Costa Rica Series: La Fortuna

This is the third post in the Costa Rica Series. You can start at the beginning or read about San Jose.

I didn't write very much about La Fortuna in my journal, but I did take pictures.

I do remember that somehow, I ended up at the ticket counter at the bus station by myself. I don't remember where everyone else was, but it was my job to get the tickets. And although I understood the man behind the counter, I couldn't believe how inexpensive the bus tickets were, so I made someone next to me translate. It was really something like three dollars a person to get from San Jose to La Fortuna, which was a four hour bus ride if not longer.

We didn't spend much time in town, but it looked cute. I think there must be several resorts nearby because the shops in town were geared toward tourists.

This area is so popular because of the Arenal Volcano, which is one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world. There are several hot springs as well.

This is where I stayed. I can't for the life of me remember the name of the hotel, but it was an ecotourism kind of place with lots of different plants on the grounds and a butterfly garden.

Can you believe that this butterfly...

is the same as this butterfly?

And can you believe that this spider was on the lemon tree right outside my room. Can you see what that white ball is? It's a bag of baby spiders. And that brown mass behind the spider? A recently hatched bag of baby spiders. Hebbie Jebbies!

During our stay in La Fortuna, we hiked up a mountian to swim in a waterfall and went to a hot spring, which was much deserved after the hike.

 I remembered a fun hike, during which I took lots of cool pictures, even my favorite Costa Rica picture.

But when I looked back at my journal from the trip, I had written "worst hike ever!" and underlined it several times. I also wrote about two souvenirs I got in La Fortuna, a necklace and a giant blister. So, there are several ways to get to the waterfall area. You can drive or ride horses or even take a bus. I would opt for the horse back ride myself if I had the opportunity to do it again. 

The waterfall was beautiful. And there was only a handful of people there. I have "hiked up a mountain to swim in a waterfall" before, but this was the least commercialized waterfall experience I've ever had. The water was freezing cold and there were fish in the ponds.

I remember that the best part about this hotel was the food. There was amazing home cooked Costa Rican food. Lots of gallo pinto (beans and rice), plantains, eggs and juice. And the owners had a little boy that just ran around and played with everyone. This is him, hiding in between a wall and a vending machine. He was really cute.

I didn't take my camera to the hot springs, but I will tell you that it looked like Jurassic Park. At one point, it was raining, so we were sitting in this hot water while cold rain feel on us. And there was a pool bar. It was fun.

And that sums up my La Fortuna!

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