Arenal
On our way to Monteverde from Rincon de la Vieja we took a detour to go past the end of Lake Arenal. As we took our first look at Arenal volcano 30 km away, a puff of white ash left the top of the mountain. Without realising, we had seen the largest eruption of the volcano in five years and within half an hour the ash cloud had filled the valley. Throughout our stay in Monteverde we were hoping that the burst of activity from the volcano would continue until we were on its doorstep.
Arenal volcano is usually very active. The National Park boundaries prevent you getting too close but it's possible to see eruptions at night from quite a distance and to hear their rumbling noise like thunder.
Highlights
Rafting Rio Peñas Blancas
A very gentle rafting trip with an incredibly sharp-eyed guide. We saw huge amounts of wildlife including a sloth, a small crocodile, kingfishers and monkeys. Basilisk lizards ran along the surface of the water next to us and the sound of drums all around made us feel like we were really in the jungle - school bands were practicing for tomorrow's Independence Day!
Tabacon Hot Springs Resort
We spent an afternoon here being pampered with massages and then soaking in the pools, streams and waterfalls of spring water at all different temperatures. Somehow we got the best table in the house for dinner and the low cloud dispersed so we had a perfect view of incandescent rocks bouncing down the side of the volcano just a few kilometres away - a real fireworks show. This was probably the highlight of our stay in Costa Rica, although having seen and done so many amazing and varied things, it's hard to pick a "best".
Eating
Arenal Observatory Lodge
We ate in the lodge almost exclusively as we spent most of our time on the flank of the volcano. Arenal town is half an hour or so to drive to. The food was nothing special - a limited choice and likely where we picked up a bout of tourist tummy (see Grecia).
Tabacon Hot Springs Resort
Deserves a mention in case you can get the end table with the spectacular view of the volcano. Otherwise the food was mediocre, the drinks extortionately priced and the entertainment (local dancing) a noisy distraction.
Sleeping
Arenal Observatory Lodge
Our room had a large picture window with a great view of the top of the volcano, and was just a short dash down the corridor from the resident seismograph, giving constant real-time displays of measured earth movements and noise levels at the foot of the volcano. We spent a lot of time watching the volcano and correlating ash and steam emissions with seismograph spikes. There were also some interesting harmonic patterns recorded from time to time, believed to be related to the sloshing about of magma in the chamber. Geologists heaven!
The swimming pool and jacuzzi were also very nice, the gardens beautifully landscaped and the setting superb. We only went on one guided trip organised by the lodge and it was a disaster - too many people including two language groups being led by one guide.
