely the person purchasing the tickets had heard us incorrectly - bought tickets for the 12:45 bus instead, which suited us fine! After a brief stop at the grocery store to buy some more Tang and a roll from a little panderia, we were getting on the bus. At that moment, Arenal decided to expose itself more than it had the entire trip. Luckily, cameras were readily available and we managed to snap one more picture before the bus pulled away...

Until next weekend!

Toodles!

-Jillian

Manuel Antonio - or "the monkey ate our potato chips!!"

Alright, I'm falling a little behind. But do not worry, if all goes according to plan I should be almost completely caught up before this next weekends adventure :)

So, TWO weekends ago we went to a little beach town called Quepos. Quepos's claim to fame is that it is the nearest town and therefore the entryway to the Manuel Antonio nature reserve. Manuel Antonio is the smallest of all the national parks in Costa Rica, and is located on the pacific coastline. In fact, a large part of Manuel Antonio is actually just the beach. We figured this weekend would be the perfect one to go, as it was Jackie's last weekend to travel with us, plus we felt we deserved it after two weeks of volunteer work and tramping through the cloud forest of Monteverde. We wanted a nice, relaxing weekend.

Which it was. To an extent.

In true Jillian/Stanley/Jackie traveling fashion we did not book a hostel before our arrival, deciding instead to find one once we got there. However, one thing we did not bank on was the intense heat and humidity. We arrived at 5 pm, just around sunset, and it was like walking around with a wet blanket thrown over you. Within minutes we were all covered in sweat as we tramped up the mountains and around the roads, hearing the sound of creatures that sounded like they belonged on the television show "Lost," and hoping to find a hostel. Once again we deferred to our handy "Lonely Planet" travel book. While we checked out the places they suggested, we eventually saw the wisdom at staying at a place with a pool - something we had originally scoffed at. "Why would you need a pool?!" we asked, "you're right by the ocean!"

Well, as darkness descended upon us around 6 pm (as it does in all of Costa Rica, no matter the season or place) we realized why. The beach was not safe in the dark, but nor was it smart to have 3 sweaty, sticky American twenty-somethings sitting around a hostel that doubled as a sauna. After about an hour of trudging, we finally settled back at where we started (don't worry, we shopped around) at the Manuel Antonio Backpacker's Hostel. It was only $12 a night and included breakfast and had a pool, which we promptly decided to use as soon as all the logistics and settling in were squared away.

The sign out front

View from the front...the bus stop was right in front of it

This was the out door communal kitchen and social area where we made our pancakes in the morning

You needed an awesome wristband to stay there. Though upon later reflection we decided they also served to provide identification if, I dunno, your body washed up on shore or something.

By this time it was around 7 or so, so we figured we'd drop off our backpacks and clothes and head on down to the supermarket to buy our lunch stuff. However, right as we're about to leave the hostel, there's a power outage, and all the power in the entire strip is gone. I've decided I blame Stanley for this. He was, after all, trying to turn the fan higher when the power went out. It is the only logical explanation that it blew the power for the entire town :)

So we haltingly make our way down to the supermarket - made all the creepier by the Lost-esque noises - and thankfully the power comes back on pretty quickly. After loading up on supplies for our typical peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we head back to the hotel, change into swim gear, and then go out for dinner. We go to this little soda run by a guy called Joseph, and he, literally, uses the freshest ingredients. Meaning we ordered and then his little sous chef ran to the super market to buy some of the ingredients he needed. So while the food took a while, it was AMAZING. I ordered a burrito and it was honestly the best burrito I've ever had. And Stanley's burger was probably the best I've had while in Costa Rica, just a step or two below 5 Guys.

However, after this we decided to ignore the half hour rule and just headed down to the pool, which we had to ourselves. After splashing around for about an hour we called it a night, as the next day was going to be the day we ventured into the nature reserve itself.

After an early morning of pancakes and souvenir browsing, we made it to the reserve. It was a little steep to get in, $10, but we had heard the beaches there were brilliant and worth the price. However, it wasn't just the beaches that made it worth it. We were in a genuine rain forest and saw some beautiful things while we were there!

Random shack with a giant bamboo plant behind it

There was also a ton of wildlife! During our walk we saw a bunch of animals and were even able to catch some pictures of a few of them.

Capuchin Monkey, just chilling in the tree. There were a whole bunch of them just swinging around!

The exposure on this is bad, but that lump on the left side of the V is a 3-toed sloth! He moved faster than Planet Earth had led me to believe...

These are my favorite: Squirrel Monkey's!!! They're adorable and they were EVERYWHERE. I thought I'd steal one to take home as a present for Valin, but thought better of it...

There were lizards, everywhere, of every size, shape, and color. This is one that we took a picture of when they were still rare and exciting enough to warrant taking a picture.

Yup, that's a crocodile eating a bird. We were right there, don't even worry about it.

We played on the beach a little bit, not actually getting in the water, but decided we wanted to explore other parts of the reserve, so we hiked up and around. Of course, it hadn't been our plan to hike, but as discovery and adventure was beckoning, we answered its call. Once again, we were covered in sweat within minutes of setting out, but finally ended up on a slightly more secluded beach, just broken off from the main beach by a large rock out cropping. Here we swam for a bit, had lunch, and made a new reptilian friend.

Okay, it might be hard to see him, but this is an iguana that decided he really liked us, or at least our potato chips. Stanley received the bright idea of having us feed him and since we had forbidden him from actually swinging over a cliff with a vine or going down to get a closer shot of the crocodile, we figured we'd give him this one. However, after a few minutes of trying to get the iguana to come close enough to take the potato chip from his hand (as you can tell from the picture, he was really close to us...probably around only 3 to 4 feet away), he decided to drop the chip - and just in time. The iguana bypassed the chip entirely and decided what he really wanted for lunch were some Stanley fingers. Luckily we all escaped unscathed, and just in time too, as the tide was coming in, necessitating us finding a new place to play.

We hiked to another beach on the island and but saw some beautiful things along the way...

View from one of the overlooks on our hike

The isthmus between the two beaches

The beach was even smaller than the one we'd been on before, with some intense rocks on the right side or it. Once again, Stanley and I decided to go off and explore, meaning swimming through the rising tide to climb in the rocks and see how far we get. One thing we didn't count on were the crabs swinging and climbing over the rocks, almost like monkeys in trees. There were so many it looked as though the rocks were moving. I went first, as I was wearing my Chaco's to protect my feet, and Stanley followed behind. While we didn't make it as far as we wanted, we go pretty far before we realized the tide really was coming in, necessitating our fast return to shore. After a few close calls, we were reunited with Jackie, who promptly told us that while we were gone a monkey had come out from the trees, rummaged through our bag, and stolen our potato chips! Sure enough, we checked and the bag was gone!

Jackie on the smaller beach we found

However, upon further discussion and looking at a picture Jackie managed to snap of the culprit, we realized it wasn't a monkey at all, but rather a Coati! From what I heard they're not the easiest animal to spot, but this relative of the raccoon had decided our potato chips were enticing enough to make an appearance.

After this adventure, we decided it was time to head back into the town and possibly check out the local, public beach. Here we snapped a few more pictures and watch the sunset while deciding - using our handy, dandy, Lonely Planet book - where to eat.

The typical and very necessary "foot" picture

Footprints in the sand...

The beach slowly began emptying...

Sunset hidden behind the clouds

Once darkness hit, we found our way to the Hotel Vella, where we had one of our more expensive meals (about $12 a pop), but considering it was fish and steak, it was most definitely worth it. Plus, the place was beautiful and once the rain started pounding we were just glad to be inside!

After taking a cab home, we stopped and got some ice cream for dessert, upon which we realized somehow Jackie had lost her bikini top. Yeah, we don't know either. But we were excited for the next day when Stanley and I would head to church and then spend our last few hours at the beach.

After another breakfast of pancakes, Stanley and I headed to where we were told the local branch would be meeting. We got there fine. The branch was small, 25 members at most, and the meeting was all in Spanish, but it was great just to be there and sing the (somewhat) familiar songs and attend sacrament meeting again.

So while getting there hadn't been too difficult, getting back to our hostel to check out and meet up with Jackie proved more problematic. Where the bus dropped us off was not the bus stop for our hostel, but rather the pick-up spot for another bus. So, once again, we had many kind strangers/spirit guides help us find the bus back to our hostel so we were able to pack up and check out in time so we could head down to the beach for a few hours before having to catch our bus.

This time, instead of paying to get into Manuel Antonio, we just chose to play around on the public beach. After renting some chairs and an umbrella, we were ready to go!

Pre-swim Stanley and Jackie

View from our beach chairs

We split our time between drying out and swimming amongst the crashing, salty waves, but eventually time passed too quickly and we found ourselves, 3 hours after arriving, having to head back up to our hostel so we could shower, eat and catch the bus back to San Jose and real life.

Post-swim picture. Look how relaxed and happy we all are!

The strip by the public beach

Safety first!

After sneaking back into our hostel to shower (we thought we'd do a service to the rest of the humans and not smell like beach and dead animal on the bus ride home) we grabbed one more bite to eat in paradise before we had to head back to loud, hectic San Jose. We decided that to repay the hostel for letting us illegally bum their showers we would eat at their restaurant. The food was mediocre, but we had some fun at least.

I feel like this is a good summation of our friendship...

But after that, it was time to board the bus for the 3 hour ride back into the city. So it was with one last fleeting look at the beauty around us that we wished Manuel Antonio good-bye and loaded the bus, backpacks in tow...

View from our hostel

Until next post, when I talk about last weekends trip to Arenal!

Toodles!

-Jillian