This morning is our first full day in Costa Rica. I am awake at 5 am (which is actually 11 in the UK and my stomach). 2 hours till breakfast and Im starving.
At 6 it gets light and I can brave going outside to sit in the garden without standing in anything. Its a pretty little garden with a gazebo and plunge pool set among the shrubs.
Breakfast is served in a clearing in the garden and is very tasty – fried rice and beans, omelette, sausage and plantain. Although I go off my food a bit when I see quite how often the cook fondles the shitty little dog whilst cooking.
Then we take a walk to find a shop to stock up on supplies. Were staying on the main road to the airport so its not the most scenic walk but its nice to be somewhere warm and sunny away from the British winter. Then back to the hotel and a little relax in the garden until its time to collect our hire car.
with Mex rent a car. Even that is setting us back $942 for 18 days. We check out and pick up our car - a Toyota Rush. Its definitely seen better days (years even) which is fine. Last time we hired a 4WD car was in California. It was pristine with only a few miles on the clock and we were terrified of taking it off road. No such problems here. We could probably drive it off a cliff and get away with it!
We set off for todays destination – La Fortuna. Its 73 miles, starting on the main Route 1 for 25 miles, then onto a smaller road. Its a bit pot holey but not as bad as Id anticipated. The most interesting part of the journey is the rickety rackety bridge over the Rio Peas Blancas. It looks like it was made from meccano and you have to queue up to cross, as it can only take one vehicle at a time.
Shortly after, we turn a corner and there is Volcn Arenal standing over a mile high with clouds just obscuring its peak - its quite a sight.
we reach the town at the foot of the volcano; La Fortuna and our hotel for the next few nights; Xilopalo.
The hotel is literally at the end of the road with rows of cabins set in gardens full of all sorts of wildlife. Before weve even finished checking in, we spot a huge iguana walking along a branch outside reception and a hummingbird. We check in amidst the various wildlife interludes and are shown to our room. It is very pleasant and has a volcano view.
We take a wander into town, stopping at a bar for a couple of beers, then at a bakery for some amazing cream cheese stuffed bread. We eat on the bench outside our room with its volcano backdrop, watching dozens of exotic birds in the trees that surround the hotel, plus a colony of enormous ants busy transporting leaves back and forth along a tree root.
of jetlag, an early start and a long drive followed by beer means we are settled in our room with no desire to move again by 5 pm. To be honest, the view is so cool that moving seems counterproductive.
We watch the sun set over the volcano which threatens to be stunning before clouds descend and obscure everything. Then take an early night before setting off for a more volcano encounter in the morning.
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