Volcanoes, Waterfalls, and Butterflies

Sorry pictures are out of order!

The final leg of our trip: La Fortuna. It actually was a pretty last minute whim to travel here. Since Stella and I left Tuesday it put us one day ahead of our original itinerary and Monteverde seemed to small to stay in for more than two days. We started asking around about possible other trips and were torn between La Fortuna and Rincon de Vieja. The latter was closer to the border and would be easier for me on Sunday for heading back to Nicaragua, but it just didn't seem exciting enough. La Fortuna has an active volcano and getting there seemed like a feat. We had to take a bus for 1.5hrs out to the middle of no where, take a boat across the largest man-made lake in Central America, and then a final bus to town.

As soon as we got into town we headed straight for the hostel to drop off all of our gear. Now it was quite a change from our last hostel that had a whole trendy environment. This hostel was recommended by them but was located in a normal neighborhood and looked just like a house. In fact we had to second guess the bus driver to make sure he wasn't tricking us. It ended up being really nice and the owner was a middle aged lady who was very laid back and had parties with her friends every night. With her we planned an afternoon tour that would take us to the mountain, see lava, a hike, and a night visit to the hot springs. It all seemed perfect but about an hour before the tour was supposed to begin it was pouring. Seriously, rain, I haven't seen rain in months and here it is down pouring before my tour. Stella and I were ready to cancel, but when the bus pulled up we thought what the hell and set out.

Ok, since the pictures are a pain to load and are out of order, I am going to go with the picture order, they are organized from latest to oldest. You are smart, you can figure it out.

At the bottom of the waterfall there were two pools. One where the waterfall actually fell and another that was fed by all the excess water. You could swim in the overflow pool and it was crystal clear and cold. It was so refreshing and if you look closely you can see some pretty good size fish, I think they are trout, but I am no expert. Also if you swam up a little you could fight the current of the water coming from the waterfall. It was really cool I was swimming with all my might and got no where. When you get tired you just let the current whisk you back down the the little pool.

To end our day we headed further down the mountain to visit a 20m waterfall. You could hear it well before you could see it and it was still raining. By this point we were both drenched and it didn't matter. It was beautiful and you wouldn't believe the force of the water.
On our way back down the mountain we made a friend, a butterfly to be exact. At first it was really cool, the butterfly flew right to us. I guess this is why the term social butterfly was coined, but after about 30 minutes it was starting to get old. I mean these things don't have that long to live and it should be out doing butterfly things. As we started walking again it followed us and we actually ran away from it. I like to think it is because we were saving it to continue a normal life not because we were scared.
Also at the top we made some lunch, peanut butter with bananas. This bread had made it with us since Monteverde and was squished into some pretty weird shapes from being thrown in the bag. It was a nice treat and looks so delicious even now.
The climb was definitely worth it, the lagoon was pretty and covered in clouds. We got lucky and it cleared while we were up there and we could see all the way across, about 100m. Last time Stella said she couldn't see anything so I felt lucky that it worked in our favor. Also, it started to rain and at this point I was covered in sweat, so bring it on.
The following day we trekked out to the neighboring volcano that has been sleeping for the last 3500yrs. It is known as the less boisterous older brother and has a small lagoon in the crater. Stella had traveled here about a month ago and did the hike with her friend. I figured if she did it once, how hard could it be. Well let me tell you, it was a steep climb and I think my legs are still shaking from it. I forgot she is an ultra tough boxer and I was sucking wind at the end of the climb.
Well as the pictures describe there was another suspension bridge and I couldn't turn down the opportunity to bounce and shake again. Stella was not pleased.

The first night we signed up for a tour of the volcano and a visit to the hot springs. I thought it was just going to be one of those tours where you sat in a bus and they whisked you away to each destination. I guess it was just that, but the destination to see the volcano also entailed an hour hike through the woods. Remember, it just rained and the trail was muddy and slippery. It was actually pretty exciting trudging through the forest and we were rewarded at the end with a close view of the mountain. Of course we couldn't see the top two thirds because of the clouds, but whatever. We staked out our spot for about two hours (way too long) but you could hear the eruptions and we even saw small molten rocks roll down the mountain. It was pretty cool to see it and the guide told us the history of La Fortuna. I guess the volcano erupted in the 60's or so and took out one whole side of the mountain, luckily it wasn't the side the town was on and that is why it is called La Fortuna.
Here is a shot of Volcan Arenal from the boat. You can't even see the top because it is covered in clouds, yet it is an active volcano. That means that there is lava at the top and I guess if the clouds weren't there you would see some bright red coming out the top.