The Springs Resort And Spa Arenal Volcano National Park

... great flavor and well cooked. The prices at restaurants however are no cheaper then in America. I was surprised at this since restaurants in Mexico were generally much cheaper. Costa Rican menus are the same for the most part. Often 5 or 6 types of steaks, a number of grilled fish dishes and appetizers that usually feature ceviche. So far we had not encountered any really bad food which is a change from our trip to Mexico. There are also 3 local beers; Bavaria ...

... the pace slowed remarkably down to tourist pace. However, by then I had lost a couple of small patches of skin on my left hand (not the one hurt on Pacaya) from clinging on to the metal knob on my saddle. The other travellers were an American family from Texas I think. When their young girl asked her mother where Denmark was, she replied "I’m not sure" – but they were nice and friendly still.

The entire purpose – OK not the only reason for going on horseback ...

... Susie thinks I’m crazy, but I don’t mind. For example right now it is almost midnight and even though we have a 6 AM wake up call, here I am catching up on 3 day’s worth of entries! : )

We woke up to a tropical paradise scene right outside our room. Given my stomach issues and overall lack of energy (and feeling like ****) we decided to make today our kickback day and take things easy. Since we wanted to visit the local town, La Fortuna we took ...

... person had already been worried enough not to even take the tram ride so at that point I was quite relieved that I had opted for trams both way. The ride is quite steep and I noticed how the vegetation changed as we got further up. At the observation deck we were met with a guide and a lovely cold fruit juice. For those who were not zip wiring we were to go on a short trail but not before enjoying the test runs that you had to do before you were able ...

... from a dusty town and is now a thriving mass of hotels, restaurants and tour operators. We had lunch in the town at a pizza place and bought souvenirs in the many shops. Just outside town there was an incredible shop with huge wooden sculptures and furniture all made from the local wood. If only the suitcases were bigger.

That afternoon as we sat at the pool bar drinking Amaretto Sours there was an amazing lightening storm.

... and the others seemed to agree so it was agreed with little resistance from Eduardo that we return to Manuelita outside again instead. The dive, a couple of nice Hammerheads, a Galapagos and 5 yes 5 turtles. 29/11/08 - Up early as routine now. Sadly not feeling too expressive about the first two dives of the day, the first was more like rock climbing than diving due to the currents at 'Dos Amigos'. This site is pretty much stand alone out in mid ocean like many of the ...

... Park. We tried the "we are volunteers" stint to see if we can get some discounts to the entry tickets....and we were more than pleased to find out that we could go in for free if we could show some form of proof....this is where Maribel came in to explain the situation, that we donīt have one. Finally, the guy was really nice and let us in for free! The trails were very nice and we were glad that there werenīt any mosquitoes at this altitude :) It took us about ...

... Keli arenīt too into birds, they couldnīt help but be infected by his enthusiasm. He managed to show us a tarantula and a Quetzal, which is a very hard bird to find, and also the national bird of Costa Rica. That afternoon, Dave and Keli took a zipline tour. Ziplines are metal cables that are strung ...

... back hair and leaving a slightly salty taste on the tongue. When I was finally cajoled into putting my camera away and joining the fun, I felt like I was twelve again skipping barefoot with my pants rolled up into the surf. As my toes met the water, a giggle escaped from lips parted in a wide grin, and my students' giddiness became my own. I don't remember the first time that I saw the ocean; probably too young to remember. But on this day, the day my students first saw that vast ...

... a tree fallen completely across the river. Before long a boat queue had started and a heated discussion started on how to get past, one guy who looked like a Costa Rican Mel Gibson (braveheart style) disappeared and came back a while later with a chainsaw and a glint in his eye, donīt recall if he had war paint, but if you know the film...he raised the saw and charged the (probably English) evil tree, there was a lot of splashing and sawdust ...