Thursday, April 14, 2011

Monteverde to Arenal

Yesterday, we boarded our bus again for Arenal and the Tabacon Resort. However, before we left we managed to get in a quick hike. I was sad to leave but was excited about our next location.  The bus ride was another 4.5 hour ride thru narrow, windy and dusty roads thru the dry tropical forest back into the wet tropical Forest. 

There are many treats here, but the first is the Arenal Volcano. It is an active volcano that is one of the few in the world, if not the only one, that is perfectly conical in shape. Our first glimpse of the volcano was from the side of the road at the other end of Arenal Lake, which is a man-made lake. We were so excited that it was a clear day and that the entire cone was visible. Apparently there have been times where months can go by and the volcano cone cannot be seen. So of course we stopped for photos before proceeding along the road around Lake Arenal. At the end of the lake was a damn that provided perfect picture opportunities at the end of the day as the clouds began to gather round. 

The next stop was Tabacon. For those that have never of this place, Tabacon is a resort nestled on top of numerous hot springs.  The hot springs have been carved into beautiful rivers, pools and waterfalls of varying size, depth and temperature. It is a tropical paradise. We had  very expensive dinner at the hotel and then made it to the hot springs with a half hour to spare before they closed for the night. It may have been a short time but it was heaven. My favorite so far is sitting under the waterfall while the water pounds on your back and shoulders. 

1 comment:

Katie said...

I am actually having trouble reading your posts due to my severe jealousy!!!!! Seriously though, it sounds like you are having an amazing time and I can't wait to see the photos that show what you've seen.