From the Ocean to Volcanoes!

As I previewed, we were destined to hear the howler monkeys this morning, and right at 4:00am, as if on cue, the barking started.  We used a sound machine, which drowned out some of the noise, but between their howling and coconuts being thrown all around the forest, it was an early morning for us all.

Early-Morning Walk Around the Resort

After breakfast, we loaded back onto the covered boat for our 90-minute return ride out of Tortuguero.  Weather was great, and this would be our first day with no rain whatsoever.  On the return, we again saw lots of wildlife, but didn’t' stop as often as before, as we were going upstream and we had our bus to meet.  Our drive back through the banana plantations was far different this time, as it was sunny, and we could actually see all the work in progress.  Plus, the road was dry, so it was a much smoother drive.  

American Alligator Lurking in the Shallows

Mt. Arenal Volcano -- Our Destination for Next Two Nights

We stopped for an early lunch at the same restaurant at which we'd stopped two days earlier, for our "second breakfast."  Alas, aside from the food and bathrooms, there were no other attractions, as the sloths were nowhere to be seen on this day.  That was surprising given how slow they move and how territorial they are.  Interestingly, we learned that sloths only defecate once a week, and they descend from the trees, do their business, bury it, and then climb back up.  All of that to help conceal their location from tree-capable predators, such as jaguars.

Bananas

We learned that the itinerary for our particular trip had changed as of 1 January this year.  In the past, it was a 10-night trip, rather than nine, and on this day, previous groups had returned to San Jose for the night.  Feedback was that this was essentially a wasted day, so they amended the route, and we instead traveled all the way to Arenal, and its famous volcano, on this day.  As part of the new itinerary, we stopped at a pineapple plantation for a tour.  We had seen acres and acres of pineapples during the day and learned it is one of Costa Rica’s primary exports.  The farm we visited, however, was very small and was run by a Nicaraguan entrepreneur who had previously worked for Dole and with whom Gate1 had worked before.  We had heard about the problems in neighboring Nicaragua, and how large numbers -- upwards of 500,000, or 10% of Costa Rica's population -- had crossed the border and were working/living in the country.  They form a large segment of the working population for the fruit and vegetable farms.  The man who owned the small pineapple farm was named Michael and he had a true entrepreneurial spirit.  He'd work on other farms for year, honed his craft and English skills, and then saved to open his own farm, which was primarily focused on tours.  He'd convinced a large landowner to sell him about 10 acres, which he then converted into his farm and tour company.  His personality was HUGE and our tour with him was a true highlight of the trip.  So many in the group spoke openly of his can-do spirit and we all hoped (and are fairly certain) that his new enterprise will do very well.

Pineapples

Our Guide and Owner of the Pineapple Farm

We were staying near the small town of La Fortuna, which sits at the base of the volcano, Mt. Arenal.  Our hotel comprised dozens of small individual little villas, and Anna believes it, too, was another place at which she stayed during her visit with Jane.  This was our longest day of riding on the bus, so we were all little weary.  Dinner was at the hotel, which was fine with us, as it was another early evening for us all.  Well, again, I was first in bed and asleep before K and Anna finished whatever they were doing!

Mt. Arenal

Our Little Villa

Painting in Our Room

Katherine Outside our Villa