Back to Santa Elena and La Fortuna

First off, my birthday celebration was quite fun. I ended up going out with lots of students and teachers from the school and around 2ish, Joshua and Maude were the only people left with me. We found this little food stand and they ordered me a triple-cheeseburger, which of course I gobbled down, with fries. I ended up passing out around 3ish, I think. All in all, I can´t say it was as fun as the 5-day celebration I had in Peru last year, but it was still a hell of a good time.

I left school a couple days early to start my real adventures, and I decided to go back to my favorite hostel so far: Pensión Santa Elena. As soon as I got there I was welcomed back by the guys who worked there who remembered me from our last night of partying (the same night of the big fight). That was pretty cool. I checked into a dorm and it was pretty full. I struck up a conversation with the people bunking next to me. One girl from France, a Turkish girl named Nour, and a Canadian named Ruth. I decided to take it easy that night and just get up the next day and do nothing.

The next day I started out doing pretty much nothing, then after overhearing one of the workers mention waterfalls in the area, which I had read about but didn´t have time to visit, I figured I would go check them out. I ran into Nour and she didn´t have anything to do, so she tagged along. We took a public bus that was heading to the Monteverde Reserve and got off early to start our walk. The first part was downhill on a semi-paved road, but because it was a pretty clear day, the views were just breathtaking. We could see all the way to the Nicoya Gulf, very very impressive. So green it´s amazing. We turned onto a trail that kept going and going and going, and eventually we were crawling over rocks and across wooden planks used as bridges going over deep rivers. It was a pretty cool little trail, it just went on forever. Eventually, we got to the infamous San Luis Waterfalls. It was pretty big, I´d say close to 20 or 25 meters. Nour and I sat there eating and talking for a while, just enjoying, when all of a sudden, lightning lit up the sky and thunder screamed over all the noise, leaving us in silence. We figured we should get out of there before it started to pour, but then all of a sudden a group of people showed up and said they were going swimming. The thought had crossed my mind but I didn´t have a towel and the water was freezing, but when Nour said she had one, I had to jump in. The water was freezing, probably some of the coldest water I´ve ever been in, but I got used to it after a while. It was well worth it after looking at the pictures. So after I dried off, it wasn`t raining that badly but it was thundering, so Nour and I started to head back on the trail, when the rain gradually came down harder and harder. Within a couple of minutes, I was completely soaked. It was as if I had gone swimming with the shirt I was wearing. Seriously, it was thunderstorming like a damn monsoon. We quickly made our way back to a lodge (it took us surprisingly only a short amount of time to go back on that seemingly never-ending trail). After ringing out our clothes and waiting for the rain to stop, Nour and I called a cab and took it back to Santa Elena, ready for a steaming hot shower and some dry clothes. After dinner, we gathered up the people at the hostel, and went to the one and only Bar Amigo´s. It was a good time, nothing too crazy.

I got up early the next day because I planned on going to La Fortuna, a popular spot to see Costa Rica´s most famous Volcano, Volcán Arenal. The fastest way to get there is to take a jeep to Lake Arenal, a boat across the lake, and then another jeep to the town of La Fortuna. However I was told that it´s possible for you to walk to the lake, saving money and letting you see some incredible views, then get on the boat across the lake and finally taking the last jeep. So I was planning on doing that, but then it started drizzling and grey clouds covered the sky. I figured it would be nice in the morning like it normally is. But not today. I really didn´t feel like getting caught in a rainstorm again, so I decided to just wait until the next jeep-boat-jeep transfer to La Fortuna, which left at 2 pm. Ruth, the Canadian in the same dorm as me, was scheduled to take it also, so we traveled across the lake and into La Fortuna together. The town is located about 20 kilometers away from the base of the volcano, so you can see the whole thing most of the time. The tip though is covered by clouds a lot, so when people take tours to go see the volcano, it´s hard to see lava and everything with clouds in the way. We got to our destination around 5, so after dinner, we figured we would check out the hot springs. Back in Santa Elena, I met these guys from Hawaii traveling around who had come from La Fortuna and they said that right next to one of the resorts, called Tabacón Springs (which was recommended to me by my cousins and other relatives who had been there), was a path that led you underneath a bridge that had natural hot water running through with little natural pools that you could sit in. I was also told by other travelers earlier that Tabacón was sweet as hell, but super super expensive, and that it was possible to just sneak into it if you acted like you belonged there (because people who stay at the same-named hotel get in for free). So Ruth and I took a cab there and just walked in, testing out our sneaking-in abilities. We were called back walking down the first stairs, saying we had to pay. I checked out the prices, and it was $40 just to get in, and more if you wanted to enjoy the buffet. Screw that! So we walked out, and literally 100 meters away down a path under a bridge ran a river with water that was probably between 65 and 75 degrees. It was absolutely incredible. Steam was rising up from it due to the heat. And it was all natural, none of that man-made crap. We brought a bottle of cheap liquor with us to fully enjoy the experience. It was beautiful, full moon giving us enough light to explore around, and just chillaxing in natural hot springs. We told our cab driver to come back and pick us up at 10, but when we got to the place where he dropped us off, he wasn´t there. So we just figured we´d stick our thumbs out and try and hitch-hike our way back until the cab showed up. About 2 minutes later, a van pulled over and let us in. It was an Argentinian couple with their son (who works in Puerto Viejo, a town on the Caribbean coast), and so I talked to them about what we were doing and asked them questions about what they were doing. They complemented me on my good Spanish!! Coincidentally, they dropped us off right at our hostel because they happened to be staying at a hostel across the street. We then randomly met these Slovakian guys and went to a discotheque with them, which ended up not being that fun. So we called it quits early and just went to bed.

I woke up at 8, because I had a lot planned to do, and told Ruth I´d meet up with her later. I first wanted to hike up Cerro Chato, which was a crater that used to have volcanic activity but then turned into a lake. First I had to get to the property though. That was about a 6 to 8 kilometer hike from my hostel, which consisted of walking on a road that ran through fields and eventually going uphill, where I could see pretty incredible views of La Fortuna. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy, but it was still beautiful. I got to the lodge where you need to pay to go to nearby waterfalls as well as to hike up Largo Cerro Chato. Obviously I didn´t want to pay to hike so I tried to get on the trail without paying. I was stopped by a guy who asked if I had a ticket. I asked if I needed one and he said of course. Then he asked if I was a citizen. I quickly said yes, and he said ok, only $5 then. I asked if there was a student discount and he said well normally it´s 10 but since you´re Tico...I figured I´d better not let this chance get by, so I ran in, bought the 50%-off ticket, and started my climb. At first it was just a steep climb up some farms. These views of La Fortuna were even more gorgeous. Just fields and fields of green on either side of the town. About 2 kilometers later, the hike turned into a climb through the jungle. The trail looked like someone had just taken a machete and gone through the jungle making their own trail. I was literally walking up a mountain covered in jungle-forest. It was pretty cool, but it was a very very steep climb. After a little over a kilometer and a half, I reached the top and then it was a quick 100 meter descent to the lake. It was pretty cool being in the crater, because I also could see part of Arenal. White cloud-smoke was at its tip, and I couldn´t figure out if that was coming out of the volcano or if that was just clouds coming off. Either way, it was sweet. I relaxed on a branch sticking out into the middle of the lake, keeping my balance so I didn´t fall into the freezing cold water. After about an hour, I decided to head back. The climb down was much easier and more fun. I saw a little snake slither its way off the trail. The views coming down were also better because the clouds disappeared. The hike down took a little over an hour. I was dead beat and made my way over to the waterfalls that were right next door. The lodge charges a $7 entry fee to see the falls, but of course I shimmied my way out of that by hanging out in the gift shop next to the gate and just walking right in when no one was looking. The gate was attached to a hanging bridge, so I walked quietly to make sure no one heard me and made it across with no problems. There was then about a 600 meter steep descent to the grand Cataratas de La Fortuna. It was at least 30 meters, if not more, and had a powering thunder-noise coming from the water hitting the pool of water. It was extremely powerful and impressive to stare at. After relaxing my dog-tired feet for a bit, everyone else there left so I had the waterfall all to myself. I jumped in and started to make my way around to the side to get behind it when all of a sudden a group of 15 teenagers arrived to the falls and started screaming and shouting. I got out, waited for them to jump in and leave, and then jumped back in and made it all the way around the falls. It looked even more powerful and impressive from behind it. Ruth showed up soon after and after more pictures, we started our walk back to our hostel. I was so exhausted and tired that the first car that passed I stuck my hand out and they made room for us two to get back to La Fortuna.

And that leaves us here. Tonight, I am going to try and get to some lookout spots to see the volcano and some lava, then hit up the natural springs again. Tomorrow, I´m not sure what to do. I was thinking of going to Caño Negro, where you can take tours around and see some cool wildlife. But I think it´s a bit too expensive, and I´ll save money for other stuff. Instead I may just hike around the volcano in the park. Haven´t decided yet. Either way, after I am going to go to Nicaragua, do stuff there, then cross the country doing stuff and ending my trip on the Caribbean side and dropping into Panamá. Should be a good time. More to come later.