Day 10: A Nice Volcanic Hike Followed By A Trip To Punta Leona

We had breakfast at 7:30 a.m., as per usual, but this time we got to watch a herd of horses run by in an almost single file line. There were so many beautiful horses and it was nice to take a break from seeing nothing but giant creepy bugs to seeing familiar animals. After breakfast, we packed into the bus and headed towards Arenal Volcano. Even though it was very early for most of us, it was still a very beautiful morning to hike up a volcanic trail. Once we arrived, we filled our bottles with water and started our hike. During the hike we kept trying to look for an orange and yellow orchid that had barely bloomed. Apparently it is supposed to look like a dancing ballerina if you turn it upside down, but unfortunately we did not find one. Once we reached the end of the trail, we saw a toucan off in the distance. 

We headed back to the resort and packed up our belongings before heading into La Fortuna to eat lunch. This restaurant could be described as the type of place you would go on your birthday or on a nice second date. The food options ranged from ceviche as an appetizer to grilled steak as your entrée. Once we finished our lunch, we piled into the bus and began what would be a 5 hour drive across Costa Rica’s countryside.

We made a few pit stops along the way for restroom breaks and site seeing. We stopped at a bridge in San Carlos, Alajuela where, walking on a platform beside the bridge, we could feel the likeness of a minor earthquake as cars drove across the actual bridge. The next bridge we stopped at was above the Tarcoles River which is the most polluted river in Costa Rica, with crocodiles dotting the waters in abundance. Twenty-three crocodiles swimming 30 meters below us was quite the sight. As we approached La Punta Leona we saw the black sand beach of the Pacific Ocean. As we pulled into the parking lot of our rooms, we were greeted by Luis Vega! It was fantastic to see a familiar face, and as soon as we got situated we were able to have dinner with him and then head off to our rooms for a good night's sleep.