Arenal Observatory Lodge & Spa Trails

Anthony and I were up early in hopes of clearer skies to hike in before the worst rain at 1pm. No such luck. It was socked in and raining hard on the drive to the Observatory and hiking trails. We hiked almost 10km of trails. We saw some birds, one 🐸 frog, a monkey waaay up high in a tree and a pack of Kwata Mundi or Kwati's for short. They are pretty friendly and walked right up to our car in hopes of us giving them some food.
The most beautiful parts were the flowering plants and my favorite, the "Rainbow Eucaluptus" tree.
We climbed what is called "The Nest" which is 146 steps up to a platform overlooking the tree canopies. We couldn't see the volcano with the cloud cover today. We had an interesting time on the River Trail which was very muddy and slippery. We got to a point where we had to turn back because the steep trail looked like an accident waiting to happen!!
We saw a beautiful waterfall, a few hanging bridges and a museum with the timelines and history of the Arenal and Cerro Chado Volcanoes, and the wildlife, birds, frogs, snakes and plant throughout the park. We were absolutely drenched walking through the museum!! We drove back to our airbnb and had a hot shower then headed back to Chocolate Fusion for another hot chocolate😋😋. We ate at a different Soda this evening and then it was back to pack for our last leg of the trip to Monteverde.
Though we did not have sunshine here to see the volcano, it did not stop us from exploring the beautiful sites. What's a little rain in the midst of a rainforest and cloud forest!!😂 All the wildlife, majority of birds and frogs were under cover today in this rain.Okumaya devam et