One of the 1,000 places to see before you die

A few years ago, Caroline offered to her Dad a book about the top 1,000 places to see before you die. As we prepared this trip together, Dominique and Margot wanted to find something special for Chad's birthday (yes, we were going to celebrate his birthday together) and came across a special hotel in Costa Rica that was nested in the jungle close to the Volcan Arenal. Chad being the official driver for the trip, we told him that morning that we were going inland in the mountains towards the volcano and some natural hot springs. That was enough information for him, with Dominique being the copilot so off we went, still able to keep the surprise we had for him.

Sleeping in a tamed jungle environment

A few miles from the hotel, we finally told Chad about the surprise we had for him. He was really excited about it and even the last two kilometers on a nasty unpaved road were not a pain for him to drive:) We were going to stay for a couple of nights in a little bungalow high in the jungle. The owner had inherited this dairy farm a while back and turned into an eco-friendly hotel, with little bungalows surrounded by beautiful tropical gardens. All the dairy products and bread were still made on the premises and served in the restaurant. As we peaked through the jungle down the river, we saw the little wooden bridge that would lead us to our room. The path was all plants, trees and we could hear the birds and other animals around us. Our bungalow was a cute little wooden house, with a porch where we could hang out with a hammock. The bathroom was the most interesting item: the ceiling was all glass above the huge shower, there were tropical plants and almost everything was made of wood. We were going to have a great relaxing time here.
After walking around a little, enjoying the beautifully landscaped tropical gardens, we found the perfect spot to spend the remaining of the day: the swimming pool. With the moist heat, it was going to be so nice to dip ourselves in the blue waters, soothed by the sound of the little waterfall and admiring the tropical plants around the pool. Chad and Caroline even took a nap in the long chairs after some intense swimming. We all went back to our bungalow and played cards for a while before heading for dinner. The outdoor restaurant was very enjoyable and as it started to rain, we were refreshed by the sound of the water on the tin roof.

The next morning, we went back there for our breakfast and we were not the only ones enjoying the food: the owner had put out some fruits for the local birds to enjoy. We saw so many different kinds coming to feed right across from where we sat, including our little favorite humming bird and the colorful Toucan-like small bird, whose name Chad can't remember. After breakfast, we went for a jungle walk on the property. It felt like we were miles away from any living soul, our guide showing us small frogs, lizards, crabs and working ants carrying leaves ten times bigger than they were. We crossed a couple of streams and saw waterfalls: we had bridges for most of the crossings but the last one was more sporty. We had no bridge and had to hop from stone to stone, with the help of the guide. He removed his shoes and helped us through: as you see, Margot did pretty well and she just ended up with one shoe a little wet. Dominique adopted a different technique and removed shoes and socks all together. A little more work but at the end, a viable technique too.

An active volcano hidden in the clouds

After the walk, we drove to the nearby Volcan Arenal, which is active as well. By the time we left, the sun was gone and more clouds were coming in. We came closer to the volcano and our fear was confirmed: it was mostly hidden by the clouds. We still decided to take the hike around the volcano, after we had lunch at the viewpoint from which we could not see much. As we hiked through the sugar cane fields, jungle and finally lava fields from the 1992 eruption, the clouds lifted a little, just to reveal that the volcano was indeed generating fumes and ashes from its side. The visit was a little disappointing as we did not see as much we hoped; we were also told that if you were lucky, you can see the activity in the night, with the lava flowing down. We were not game for waiting that night and just headed back to our nice jungle hotel, chilling out on the porch of our bungalow.

We were in for a good surprise for dinner: we ordered steaks and they came medium rare as we requested. As we cut through the meat, we could hardly believe how tented and tasty it was! Without a doubt the best steak since we left for this trip. When we asked where the meat came from, we were told that it was from the local farmers, who grow a local bread of cows with long ears and a hunchback. As we left the hotel the next day and drove through the mountains, we were able to take a few pictures of the local cows, they really look different! After the mountains, we had some beach time on the menu. We drove through the mountains and around the big Lago de Arenal. The scenery was amazing and so diverse until we made it to the beach that afternoon. We stopped multiple times to take pictures, including of the Volcan de Arenal, which was a little more visible than the day before. Our best stop was when we saw a herd of coatis crossing the road. A lot of car stopped as well and started feeding the little animals. They would do anything to get the food, and were even making high pitched growls when fighting for the food. It was a very entertaining show to watch but you had to be careful of one coming behind your back to get some food from you. Very fast animals when it comes to eating!