Arenal

We managed to pack and be off from our accommodation around 8am. The road out of St Helena was again all dirt track but fortunately we didn’t get stuck behind any slow moving vehicles. We eventually stopped for an enjoyable brunch at the German Bakery in Neuvo Arenal.

Reaching our accommodation in El Castillo we a short drive on from brunch. We had chosen to stay at Essence Arenal which is an incredibly well located (for mountain viewing) hostel. Unfortunately we could not see the volcano due to the clouds and mist covering it. We were welcomed by Kelly who runs the place who gave us some advice on where to go nearby while our rooms were being prepared.

We headed off to the nearby Arenal Observatory Lodge where we had a short hike to see a waterfall. The weather was not being cooperative as the steady drizzle meant we all got a little damp and certainly no chances of seeing the volcano which we’d come to Arenal to see.

By popular vote we decided to skip the hot springs and head back to the hostel to rest the afternoon. Helen and I, then later Jess and Ben, took a stroll on the hostels properties, walking trail. This entailed a steep descent into the secondary rainforest surrounding a couple of streams. The descent implied a muddy ascent on the other side which for us was rewarded by spotting some large birds exhibiting some interesting mating behaviour.

For dinner we drove back down the hill and along the lake to Jardin Escondido (aka Pizza John’s). We were warned that if we ate there we may not return until 11pm. The place was quite small and friendly tucked away in the ‘jungle’ 40m from the road. John’s hospitality was simply awesome plying us with free rum shots and bags of his own brand Zombie Coffee as well as serving excellent pizza and home made ice cream. The weather was showing no signs of allowing us a sight of the volcano. While we were disappointed by this, our time at Pizza John’s more than made up for this. For our last evening together things couldn’t have been much better.

This morning we’re all gradually waking up. We’ve had glimpses of the volcano but not the top. We’ll have breakfast soon then head off for San Jose and the international airport to see Ben and Jess off. We’ll meet up again with Helen’s friend Jason before heading back to Puntarenas this evening, picking up provisions along the way.