Hola from Manuel Antonio where I’m blogging from my patio while watching a thunderstorm! I’ve only been in Costa Rica for 4 days so far but it feels like a lot longer. I’m splitting my time here between the northern area of the country, and the Osa Peninsula in the south west. First stop: Arenal!
Red pin = Arenal area.
I arrived into San Jose (the capital) late in the evening so grabbed my rental car and stayed at a hotel near the airport. It was totally fine but nothing to write home about. I got in around 8 PM (after haven woken up at 4 AM) and was tired and hungry. Unfortunately for me, the only close restaurant was the Hard Rock Cafe! So much for immersing myself in Costa Rican culture!
The next morning I set off for the Arenal area, about a 3-4 hour drive from San Jose where I spent two nights.
Where I stayed
I posted up at the Arenal Observatory Lodge during my stay. A bit remote, it’s located less than 2 miles from the volcano that towers over the area. I was definitely glad to have a rental car since it’s about 20 minutes away from everything else in town. The best part was the beautiful grounds, they have 11 miles of easy trails with lots of plant and animal life to observe. It was a great way to stretch my legs after a long drive!
The lodge: so close to the volcano!
The room I stayed in was in a building separate from the main area, with six rooms and a shared bathroom, almost like a really nice summer camp lodge. However, I was the only person in the building! It was sort of nice (didn’t actually have to share the shared bathroom) but a little spooky at times since I was so far removed from everyone else!
View from my isolated room!
Sweet waterfall hike on the property
Activities & Eats
My first day, I walked around Arenal Observatory Lodge and enjoyed some amazing views of the volcano. I didn’t know it at the time, but I got really lucky with a super clear day. The next two days you could barely even see the volcano due to heavy clouds.
Last picture of the volcano, I promise!
After getting settled in my room, I headed over to the Arenal 1968 hiking area (so named for the year the volcano erupted). There is also a national park around the volcano, but a few sources I found online said they actually preferred the private 1968 area which is why I picked it.
They almost didn’t let me in since apparently they close at 4, and I arrived at 4:15, but I told them I was a pretty fast hiker, so they let me do the short trail which goes through some jungle and volcanic rock. Many people visit with a guide, which probably would have been worth it, but I enjoyed the scenery even without any background info to accompany it.
Volcanic Rocks!
The following day, I was up bright and early for my canyoning tour with Pure Trek where we repelled down 4 waterfalls in the jungle (the largest is about 100 feet tall), and a bonus “monkey drop” which is a terrifying short zipline followed by a straight down drop into the water ACK. I’m pretty scared of heights, but so many blogs and tour reviews said that this was an AMAZING LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE so I figured I had to do it! I’m not sure it changed my life, but I definitely felt accomplished after it, even if I did take it super slowly the whole time.
Unfortunately I don’t have any photos because we had to leave all our non-waterproof stuff behind so it wouldn’t get ruined. However I befriended a Canadian couple who had a Go Pro and took some pics of me, and I’m hoping that they email them to me!
I continued the waterfall theme that afternoon by paying a visit to La Fortuna Waterfall, a popular tourist destination where the main activity is posing for pictures in front of the waterfall! Despite the photo-happy crowds, it was still beautiful. I did take a photo with it but I look too ugly in it to post in public so enjoy this one without me in it:
Finally, to wrap up my water-themed day, I decided to indulge in another popular activity: hot springs! There are tons of facilities in the area, but I opted for a night pass to Tabacón on the recommendation of some of my fellow repellers and a friend who visited on her honeymoon.
It got off to a rocky start. I drove the 20 minutes there from Arenal Observatory Lodge only to realize I’d forgotten my swimsuit, so drove BACK, then back again. Having finally made it, I ate the included buffet dinner (about as exciting as you’d expect) and then was ready for a soak! They have tons of different pools, of varying temperatures and decorative styles. After about 15 minutes in the public zone I decided to try to access the GUESTS ONLY Shangri-La gardens recommended by my friend. Nobody was posted up checking for guest ID, so I just strolled right in and basically had the area all to myself! It was great, though would have been much more fun with another person (there’s only so much time one can spend soaking alone with one’s thoughts). I also think it would have been nice to see it during the day since they have a lot of tropical landscaping that was hard to appreciate at night.
This pic is from Tabacon’s website- I don’t have a photo of my own since, you know, water and phones don’t really mix.
My new favorite activity is catching the sunset, every night so far has been different but breathtaking.
Night 1, from the balcony at the Arenal restaurant (my HDR app makes it look slightly more purple than it actually was)
Night 2, from outside my room at Arenal (that’s Lake Arenal in the foreground)
As for eats & drinks, I’m afraid I haven’t been too adventurous so far this trip! I had dinner at the lodge my first night, and Tabacón the second. The town of La Fortuna (the tourist hub) doesn’t have a lot going on, food-wise but I did go to lunch twice at a very cute cafe called Organico Fortuna. The food wasn’t AMAZING, but it was super cute, and seemed like a healthy-ish choice.
Arenal was a great introduction to Costa Rica, stay tuned to hear what I’ve been doing in Manuel Antonio!