Thursday - Lake Arenal

We left Monteverde at about 8:00 and drove down and down and down until we reached closer to sea level, bouncing along the single lane dirt road seemingly forever. After a quick rest stop, which included coffee and an awesome pastry, we went back up the mountain and crossed over the ridge representing the Continental Divide. Lots of wind turbines along the ridge. Our guide told about Costa Rica's green energy policies. Most of their energy derives from hydropower, wind and thermal. Know why solar doesn't work in this climate? Near the equator solar panels would have to be horizontal since the sun is always directly overhead. In a tropical climate rain doesn't drain off and moss forms on the panels, making them ineffective!

We drove around Lake Arenal to the east side where we boarded a silly boat for about an hour's ride down the lake. Not sure what the point was. It was VERY windy and chilly and rained hard for a bit. In season, which is starting soon, this large lake is a popular place for wind surfing, etc. Interestingly, there is absolutely NO commercial development along its shores. Not sure why.....

We stopped for lunch and a bit of exploring in the town of La Fortuna. Nice lunch at "Lava Rock". Fortuna is clearly a tourist town. We checked out the Catholic Church, a grocery store, and bought Linda a poncho, since we've been assured it will rain some more.

Our hotel for the next two nights is the Mountain Paradise Hotel here in Fortuna. Another odd place! This is a bunch of one/two room "cottages" scattered around the jungle. Again, lots of hills to walk but better than the last two places! Our guide told us we'd all have views of the volcano from our rooms....ha, ha! what we see out or patio doors is jungle. We're supposed to have a view of Arenal Volcano (!).

Dinner tonight was at a fancy place down the hill from the hotel. Before dinner our tour guide did a cooking demonstration where he prepared a traditional Costa Rican dish.

Tomorrow a river cruise looking for wildlife?