La Fortuna

A beautiful drive through an intense rainstorm showed us just how much water rainy season brings. The roads were good, so no problems driving to our last stop in Central America.
We’re so grateful that we’ve been able to meet up with good friends during our travels. Here, we were able to spend time with one of our favorite people, our cousin Katie, and her good friend Katie (not confusing at all!)
The weather was moody (and stinking hot and sticky) during our visit, but generally didn’t interrupt any of our plans. Katie and Christy enjoyed horseback riding through the beautiful area near Arenal Volcano and we all enjoyed soaking in some nice hot springs afterwards.
The place we stayed had a lush garden out the back near a river and was teeming with poison dart frogs (and, a little unnervingly, snakes according to the hotel owner -though luckily we didn’t see any). Sadly, it seems frog populations have dramatically declined since we first visited ~15 years ago due to a fungus. It was nice to see a thriving population of a few species at least in this little corner of the country. We also were lucky to see 3 sloths (both the 3 and 2-toed types) and toucans during our visit.
We enjoyed this trip to Costa Rica and believe it’s the prettiest country in terms of nature in Central America, mostly because they’ve done such a good job with conservation since the early 70’s. It’s also really well developed with good roads, reliable electricity and drinkable water. While not a bargain, it’s a nice country and our favorite area is on the Osa Penninsula which we visited on our first trip.Read more