Month: December 2009

After church we headed out to see the lava flowing down the side of Arenal. You need to go at night, because that is when you can actually see the lava or glowing boulders rolling down the side of the volcano. It is a very long drive from Puriscal. It was supposed to take 3 hours, but ended up being closer to 4. We only had one vomiting incident this trip, which was a blessing considering the windy roads. I had booked some cabins on the West side of the volcano, because that is where the lava is currently flowing. Unfortunately when we arrived, the entire mountain was engulfed in clouds and it was raining. I asked our host at the hotel if there was any chance of seeing the volcano that night, and he said that it might clear up around 7 or 8. Unfortunately it did not. Continue reading Arenal

The Zuñiga family took us to some waterfalls on the Turrubares river. It's about a 40 minute drive from our house. You get there by walking up stream. You have to cross the river a couple of times. Matthew had a little trouble and fell in a couple of times. Luckily he was holding on to a rope. Continue reading Turrubares

We went to Manuel Antonio today. The last time we went, we got a really late start and we were only in the park for a half hour or so before they said it was closing time and we had to leave. To top it all off, there weren't any monkeys!

This time we decided to leave at 6 for the three hour drive down to the beach. Well, it didn't quite work out the way we planned, and it was more like 7:30 before we actually hit the road. This time, however, we saw deer, lizards, a sloth, and (of course) monkeys!

Apparently Karen got a little too close to a mother and its baby which prompted some monkeys to bear their teeth, hiss, and chase her off!

La Cangreja is Costa Rica's newest (I think) national park. It is only 41 kilometers from where we live, so I thought we should go and take a look. Most of the drive is along a dirt road that winds through the Costa Rican mountain side.

There aren't really any facilities there. There is a ranger station/house. I spoke with the park ranger for a while and he described what there is to do. Basically there is a trail that leads down into the valley and then up the other side. Continue reading La Cangreja

Rachel wanted to go somewhere fun, so we took a quick trip down to the beach. After a little research we decided on Herradura bay because it was not too far from home, and it is a good (no strong rip tides) place to swim. We had fun just swimming around in the waves. Matthew and Elisabeth practiced their snorkeling skills. We brought lunch with us and bought a big bottle of fruit juice on the way home. As we were driving away, I noticed a place that had showers for rent. I wish I had seen it earlier, because I REALLY HATE putting my shirt on after swimming in the ocean! It makes me itch like a monkey! By the way (in case I haven't mentioned this before) the ocean here is REALLY warm.