It was a beautiful morning on Sunday, our first full day in Costa Rica. We enjoyed a yummy breakfast buffet, which was included with our room at Arenal Springs, before heading out for the day (more on the food we enjoyed in Costa Rica later). It was really fun to see a half dozen toucans hanging out in a tree just outside our room when we returned from breakfast!
We decided to spend the morning exploring the park around the La Fortuna waterfall. The kids were clearly ready for the hike as we waited for a taxi to pick us up from the hotel. In the distance beyond the kids in the photo below is Arenal volcano, which is covered by clouds.
After a short 15 minute drive through town and out to the park, we arrived at the park entrance. John found a friend in the parking lot. "Catarata" = waterfall.
The walk out to the waterfall started with a mostly descending path through the rainforest. The trail was a mix of dirt and wooden pathways. We walked down this path for about 20 minutes before we got to the bottom where we could view the waterfalls.
The first waterfall we spotted was a slow trickle of water over what looked like granite rock. The geometric shapes in the rock behind the water were pretty.
And just beyond this was La Fortuna Waterfall, which made a thundering noise as the water splashed over the edge and dropped into the pool below. We all enjoyed exploring the rocky area along the edge of the pool near the base of the waterfall.
Just before we left the waterfall area for the hike back to the top, we spotted an anteater that was quickly climbing up through the trees. This was just the beginning of daily wildlife sightings during our time in Costa Rica.
We had a planned excursion scheduled for Sunday afternoon to the Hanging Bridges park near Lake Arenal. The tour bus picked us up at our hotel at 2:00 and we were off for another adventure in the rainforest. During the short drive to the park entrance, our guide provided information about the geography of the valley and the types of animals that are most common to the area. He also warned us that it would likely rain during our visit (makes sense given that we were visiting a rainforest during the rainy season!). And just like that, it started pouring (!) just as we arrived to the park.
Our group of 8 walked along the paths in the rainforest for almost two hours, covering almost 3 miles and passing over 18 hanging bridges. It poured for the first hour. Despite the rain being uncomfortable, after we got used to it the rain actually made the experience feel quite authentic. I didn't take many photos during this time, but we saw a coral snake (very dangerous!) and a red poison dart frog before the rain let up.
This is the view looking out to the rainforest below from one of the hanging bridges. The foggy mist depicts the aftermath of the rain well. The views were really amazing and the setting was peaceful yet exotic.
I was glad the rain let up enough that I could take some photos of the bridges since they were spectacular. I never would have guessed that I would be scared of the height of the bridges, but my stomach actually dropped a little when I looked down to the rainforest below on this one. Amelia is ahead in the photo in the bright rain jacket.
Looking down on Scott and John as they walk on the path below, as taken from the bridge above.
The photo below was also taken from the highest hanging bridge. You can faintly see one of the hanging bridges we had previously crossed just to the right of the photo center below. This gives you an idea of the elevation gain we achieved (and then lost) during our walk through the rainforest.
And finally, just before we exited the park we came across a spider monkey! This was very exciting as it was our first monkey sighting in Costa Rica.
We were lucky we had a guide to find all of the animals for us, because with the darkness of the rainforest and not really knowing what to look for, we would have been pretty much lost on our own. Our guide told us that sider monkey sightings are relatively rare, and this was the only spider monkey we saw during our trip.
Great trip report!
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