Monday, Nov 28th in the Arenal Rainforest

We were pumped up this morning to create nicer weather.  And before we left our AirBnB home at 7:00 am, we actually got a glimpse of PART of the volcano and lake! 

But unfortunately, it was short-lived and the rain just kept on coming. We learned today that only 30 - 40% of visitors to this area EVER SEE the volcano.  We feel very grateful that we clearly saw the Arenal Volcano on Saturday (our first day of arrival in this area).

Our ORIGINAL plan was to do a 3 hour rain forest canopy tour, followed by a 2.5 hour zip line adventure.  But we decided last night that there was no point in doing a zip line in POURING rain and ZERO visibility, especially since both of us wear glasses.  So we cancelled the zip line and arrived at SkyAdventures around 7:45 am to meet our guide and fellow visitors.  There were only 7 of us on the SkyWalk tour!

Thumbs UP Santa, I'm ready to fly with you on Christmas Eve! 

Because of the massive amount of rain, they had to close two of the hanging bridges.  Part of the trail was also washed out so we rode the gondola up the mountain.  We then slogged our way down through the mud and steady rain.  When in Rome, do as the Romans do, so we kept our attitude positive and just kept on slopping through the muddy muck.  The constant rain made it almost impossible for mosquitos to bite us!

We are so grateful that we took a GUIDED tour because the rain forest is a lot like the Sonoran desert... most of the animals are nocturnal. But our guide Andre knew where to look so we did see bats, a tarantula (tarantula hawks are nasty here, too), frogs, very strong ants, butterflies, numerous interesting plant species and ALMOST saw a turkey.  It was surprising to learn that NO HUNTING for ANYTHING is the law in Costa Rica (we thought of you, Jae).

I can't get enough of hanging bridges anywhere in the world! 

Diana also loves the hanging bridges and rain forest canopy walks 

Drenching from rain today but loving the wet waterfall  

Did you know that trees in Costa Rica don’t form tree rings because of the lack of four seasons?  In Costa Rica, they receive rain almost EVERY day of the year.

After hiking 2.5 miles over 3.5 hours, we stopped in the restaurant for some hummus and pita chips, and tried to dry out a little. But we were so drenched that WHATEVER we did next wasn’t going to make a difference, so we did a CARPE MOMENTO trip and took a drive up to the Arenal Observatory Lodge, which of course, we could only observe close-up things ~ not the Volcano or Lake.  

There were many of these flying around with a loud call ~ Montezuma Oropendola

Passerini Tananger

We visited the volcano museum which included the seismic tracker unit.  The last volcano eruption was in 2010.  We also walked two of the shorter trails and counted our blessings for being in Costa Rica on vacation and NOT living here!  

Diana hiding from the constant rain under a gigantic leaf 

After that, we thought it best to head home and put on some dry clothes, take a bath and warm up.  Our upper level Airbnb unit is cozy, with a spectacular view of the clouds.  Costa Rican “Tico” music is loudly playing next door and our left-over pizza from Pizza Johns in El Castillo is warming in the oven.  THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME, even when on the road. 

We leave early on Tuesday morning for a LONG 5+ hour drive down to Dominical for 3 nights on the Southern Pacific Coast.  Hopefully, we will remove ourselves from this constant rain and move toward the sun and better days on the warm beach front!

But as we said when we started this trip, “we gotta go so we will know”.  We have decided that we would not choose to live in this area or our previous locations (San Jose or Aguas Zarcas).

After arriving home soaked this afternoon, we needed to dry out the paper money!

But ... we are staying ever open to new and interesting global adventures!

Sending Love back home ~

The Cactusheads currently the Wetheads