Arenal

Our first main stop on our Costa Rica trip was Arenal volcano. This volcano was dormant for centuries, until it erupted in 1968. Until that time, locals just thought it was a big...mountain. So no one was warned before the eruption, and over a hundred local farmers died. Scientists began to travel to Arenal after 1968, and tourists followed in their footsteps. The peak of the volcano is frequently covered in clouds; we were very lucky to see the top during our stay:

We went kayaking down a local river, and saw some cool animals (animal photos to come in a separate post):

It's low-season for tourism in Costa Rica right now (because it's the rainy season), and there was only one other couple on the kayaking tour with us. There were two surprising facts about them: 1) they're from Philadelphia, and the woman just graduated from West Chester University! and 2) they were FAR more useless in the kayak than we were! It was their first time kayaking, so of course it wasn't easy, but once they flipped over, they panicked and wanted to go home immediately and didn't think they were capable of learning, etc. etc. I was amused, and our guide was very nice to them.

One of the big attractions in Arenal is a Hanging Bridges tour. The area is dominated by rainforest, and all the animal action is concentrated in the top of the canopy, so they built a number of hanging bridges linking hiking trails that allows one to remain in the canopy. It was pretty fun, though you can see the ground below through the grate, which was a bit frightening to me! (I'm afraid of heights.)

 I loved this tree, whose spreading leaves look like a fractal pattern:

We also hiked down to the La Fortuna waterfall, where we swam in the pools at its base. The water was very chilly, and the current quite strong. We only went in where the water was calmer, and it was a beautiful view.

We also went for a hike near the volcano, through the forest that has regrown after the eruption. Here you can see the volcano reflected in a pool of water, the cavity of which was created when rocks from the blast created huge ditches in the soil:

The hike ended with a lovely view of Lake Arenal:

We spent our last hours in Arenal at some natural hot springs. Supposedly they're good for your muscles and your skin? I was just worried about overheating and fainting. Did you know that in the classical world, natural hot springs were often called "Baths of Hercules"? They were certainly relaxing, and I can see how an athlete tired from practice or battle would name hot springs after his patron...