La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano Adventures

Our time in La Fortuna (the town below the Arenal Volcano) and Arenal National Park was very busy and full of action

The leaf cutter ants can carry so much weight the tour guide compares them to a baby holding a bus

he grabbed one of these guys and had it hold onto a tree branch in mid air to demonstrate

some fuzzy wuzzy moth critters

 this leaf bug was hiding under the hand rail that mom was holding on her way up the stairs to our rooms (it's the size of your palm)

and she touched it and it scarred her good and proper, a lesson that no matter how much you tell a person careful don't touch the rails, they still must learn on their own)

she learned day#1 to try to avoid grabbing the hand rails

he was harmless and very fun to look at, but again the size of your palm and we laughed (don't worry it was a laughed with her not at her situation) hysterically at her surprise 

Our first large and very scarry/thrilling adventure was an attempt zipline

Logan and Kevin did this again (see my very first few blog posts ever for our first time doing this over the Arenal lake)

Even mom did two lines before deciding this really wasn't meant for her, but she certainly made a valiant effort and we were all very proud of her as this is not for the fainted heart

Mom doing her first and second zip before the point of no return

Arenal Hanging Bridges nature hike/walk was a great day and a highlight for all, a great thing to do for everyone

it was incredibly hot and we all were drenched in sweat, which made the breeze on the bridges so enjoyable

Casey did amazing and enjoyed herself as much as the rest of us with smiles and baby babbling for the entertainment of all in the tourists and guides in the park

and I mastered feeding and hiking all at the same time (feeling quite proud of myself)

our guide was fabulous with a great sense of humour and extreme knowledge (Logan only managed to stump our guide once)

we've done this hike before, but this time was different with far more critters to enjoy and new things to learn about

Logan enjoyed this just as much as he did the first time and spent the hike up with the guide chattering and asking many questions

Here we all are, before the extreme sweat began, at the Arenal look out point (we didn't see the Macaws this time)

In the first part of our walk we encountered a large community of squirrel monkeys 

mom was in her glory with these guys dancing for us 

or "flirting" the guide said

they were swinging and jumping from tree to tree

a momma with a baby on her back

picking and eating fruit

 you better duck out of the way when they pee and poop as one gentleman learned very quickly

The bridges were higher than I remembered and a trick when feeding and holding Casey in one hand and the bridge in the other as we bounced along

even dad (not a height lover) seemed to enjoy these bridges and the sights throughout the canopy

Logan standing in the very large Oak tree

the guide called this tree the $$$$ dollar sign tree in the park

if it weren't protected it'd likely have been cut down long ago making someone very rich

we were glad it was still standing and very much alive for our pleasure

This tour allows you to see the rainforest up close and personal

the greens of the trees are like clicking on your customize font colours and trying to pick the perfect green for your fun letters in Microsoft word and then you add in the brightest of red, sunniest of yellows and deepest of purples for the accent flowers and fruits and bugs and birds and now you are in the rain forest

very different from our two tone green, trees and grass, and our brown and yellow, burned grass and trees with maybe a red or light purple flower

and then the highlight for all of us

Capuchin Moneys or White Faced Monkeys

another community and different breed of monkeys that played for us

"be one with the tree"

"be the tree"

"feel the tree"

"CHEESE!!!!"

"LOL you sooooo FUNNY, just gets me everytime"

The Picarall (or something spelt like that)

the small stinky and occasionally vicious when in a large pack pig

some form or ant eater (cannot recall it's name, but it meant lonely male)  these guys as the males get older attack to the death younger males as they are a threat

if you see one it's an older male

more than one are the females

"nom nom nom"

we watched him digging and munching on his lunch

we also got to see a shiny black snake with a yellow streak that Kevin discovered for our group (not a poisonous one)

a brown snake that wasn't poisonous, but pretended to be and tried to lash out at our guide

a adolescent tarantula by our walking path

several birds

a few lizards

and sadly no poison dart frogs, although we did get to hear their mating calls throughout our hike

The following few nights we went to "El Novillo" the steak house by Tabacon for dinner.

We discovered this wonderful restaurant and every meal was enjoyed by all of us.

Dad did learn by now that we are no longer in Kansas (a little Wizard of Oz reference for y'all there) and stopped trying to order steak expecting it to taste like Alberta Beef.  Not terrible he says, just not the same.

(the cows are thin with long floppy ears what did you expect)

But the pastas, fajitas, and peppercorn chicken was fabulous and service as with all places here was incredible in this beautiful open air restaurant.

Next adventure (and a very long day) Poas Volcano, the very active volcano in Costa Rica, but an underestimated 4 hour drive or so from Tabacon and very very high and winding roads...to be continued...