La Fortuna, Costa Rica

The little town of La Fortuna is nestled in the mountains in the northern part of Costa Rica. It's main purpose is to cater to the tourist industry, which can be seen as you walk the 5 or 6 blocks that make up this town. Each corner hosts numerous tour companies, souvenir shops, and restaurants. That being said, there is a reason why so many people come here, and it looms noticeably in the distance.

Arenal Volcano's obvious cone shape stands at roughly 5,400 ft and is still active, although it hasn't erupted since 2010. It provides a wonderful backdrop to the town, and heats the many hot springs nearby. We spent a full week doing many of the fun tourist activities offered here.

One of the most popular things to do around here is ziplining. Ian has never done it, and it has been many years since I have. What better way to add adventure to your day than speedily gliding through the trees, hundreds of feet off the ground with nothing but a harness and a leather glove. It was thrilling and worth every penny. At the end, we were even able to rappel down a 200 ft cliff. Included in the tour was a relaxing soak in a nearby hot springs, which was just what we needed.

Next to Arenal is another, smaller and dormant volcano called Cerro Chato. At the top is a vibrant green lake filling up the caldera. You can hike to the ridge, get a fantastic view of Arenal, and swim in the lake. We spent a day to do just that. It is only a 10 minute cab ride to the trailhead, and you pay a small fee to get in. The trail is a short 3 miles round trip, but very steep with 1500 ft of elevation gain. That is twice as steep as the Oyster Dome trail, as a reference for those of you in Whatcom County. It was mucky clay with roots, vines and deep trenches. Most of it was clambering up on hands and feet or hauling yourself up with Tarzan-like vines. The trail from the ridge to the lake was even more exciting at a nearly vertical angle. It was more like climbing a ladder than hiking a trail. Even though this was difficult, it only took us about 4 hours round trip with time for pictures, snacks and enjoying the view. It was also one of the most fun hikes I've ever been on, as I felt like Laura Croft or Indiana Jones making my way through the jungle.

Not far from the Cerro Chato trailhead is the beautiful La Fortuna Waterfall where many people come to swim. Again there was a small fee to get in, but it was very pretty to see. I decided not to swim because the water was cold and it was a bit crowded, but it was a good end to a great hike.

We leave tomorrow for San Jose where we will fly out to the next leg of our journey. We will be spending 3 weeks in Arequipa, Peru to learn more Spanish and do another big trek.

Hotels:
Hotel La Fortuna: $60/night
Regina Hotel: $45/night

Restaurants:
Soda Viquez
La Parrilla de Maria Bonita
Chifa La Familia Feliz

Transportation:
Bus to San Jose: $18/ea
Bus to La Fortuna: $4/ea
On foot

Activities:
Zip Lining: $45/ea
Hike Cerro Chato: $12/ea
La Fortuna Waterfall: $12/ea

Corcovado National Park

The Corcovado National Park is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Naturally rich with the most biodiversity in the world. This is the reason why we came to Costa Rica. Our plan: trek into the depths of the jungle to explore the flora and fauna of this region, and it was an amazing experience.

Let me start with getting there, as it was a little confusing. We flew from Cancún, Mexico to San Jose, Costa Rica. We had booked a hotel already near the bus station to make it easier. It was a very long and expensive cab ride from the airport to the hotel, but we made it with only a little grumpiness at the cost. The cab driver told us the bus leaves at 6am. This was helpful because most of our research was inconclusive as far as departure time. Either 6am or 7am or 8am. I would like to note that the bus lines do not post information on the internet, so most of what we read were traveler reviews.

The next morning we arrived, bright and early, to an empty bus station in the "red light" district. It was quite seedy and a little disconcerting. To our dismay, we discovered that the bus doesn't leave until 9am. Thankfully, there was an individual who was nice enough to inform us of an alternative route to Puerto Jiménez via a bus to Golfito. He offered to take us to the other bus station, for a price of course. The Tracopa station was far more occupied and we were able to hop on the bus within a short time. Seven hours later we made it to our destination. We were a bit confused as to which town was Golfito, as we arrived more or less on a random street corner and not a bus station. From there it was a half hour by water taxi to Puerto Jiménez. The town of Puerto Jiménez is quaint with dirt roads that only stretch for about 5 blocks. After wandering the tiny town for a while, we found our hostel.

Our host is the friendliest person I have ever met. He went above and beyond what any other host would do. For example: he waited for us at the bus station, drove us to dinner, set up the trek although it was short notice, took us to feed crocodiles, and even took us to the bus station. It is a small, yet cozy hostel where we met a few other travelers like ourselves. We had a lovely stay at the Lunas Hostel.

The trek into the rainforest was definitely the highlight of this part of our journey. It is 40 km aka 25 miles round trip. You hike along the beach to Sirena Station where you stay the night, and return the same way in the morning. It was a grueling hike not because of distance or difficulty, but because of the heat. It is roughly 90° with high humidity and very little breeze the entire way. Between Ian and I, we went through 6 litres of water each day. Needless to say, we were sweltering, and on the brink of melting. That said, we saw so many animals we never expected to see in the wild, including: tapir, coati, macaws, monkeys, peccaries, anteaters, and more. There were lines of ants carrying pieces of leaves across the forest floor, and waves of hermit crabs scuttling across the beach. It was incredible! Our guide was very nice and informative about all of the creatures we saw. He even went meandering into the bush to see if he could spot a puma for us.

Most of the animals were seen on the first day, not to say that the second day was uneventful. Waking up at 4am in our crowded shelter at Sirena Station, we started our return hike in the dark. Within 20 minutes, you must cross a river. We did it barefoot because it was knee deep. Not long after, while putting our shoes back on, we spotted a crocodile in the river exactly where we crossed. It was crazy how close it was and a bit exciting. Another interesting part, was a parade of 15 or so coati walking through the trees, adorable babies and all.

After 6 hours of hiking in the heat, our guide took us to a wonderful cold pool of water where we were able to cool off before the last bit of our journey. It was the most amazing thing ever, or at least felt that way at the time. After 8 hours of hiking, just as good, was the celebratory cold Coca-Cola while we waited for transportation back to town. The whole thing was exhausting, but entirely worth it.

Our next stop is a few days in La Fortuna near Arenal Volcano. From there, Arequipa in Peru.

San Jose, Costa Rica
Hotels:
Hotel Le Bergerac: $55/night
Aranjuez Hotel: $48/night

Restaurants:

Transportation:
Plane to San Jose
On foot

Activities:


Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica
Hotels:
Lunas Hostel: $25/night

Restaurants:

Transportation:
Bus to Golfito: 14,000 colones
Water Taxi to Puerto Jimenez: 6,000 colones

Activities:
Corcovado National Park trek: $182/ea

To The Yucatan

We spent a wonderful four weeks in the mountains, but we're ready for sunny beaches again. This time with a little more Spanish to work with. We departed Guanajuato with a flourish to head to the Yucatan coast. Our last day in Guanajuato, we hiked up to Pipila one final time for a sunset view. Afterward, the city was in full festival mode again, as it prepared for Easter weekend. We hung around into the late evening, walking around the various packed streets, smelling delicious street food, and listening to the occasional street musicians. The highlight of the festival was the procession through the narrow alleyways of the city. Children dressed as angels, men in multicolored hoods with ropes around their shoulders, men in pointy hats resembling a not so favorable group in the USA, and ominous drums. Many were carrying various heavy efigies and all were barefoot. The only sounds were the drums, feet marching and the occasional prayer. It was an incredible sight.

The next day we spent an evening in Guadalajara then hopped a flight to the vastly different city of Cancun. We were only there for two days, thankfully, as it left us with a foul taste and poor attitudes. However, as we headed south to Tulum, we found ourselves in a place that was much more our speed. In what appears to be a backpackers mecca, there is no shortage of things to do without breaking the bank: beaches, ruins and fresh water swimming.

Our first day here we walked the few miles to the beach and Tulum Ruins. Like Cancun, the water is bright blue and the sand a bright white. However, unlike Cancun they are not overly crowded and covered with hotels. Simply beautiful. The ruins were fun as well, and they are right next to the beach.

Today we ventured a little farther from town to the Cobá ruins. This is a large park with various pyramids nearly overtaken by jungle. We were able to climb the tallest of them. It was precarious to say the least, but well worth it. The view from the top is phenomenal.

After several hours exploring the Cobá park, we needed to cool down with a refreshing dip in one of the many cenotes nearby. In what appears to be nothing more than a hole in the ground, the Tankach-Ha Cenote was fairly deep and pretty cool inside. It had a spiral staircase leading into the ground with two diving spots off its side. The water was wonderful after a day in 85 degree, high humidity weather. There were even little fish swimming about.

We have five more days here, some of which will be spent on the beach. I'm enjoying it here, but also excited to be off to Costa Rica next.

Cancun, Mexico
Hotels:
Flamingo Cancun Resort: $158/night
Nirvana Lofts Hotel: $45/night

Restaurants:

Transportation:
Plane to Cancun
On foot

Activities:


Tulum, Mexico
Hotels:
Hotel La Luna Gitana: 670 pesos/night

Restaurants:
Restaurant Don Cafeto

Transportation:
Bus to Tulum: 130/ea
On foot
Possible to rent bicycles
Bus back to Cancun: 130/ea

Activities:
Playa Paraiso: free
Snorkle at playa: 140 pesos/ea
Ruinas Mayas de Tulum: 65 pesos/ea
Cenote Tamcach-Ha: 50 pesos/ea
Coba Ruins: 65 pesos/ea