La Fortuna, Costa Rica Dec 7-Jan 20

We chartered a private shuttle with Ricardo and his wife to La Fortuna. It took over 3 hours. We had a pleasant ride and enjoyable conversation with the opportunity to pull over for photo ops when needed. Our place is in Arenal Rooms and is quite cozy, that is, tiny. Unfortunately, we have almost no light in our unit, but with a 3rd floor terrace available in the next building and a very walkable town, we are doing fine. We joined the local gym, Arenal Fitness, for 1 month for $30 each and usually go 3 times a week. Just down the block is Travesía, an excellent restaurant and D’ Mi Tierra, a cafe with local food.

Birdwatching from the terrace

Bogarin Trail

The Bogarin Trail is just off the main road through town, about a half mile from our Airbnb. We took a couple of tours with William Bogarin, who grew up there and whose family has managed the previous cattle land as it grew back into jungle over the last 20 years. We learned about the various trees, leaf cutter ants, birds and wildlife. Since we are here for 6 weeks, once we paid for the first tour, they allowed us to walk the trail alone any time we wanted. We went back 10 times and even did a night tour.

The night tour (below) provided a whole new outlook

Full day tour- Mystico Hanging Bridges, Arenal Waterfall and Arenal Volcano hike

Our combo tour was amazing! We were picked up in a shuttle bus at 7:30 am and drove around La Fortuna picking up other tourists. We ended up with 22 people on board. First stop, the Mystico Hanging Bridges. A glorious 2 mile walk through the rain forest canopy over 6 hanging bridges. Next stop, the La Fortuna waterfall, which is about 530 steps down, and of course, back up. Then lunch after climbing back up the steps. Finally, the Arenal Volcano hike, another 2 miles with gorgeous views and rugged lava rock trail. It was dark walking back down the last 20 minutes and we needed our cell phone flashlights to see. We were quite beat at the end and Robin had about 20,000 steps and Randy over 15,000.

Horseback Ride to Arenal River

This was one of the most amazing rides we have had together. Rode down to the Arenal River and actually into the river. We saw a white faced monkey (capuchin) as well as a howler monkey. We were part of a fun group with Jorge as our guide. After the ride, Jorge said to us that he wanted to be like us when he got older. He was excited that we are happy, fun loving people. He said most of the older people he encounters are angry all the time. Pura Vida!

Our time in La Fortuna has been a wonderful experience we will treasure forever! Pura Vida! Next stop, Panama City, Panama.