Wow, well we just got back from a long weekend that was amazing.
It all started on Friday with a long drive to Arenal Volcano. The first thing we did after we got to the hotel was go to Baldi Hot Springs. We got to relax in the huge warm pools of water and order fun drinks. It was a nice bonding experience for the crew :)
We stayed at a nice hotel right by Arenal and we got to see it alot because the sky was clear the majority of the time we were there. Apparently that doesnt happen to often so everyone was pumped. We even got to see it erupting on Saturday night.
Saturday was packed too. We got up early to go to a hydroelectric plant which was interesting. It was cool to actually see a dam after learning so much about them in my geology course. We got to see how they divert the water then where it comes out and generates electricity which was crazy.
After the plant, we went horseback riding to La Fortuna waterfall which was amazing. At least the waterfall was. I learned that i´m not a horse kind of girl to say the least. I was sorta kinda scared out of my mind. The waterfall was beautiful and huge. We all got to swim around under it and relax after the horseback riding so it was nice to cool off. After the waterfall, we hiked through Arenal National Park. We walked right up next to the volcano and walked through our first "rain forest." We walked until we got to the lava flow from when the volcano erupted in the 60's. There were massive black rocks every and you could how the flow wrapped around. You could also see Lake Arenal in the distance which was beautiful. It was literally a breathtaking experience. We ended up walking back to the bus in the poring rain before we went to dinner at a steakhouse where we ate chicken. ha
Sunday was my favorite day by far. We woke up and took vans to Lake Arenal. We all jumped on a boat and cruised across the lake. It was surrounded by mountains and the lake was beautiful. We had a full view of the volcano too which was amazing. After the boat ride, we got back on some vans and took an insane ride to Monteverde. The roads were horrible. There were rocks everywhere. We found out that they do this intentionally. The people of Monteverde keep their roads really badly maintained because they want people to stay longer. It takes longer to get to the park which is the motivation to stay longer from what I understand. Either way, we only stayed one night but we had a rocky ride there and back.
The first thing we did when we got to Monteverde was unload into the lodge we stayed at in the park. It was like summer camp. We had rooms with 3 bunks and we shared bathrooms. It was alot of fun though. In the afternoon we went on a canopy tour which was my favorite part of the weekend. I was prepared for around 5-7 ziplines through the rainforest but it turned out to be soooo much more. We started off on a few easy ziplines then they got longer. Out of nowhere came this huge platform thats called the "tarzan swing." Image this: first you jump off the platform and the rope isnt tight. Then, all the sudden as your falling, it tightens and you start swinging really far and really high. I was incredibly nervous but it was so much fun. That wasn't even the best part. We had two more ziplines that are hard to describe. I started out in the forest then as I was gliding along the trees just open up and I was just out in the middle of this huge valley hundreds of feet in the air. It felt like I was flying...like I was the only person around. It was amazing. The second one was just the same but it was through a cloud. I almost couldn't see it was so dense but it was incredible. I wish I could do it again right now! The only downside was that it was pouring down rain the entire tour but it didn't matter.
We came back soaked then they surprised us with dinner at a pizzeria and everybody was pumped. The pizza was amazing and we all dessert for Rob's birthday. We ended up going on a night hike in the rain and we saw a trantula (sp?) and a ton of bats. We saw a lot of random insects too.
We woke up this morning at 5:30 am to go on another hike at 6. We got to see a few birds and more insects. I finally felt like I was in a real rainforest. It was dense and wet and you could tons of birds.
Overall, this weekend was amazing. The next few are going to have to be pretty good to top what I just experienced.
Sunday was my favorite day by far. We woke up and took vans to Lake Arenal. We all jumped on a boat and cruised across the lake. It was surrounded by mountains and the lake was beautiful. We had a full view of the volcano too which was amazing. After the boat ride, we got back on some vans and took an insane ride to Monteverde. The roads were horrible. There were rocks everywhere. We found out that they do this intentionally. The people of Monteverde keep their roads really badly maintained because they want people to stay longer. It takes longer to get to the park which is the motivation to stay longer from what I understand. Either way, we only stayed one night but we had a rocky ride there and back.
The first thing we did when we got to Monteverde was unload into the lodge we stayed at in the park. It was like summer camp. We had rooms with 3 bunks and we shared bathrooms. It was alot of fun though. In the afternoon we went on a canopy tour which was my favorite part of the weekend. I was prepared for around 5-7 ziplines through the rainforest but it turned out to be soooo much more. We started off on a few easy ziplines then they got longer. Out of nowhere came this huge platform thats called the "tarzan swing." Image this: first you jump off the platform and the rope isnt tight. Then, all the sudden as your falling, it tightens and you start swinging really far and really high. I was incredibly nervous but it was so much fun. That wasn't even the best part. We had two more ziplines that are hard to describe. I started out in the forest then as I was gliding along the trees just open up and I was just out in the middle of this huge valley hundreds of feet in the air. It felt like I was flying...like I was the only person around. It was amazing. The second one was just the same but it was through a cloud. I almost couldn't see it was so dense but it was incredible. I wish I could do it again right now! The only downside was that it was pouring down rain the entire tour but it didn't matter.
We came back soaked then they surprised us with dinner at a pizzeria and everybody was pumped. The pizza was amazing and we all dessert for Rob's birthday. We ended up going on a night hike in the rain and we saw a trantula (sp?) and a ton of bats. We saw a lot of random insects too.
We woke up this morning at 5:30 am to go on another hike at 6. We got to see a few birds and more insects. I finally felt like I was in a real rainforest. It was dense and wet and you could tons of birds.
Overall, this weekend was amazing. The next few are going to have to be pretty good to top what I just experienced.
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