Cool waterfalls and hot springs

Just as our journey in to Tortuguero had been long, so the journey out would be just as fiddly. First we had to get mum back in a boat, and this one was a lot narrower! But she was now becoming a veteran of riverboat journies and didn´t even flinch when we met (and nearly crashed into) a speed boat coming the other way. The rest of us did though! The journey back down stream took nearly 2 hours but was another feast for the eyes, with loads more new birds we hadn´t seen before plus a couple of unnerving close ups with 3 and 4 metre crocs!

The journey to La Fortuna meant another 4 hours in a mini van and we were all pretty weary by the time we got to our ecolodge. But the location quickly dispelled the tiredness. We were based right at the foot of Volcan Arenal, a volcano that had errupted in the 60s with devastating effect, covering 12km of local land and villages at a rate of 1km every 10 seconds. Understandably we were staying in the "no risk zone" as the volcano was still very much active and spewed out steam and lava each day. Our lodge was lovely too and we each had little "cabinas" with hammocks outside and lots of local friendly hummingbirds! Because of the long travel day, we relaxed at the lodge with some local food and beer and planned the next few days.

The following morning, we headed off on the 4km walk to La Fortuna waterfall. It was a hot walk up a dusty track but with incredible views of the smoking volcano on our right. When we got to the waterfall we first had to sign a very thorough disclaimer which didn´t put mum´s nerves at ease! The route down was steep and windy but the view at the bottom was breathtaking; a tremendous power of water pummeling into the plunge pool below. Dad, Guy and I braved the icy temperatures and went for a quick dip although it was hard work and we got out pretty quickly! Back at the top, we refreshed with a coke and a quick trip round the gift shop, before walking back. Along the way we stumbled across this beautiful wood sculpture workshop and all succombed to a few purchases!

That afternoon we had booked to go on a hike around the volcano national park. We gathered with our group around a sign saying "Danger, high risk, volcano zone" so of course had to get a snap of mum standing by it! She was quickly racking up lots of exciting new "firsts" and was getting bolder with each adventure we threw at her! The hike took us on a 2km walk around the natonal park zone with some great views of toucans and monkeys. We also learnt more about the rainforest, and primary and secondary epithytes (brings back memories of geography with Mrs Rosen!). Our guide, Marco, was very energetic and typified the Costa Rican motto of "pura vida". From the hike we headed off to get a good view of the volcano, to try and spot the lava that it belches out each day. Unfortunately, the sky was too light still and we were bundled back in the mini van before it got dark enough to see anything. Still, we were warmed (literally!) by our final stop for the night which were the luxurious hot springs that were heated by the thermal activity under the ground. Dad and Guy tested their manliness by spending 30 minutes in the hottest pool while mum and I opted for a more lady-like dip under the mini waterfall! Guy and I went for the ultimate blast in the cold plunge pool which gave Guy a head rush! We finshed off the night with some tortillas, black bean sauce and a beer on our porches.

Guy and I had some travel planning to do for Monteverde and Peru, so the next day we split off. We stayed in La Fortuna researching on the internet while mum and dad took a day tour to Caño Negro - a wetland reserve 100km north which boasted some of the most spectacular water birds. When they returned at 4pm they had a hard job hiding the excitment on their faces at the wildlife they´d seen, so as not to make us jealous! Without any bitterness (honest!), we listened to stories of two- AND three-toed sloths, spoon billed herons, bats and trees full of hundreds of iguanas. So as not to spoil their day, we even let them win at crib that evening!

Our last day in La Fortuna was nice and chilled. We took a trip into town and called Lexi who´s birthday it was. We then pottered around the shops and posted the last of the postcards, before catching our jeep to our next destination. Our journey onto Monteverde was a lot less challenging...or so mum thought!