Arenal

35 photos

We left Monte Verdi by 4-wheel drive vehicles and eventually came to Arenal Lake, which we crossed by boat, and then proceeded to our lodge outside Arenal.

At our lodge, there were several iguanas, and various birds and other small animals wandering the grounds. While in the area, we went on a drift boat trip seeing many more birds, some bats, and even a baby crocodile. We also hiked a hanging bridge tour through the canopy which also included great views of Arenal itself.
Arenal is still an active volcano, so one night we went out to watch it, and were lucky that the cloud cover had lifted. In the dark sky, we could see the red glow from the crater, and occasional fiery lines as molten boulders would fall down the side of the volcano. During the day, it was not as spectacular, but you could occasionally see the smoke trail of boulders rolling down the slope.
We celebrated Christmas Eve at a natural hot springs spa (no pictures) and had a large Costa Rican meal. Sandy and the kids also hiked down and back up the falls at La Fortuna.