transient travels

After spending our first night at Adventure Inn in San Jose, which was lovely, Mike and I woke up early to catch our bus to Arenal. Here, we stayed at Hotel Paraiso, which was kind of a destination all its own.

Our room was this tiny little cabin with a porch and a set of two rocking chairs that overlooked the Arenal Volcano.

This shot is one of the few I grabbed where you can almost see the top. The volcano is so tall that it gets in the way of passing clouds and throughout the day it seems to get entangled by them as they break up and wrap around it.

On our second day in Arenal we ventured out of our little hideaway for a volcano hike with Desafío Adventure Company, which was followed by dinner and a visit to a hot springs resort.

During the tour we walked around the volcano into a forest that was filled with wildlife and plants that we had never seen. From rubber trees to real life vines shooting down from the trees, at every corner there was life hidden behind the branches. And despite the fact that, to some of the more smaller creatures, we seemed to be an army of people stomping through the forest, it was somehow made evident that we were the visitors and it was not our territory.

I believe this little guy (or gal) is a caligo butterfly. As we passed by, it made sure to show off its beautiful wings in an act of defense, as that big dot on its wing looks like an intimidating eye.

At the end of our hike we made our way to another location in hopes that we would see some heat crumbling down the side of the active volcano. As we stood on the side of the road staring up at the volcano, like kids waiting for fire works during the fourth of July, our tour guide passed around complementary cups of Costa Rican rum. He joked that the more shots you drink the more fire you’ll see. Unfortunately, either I didn’t drink enough or we never saw evidence of an eruption, but it was great to relax and share a drink with the group.

The next day Mike and I went on a canopy tour, which included strapping ourselves into some rope and chains, throwing on a plastic helmet and then soaring through the air by a wire hung from tree to tree, just beyond this point…

Above those rolling hills, trees and river there are 12 cables zig zagging between platforms that resemble tree houses, minus the safety of a roof and four walls.

Of all the things I wanted to do while in Costa Rica, zip lining through the jungle was the one thing I was sure I wanted to do. However, the second that helmet was put on my head I began to have horrible visions of Mike sailing ahead of me, only to plummet to his death as I stood helpless on a shoddy piece of wood. I can get pretty dramatic. The good thing was, I was able to keep that drama in my head for the most part. As we climbed up to the first plank, I did my best to fake confidence as I gripped the wire above me and followed our guide’s direction – before letting go he told me I was very serious even though I could have sworn I put on a bunch of showy smiles to hide the fear. Suddenly, as I soared through the air trying to balance looking around and not getting twisted in the ropes, all my fear slipped away.

For me, zip lining was the most I have stepped out of my comfort zone in a long time. I went from absolute certainty in wanting to do it, to envisioning the death of my fiance, to complete exhilaration all in a matter of moments.  One thing I took away from the experience was the knowledge that when I am faced with something that scares me in the future, I will be equipped with the memory of seeing the tops of trees beneath my feet as I flew through the air.

Believe it or not, the rest of our stay in Arenal did include time for relaxation as well. Another one of my favorite parts was enjoying the many hot springs that dotted the trails throughout the hotel property.

After three and a half exciting and peaceful days in Arenal, we packed up and moved on to Manuel Antonio, which is another post for another day…