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  Fortuna, Costa Rica
Wednesday, January 10, 2007

After an extremely cold night in our ¨room,¨ I awoke in time for us to catch the 7 a.m. bus to Arenal/Fortuna, but realized even before I was fully awake there was no way I was climbing any volcanoes today.  I would be lucky if I could manage the three stairs outside our room.  So I went back to sleep for a few hours, got up, dressed warmly, then walked outside to discover that the cold was just our room/cabin.  Outside was perfectly balmy and pleasant, so I went back inside to take off the long underwear. 

The lady who runs the hostel with her husband greeted me warmly and inquired if she could cook me some breakfast.  (I have really got to find out her name, as we´ll be back in San Jose next week.)  I just had some toast and coffee and went to sprawl on the couch with my leg up until Sarah got up.  When the proprietess noticed the Spanish textbook I was studying, she was overjoyed that I wanted to learn her language, and proceeded to speak to me very slowly and clearly for the rest of the morning so I could practice.  She was lovely.  Her toddler, Jimena, was a doll, and had herself some fun ¨reading¨ books with me until she decided it was time to go play in the blow-up wading pool outside.

Mid-morning, we caught the taxi (about $3 - very reasonable) to the bus station to get to Fortuna and spent the next four and a half hours on the bus.  Midway through, in Ciudad Quesada, we made an erroneous exit when we saw everyone getting off (and the bus driver was yelling ¨Fortuna¨), but realized our error and got right back in line to get on again so we didn´t get stranded.  Buses in Costa Rica are not nearly as frequent as they are in the Yucatan.  We probably would have been left till late afternoon, if not overnight.

Fortuna, the main town at the base of Volcan Arenal, is adorable and clean, and, after checking email, we called for a ride to our hostel.  A very friendly, filthy puppy waited with us, even changing seats when we did.  She wouldn´t take any food or anything.  I wanted to take her home, but Sarah said they frown on live animals in your luggage.  Huh.

Miguel, the owner of the Cerro Chato Eco-Lodge, picked us up.  One of his first questions was ¨What do you want to do?¨ and I replied, ¨Hike the volcano.¨  There was dead silence for a moment.  ¨That volcano?  Right there?  You do realize it´s...active, right?  Never, in sixteen years, have I had someone ask that.  Let me help you!  You need help.  And we like American money!¨ (I am scarcely paraphrasing at all.  He was admirably straightforward.) 

We found out that ¨eco-lodge¨ is synonymous with ¨down an impassable road miles from town.¨ There were several in our vicinity.  While checking in, one of Sarah´s bags got covered in ants, and we remembered some of the less pleasant aspects of the rainforest.  Luckily, after that, we fell back into the habits learned in the Yucatan.  It´s just like riding a bike.  Shoes on the table, preferably with something in them, never leave anything unzipped, don´t flush the toilet paper, pack thoroughly every night, bugspray yourself even inside buildings, and no food products anywhere ever.  Perusing the various locations the lodge would drop us off at, we noticed one of the first was ¨Arenal Volcano Hike.¨   Sarah and I exchanged confused glances and shrugged.

Because we´d felt that the day had been almost a total waste, we decided to go to Baldi for dinner, then try some of the geothermal mineral hot springs at the base of the volcano.  We walked in, sat down, and looked around in bemusement at the most touristy thing we´ve ever done.  While the food was decent, listening to the various tour groups around us, especially the teenage girls, was priceless.  ¨How, um, old is the drinking age here?...  Mas!  I want my steak cooked mas!¨  Really, the first word you learn in a foreign language should probably not be ¨More!  I need more!¨

The springs themselves were pretty neat, ranging in temperature from 93-152 F.  No one was in the 152 one, as that was insanely hot.  Sarah and I mostly hung out in the 116 F one, which was mostly empty, then went on a brief stroll around the grounds, to marvel in awe at their extremely fake Mayan pyramid, before Miguel picked us up for the night.  He has got to be the most helpful hotel owner I´ve ever met.  But, hey.  He likes American money! 

Since I could walk in the water almost like a normal person, I was feeling optimistic about being able to do the volcano hike in the morning.  I just hoped we´d get to see it.  Since we´d arrived in Fortuna, it had been completely covered by clouds, like some great hulking monster just out of view.  The smell of sulfur was everywhere, but we couldn´t see anything.

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