Day Seven - Welcome to Arenal

Our last morning in San Jaoquin de Flores meant Gallo Pinto. Gallo Pinto is a traditional dish served here in Costa Rica. Essentially, it's beans and rice mixed together with cilantro, tomatoes, and salsa lizano. However, at each home in Costa Rica, Ticos put their own spin on the dish. Some add eggs, some add meat, and so on, but essentially, it's beans and rice and always delicious.

Kelly and I were pretty sad to be leaving Mayi and Flora. They were the perfect host parents. They provided great accomodations and amazing food. Kelly was able to have many conversations in Spanish with them, and they pushed and encouraged me to use mine. I really hope our next Tico family does the same. =)

After our traditional Costa Rican breakfast, Kelly and I started our next adventure to Volcano Arenal. Arenal is an active volcano surrounded  by natural forests and La Fortuna - a touristy town. Since we are in the green season, everything is very green. The colors are vivid beyond belief! I'm really happy my camera is able to capture them fairly well.

The drive from Heredia was about three hours through winding roads - mostly paved, but parts of the way were pretty bumping. Our bus driver had us navigating through twists and turns and climbing steep hills. We made it to Arenal safely, and to our surprise, we made it to a resort.

Yes, we are staying at a resort. Kelly and I are totally roughing it. When we arrived, the staff were waiting for us with cool towels and strawberry smoothies. Like I said before, I may never want to leave this awesome place. We dropped off our bags in our room and headed off to our first hike near the volcano. The hike itself was about 2 hours and we weaved in and out of the rain forest through a few different trails. There were numerous types of wildlife surrounding us, and within 50 yards, we saw our first tropical bird - a toucan! The hike with our guide Walter was awesome ended with a nice philosophical discussion about how we rely on Costa Rica for the beauty and Costa Rica relies on us to support it.

After our hike, we headed to Baldi Hot Springs. The hot springs use the naturally heated water from the volcano to create 25 different pools to experience. The temperature of the pools range from 80 to 120 degrees. We traveled with group of friends to most of the pools - some pools had swim up bars, others had water slides, and others had stone beds to lay on. Each pool really had its own flavor - perhaps because we were like stewing vegetables in them. =). I really enjoyed the springs for the different pools, Kelly may have enjoyed the springs for dinner - there was a chocolate fondue fountain. For her, it doesn't get much better than that.

We drove home after the springs and met up with a few of our fellow classmates at the hotel bar. Over cervezas, we shared some great stories and laughs. I am having a blast and this trip has definitely solidified my desire to continue travelling throughout life with Kelly. She pushes me and I encourage her to do new things. It's pretty awesome travelling with your best friend.

More from Arenal later!
Pura Vida,
Casey

Gallo Pinto
Long drive
Hotel / resort
Strawberry smoothie
Nature hike
Tucan
Hot Springs
Drinks at the bar