Volcano Arenal - Part II - Day 5

We had one more full day in Fortuna and at the volcano. It's really recommended that you go see the volcano spouting lava on its "backside" in the twilight hours when it is really visible. We didn't have that option...afternoon thunderstorms...many of them, and often. Typically the day starts off clear and the clouds built to a crescendo when sometime between noon and 3p, the storms begin. Sometimes they are brief. Sometimes they last until into the night.

We got up a little earlier today so that we could enjoy the outdoor hiking without the heat. Well, the sun rises at 5:30 and we found that the difference between 8:30a and 10:30a is marginal...still hot. We went to the Arenal National Park today. Let's just say it's not to be confused with the national parks back home. They still charged $8 to enter, but the only "facilities" were a single bathroom and a fee collection station. What we got was alot of hiking in sugarcane fields (borrrrring) and some as-close-as-you-can-get views of the volcano, very near the foot of it. There was some gurgling and rumbling coming from the heavens...and then you would see a few semi-molten boulders tumbling down the flank of the volcano. Pretty cool! Unfortunately, I wish I could say more about this park, but it was nothing more than the sugarcane and listless lava fields from twenty years ago. *shrugs*

So...we're out here at the park with no facilities and we need to get back to Fortuna. It's a ten mile trip to get there my taxi, but there's not even a phone within sight. We walked the roads and then the highway for at least 2-3 miles until we came to the famous Tabacon Grand Spa & Thermal Resort. This place is all to well known for some very dynamic hot spring pools in a intimate, tropical setting....and all for the low, low price of $65/visit. Yikes! Now...*enter* the two cheapskates. No way were we paying $65 to smoke cigars, toast champagne, burn money...whatever they do at these luxury spots. We found the hot springs (really a mountain creek) ran right under the highway bridge. So, we found a side trail and ducked in behind Tabacon's own property and enjoyed the hot springs to ourselves...for free!

The springs are pretty cool too. It's a mountain stream that is freshwater runoff from the volcano...very clean and very, very warm (100 degrees or so). I didn't care for the really hot stuff, but the springs were mixing with another cold water stream, creating the perfect bathwater....ahhhhhhh...bliss.

We spotted an iguana chilling on a log over the springs...check him out.


BTW...we didn't hike the entire ten miles back. Thankfully we found a phone just as another big thunderstorm hit. We were spared.