Lava, lava, lava

Arenal
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We made it to La Fortuna, not so many bumpy, dusty roads but a really long day with a long stopover at Tillaran. As soon as we arrived at 5pm we were whisked off by Mr. Lava Lava, our hostel owner and lava expert! We had a tour with him for just 10 dollars and saw plenty of lava on the Western side of Arenal, very impressive, almost like fire works at one point. The next day we managed to get the bus back to El Silencio, a nature reserve just at the foot of the volcano. This area was really hot, much hotter than Monteverde as it was lower so there were different birds and we caught glimpses of toucans, 2 sorts, some turkey vultures, very noisy and a capuchin monkey in the distance. A motmot followed us for a while and there were kites circling us as well as a laughing falcon and all the types of humming birds possible. This was a really different experience from the Monteverde rain forest but equally enjoyable. At the halfway stage we had a good view of Arenal, the volcano and walked back a different way.