Arenal Area
Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge: Cruise on the Rio Frio
|
One of my favorite parts of the trip was the cruise on the Rio Frio near the Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge. We were on a large, covered boat with only the members of our tour group, so there was ample room so that everyone could easily see the wildlife with a clear, unobstructed view. Some of the animals we saw were a troop of howler monkeys (including a baby), Two-toed sloth, three-toed sloths, Emerald Basilisk, Jesus Christ Lizard (it walks on water), Neotropical River Otter, Brazilian Long-nosed bats, Male and female Anhinga, Amazon Kingfisher, Spectacled Caiman, Great Egrets, and Northern Jacana.
|
El Tucano Resort and Thermal Spa
|
The grounds of El Tucano Resort and Thermal Spa are very beautiful. It is located in a nature preserve, surrounded by forest. My room was nothing fancy, but it was a nice size and very clean. For me, the highlight of the place was the natural hot springs pool. I spent about 2 hours there each night. It felt wonderful and was incredibly relaxing--a great way to unwind after the day's activities. There is a waterfall at one end of the pool that you can lay under. Just incredible! There are trails on the hotel premises that go through the forest. I saw many birds and heard the sounds of howler monkeys several times from my room. |
A Day in the Life of a Costa Rican Village |
|
Our first stop in the Sonafluca Village was a visit to the home of a Costa Rican family, where we learned to make empanadas and walked around their farm. Next, we visited an elementary school where children greeted us at the bus, took our hands and led us on a tour of the school. Dressed in traditional costumes, they put on a dance performance and then invited us to join them for two dances. Part of the money from every trip taken with O.A.T. goes to helping schools in the countries that are visited. It was nice to see the computer classroom and other features that were added to the school as a result of this funding. The last thing we did in the village was to have lunch with a family. The entire day's experiences were quite rewarding and memorable.
|
|
Boat ride on Lake Arenal
We took a boat ride on Lake Arenal, which was actually a detour to avoid going over very rough roads in the bus. The driver took the bus and met us at the point where the boat ride ended. Then we continued on the bus to Monteverde. The boat ride was very nice, but it was cloudy so we could not see the top of the Arenal Volcano. It was also raining, so the transparent, plastic sides of the boat were down to protect us from the rain. We were able to put them back up for some of the ride, when the rain let up a bit. We did not see very much wildlife on this boat ride.
|
|
|
|