seekingmygreaterperhaps

I’m going to try something new- write a blog post from my phone while traveling! I am hoping this makes it not feel so much like a chore when I get back, and also help me remember more travel tales. I am embarking on almost a month through Central America before I get home to visit my family, starting in Costa Rica!

I took the 2 am flight from BSB to PTY before catching a flight to SJO. With the time difference, I landed around 7:30 am, having barely slept. I can never actually sleep on a plane. I rented a car for my time in Costa Rica on the suggestion of my friend who used to live here, so I made my way to the rental car place. The price I thought I had paid and owed nothing apparently didn’t include insurance, which cost another $275… and a $2,500 charge on my credit card. *Gasp!* This is not how I want to start my journey. But there was nothing I could do, I had pre paid the price of the car- this just doubled what was in mind for the budget. Okay, car keys in hand, off I go on the beautiful drive to La Fortuna!

I purchased an e-sim, which is amazing and I absolutely recommend, but it apparently hadn’t kicked in yet, so my map on my phone wasn’t working. I turn onto a highway where there is instantly a toll booth, but I have no CR currency. I begin to panic as I pull up and it says no cards accepted, so I have the $5 USD emergency in hand, and explain to the guy working I don’t have any coins yet, but I have this. He accepts it, rummages around for change, and actually hands me back the $5! I look confused and he just waves me through. Hopefully he was being nice and there isn’t a mystery fine on this rental car, but off I go!

Thankfully, Fortuna is a popular destination, and there are signs leading me pretty much the entire way there. The drive was on winding roads with beautiful scenery, and I was very thankful not to be driving them at night. I made it to La Fortuna and was very hungry, and stopped at Soda La Hormiga and had a casado. I would be eating many casados in Costa Rica. (A soda is a local food spot and a casado is the meal that you choose your protein and it comes with rice, beans, a salad of some sort, and fried plantains.)

I arrived at my accommodation and was blown away. I splurged a little to treat myself and stayed in private cabanas- which turned out to be a treehouse in the woods.

The sounds of the forest were all around me, as well as the sounds of rain (while being cozy) in the evening. The mattress was better than my mattress at home, and I slept so well there even my Garmin watch was impressed.

I knew I would be tired the first day after essentially coming off of no sleep, so my only activity was a guided sloth tour. I went with Sloths Territory and had an excellent guide. Thank goodness he brought a scope and knows how to spot sloths because they were right there and I couldn’t pick them out through the leaves! They really do have the art of camouflage nailed down. 

With that being said- I SAW SLOTHS IN THE WILD! The company I went with has a large piece of land and the trees that sloths like to eat, but they don’t “have” any sloths. I was able to see two-toed and three-toed sloths AND a momma and a baby! It was very neat. I also saw a really cool looking bird (a Rufous tailed Jacamar).

The next day I was up early (jet lag baby!) and ready to rock and roll for a hike in the Arenal Volcano National Park! Admission is $15 + tax. It gives you access to two areas, and I did the main one and walked the 3 trails there. It was exactly the kind of “hiking” I prefer- mostly flat, bird noises, nature, and good smells.

I think the famous “El Ceibo” tree that I read about in other blogs has broken due to storms- in case anyone who reads this is going and expects to see it. Nonetheless, great walking in the woods with nice views of the volcano and lake.

I usually plan 1 activity a day, but I was feeling good after 10.5 hours of sleep, and it was close by, so I also went to the Mistico Hanging Bridges Park. I asked for a teacher discount, so entry was $28.80. The walking here was more intense than the national park, and you go up and down on the side of a mountain, but the views are amazing! The suspension bridges that you walk across are sturdy and very fun.

It felt like I was walking around in Jurassic Park. There were not very many people, and I was very happy I got to have my pictures solo.

Because I was quiet on my own, I saw some wildlife too, like this frog! And I also saw a baby venomous coral snake that I was glad slithered quickly away from me.

There is a smoothie stand once you complete the 2-2.5 hour loop of the hanging bridges. It was HOT and humid, and I was very happy to buy this smoothie. It’s soursop, mango, mint, and strawberry. I also didn’t realize until I was driving out of La Fortuna how lucky I was to have such good visibility on the volcano on the day it was my focus. I could see the very top! It was covered in clouds the other days. Thanks God for blessing me without me even asking!

My final day I went to Ecotermales Hot Spring- which is heated by the Arenal Volcano. I spent all day lounging around here by the Hot springs, and there were maybe 10 other people there total. Yay for the off-season! It was a beautiful place and felt very luxurious.

I decided to bite the bullet and pay for a night hike, and I had talked with the guy who owns (or runs?) The cabins I was staying at. He said, sure I can arrange one for you for $40. And I said, great! Well, in my mind I thought he would connect me with a tour company… it turned out to be him and his son walking me around their property with flashlights pointing stuff out. And then it started pouring rain. In all actuality, it was fine. I didn’t have to go anywhere and seeing some of the critters that I had been hearing was cool.

The top photo is stick bugs mating. I was shocked they were able to find that! As we walked and walked getting increasingly more wet, my hopes of seeing a tree frog were dwindling. We walked by my cabin and I thanked them and parted. I had been praying to see the green tree frog. I was taking off my raincoat and then I hear “Amiga! Do you want to see a new species of frog?” And of course I did! A little bit away from my cabin they found the red eyed tree frog that I had hoped to see!!! And up close, I could get an amazing photo of it. It was an excellent way to end my trip.

Stay tuned to hear about my next stop- Tamarindo!