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After waking up for the last time in a Costa Rican bed, it was time for breakfast (we finally had the opportunity to taste the breakfast of this hotel, seen the fact that we had to rush on day 1 and quickly had to take something for a drink and something to eat with us in the bus). After breakfast we packed the last things in our suitcases (although I already did it before breakfast) and after that we got picked up by the same driver that picked us up at the airport. After a good breakfast it was time to pack up our luggage for the long road back to San José. On our way we crossed a bridge which was gifted by the Taiwanese to Costa Rica, in change for permission to fish in the Costa Rican waters (what later has been stopped). This is also where we stopped to take some photos and videos of the bridge, we also encountered about 5 iguanas (including a very big one). Then we continued our way until it was lunchtime. There was nothing planned for today, but after breakfast we decided to go to the nearby place called Nosara tot have a look at the beach. The muddy road we had to drive over had as much holes as a Swiss cheese, so this was a bouncy trip... Once on the beach we were looking at surfers doing their thing. After a while we saw dark clouds come close so we walked back to the car before it started to rain. Unfortunately we didn't succeed, when we were close to the car it started to rain very hard. Even though I haven't seen any monkeys yesterday evening in the trees above our lodge, I did wake up by their noise. It turned out they moved to a nearby tree. When my alarm went off I decided to get up, with the idea that today is the day I'm going to zipline for the first time in my life and that it will be through the jungle. How cool is that? But first of all breakfast. On our way to the breakfast room we saw some monkeys up in the trees. Shit... don't have my camera with me. Quickly going back to the lodge to pick up my camera and then run back to the trees with the monkeys to shoot some photos... nailed it! After breakfast (the least so far) we took the car towards national park Rincón de la Vieja (about 40 minutes driving). At the adjacent Santa Maria we did a hike to the natural hot springs. This is a hike of about 3 km over slippery and muddy paths up and down and on our way we had to cross 4 streams (2 narrow ones and 2 wide ones). This was quite a challenging walk which took us 1,5 to 2 hours, but it's not for nothing. With a well filled stomach from the breakfast we drove to Rincón de la Vieja. This is a just over 3 hours driving. Once arrived at the lodge it turned out to be beautifully surrounded by nature. As I saw a gray squirrel right away, with black stripes in length on its back sitting in the tree. When we were checked in, we dropped our luggage and went exploring the terrain of the lodge. On the riverside (the water had a strong current) are located hot springs, with four different baths. Two cold baths, a warm water bath and a hot water bath. Nearby are also a sauna and a Turkish bath. After we first had breaktfast we went to the cheese factor, which is in operation since 1952. The quakers in Monteverde are known for making cheese. But once we were inside the cheese shop it turned our you can only look at the factory through the glass window, this was kind of disappointing. The funny thing is they sell Gouda and Edammer cheese. After seeing this we went to the bat garden. Here we first got an explanation about the bats, and then we could go inside through a door into a dark area. This morning we packed our luggage again and after our breakfast we went to the hot springs of Termelitas del Arenal. This is a nicely landscaped garden with multiple baths ranging from 35°C, 40°C, 42°C and even 50°C. That last one was too hot for us. At this place we also saw a basilisk and a very big iguana. Unfortunately I didn't had my camera with me, when I got my camera they were already gone. Couldn't take photos, too bad! |
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