Doin' the Tourist Thang!!!

We rented a car on Tuesday and started our trek about 2pm. Our intention was to travel to the
central valley and Arenal Volcano. The lake is Lake Arenal and we had to drive from this side
to the far side which took about two hours. The volcano is located on the opposite side of the lake.



Here's Jeff and I pointing to the volcano. The drive was through a rain forest, absolutely georgeous and really much colder than being in Coco. So glad we brought light jackets.

Here's the volcano. On this side the top of the mountain is devoid of plantlife, the volcano is erupting on this side, but on the other side, LaFortuna side, it's all green and one of the tourist info center guy's said he hasn't seen it on that side for over five months.

We stayed in LaFortuna and the next day went to EcoTarmala, one of many hot springs sites where we could experience the volcanic water. There were five levels, each one getting hotter as you get higher up. We only made it to the first level, but it was perfect temperature for me and my eczema skin. Look how beautiful the pools are.

Found this heart stone at the hot tub area. Coley and I both love heart stones and look for them everywhere.

Went to eat dinner at a really good restaurant in LaFortuna and Jeff ordered a drink which came out looking like a really girly drink. We both laughed thinking about our Dad being there to tease Jeff about his "swishy" drink. You go, Jeff, show them what it means to be a man!!!!

Took this picture for Jim and Elizabeth. We ate at Soda Katy, which is their granddaughter's name. Soda's are the local cafe, usually very small and usually a very small menu, but will all have the local dish of beans and rice. We were really hungry and had a faily decent meal. The young waiter couldn't speak English and we muddled through in our Spanish.

After leaving LaFortuna we decided to head to another place in the central valley, however, in Costa Rica there are very few road signs to help guide you, so we completely missed the signs and ended up almost to SanJose, the capital. So we decided to stay with some friends. Here's a church that was built in Germany and tranported brick by brick to San Jose. Something, huh?!!

This is the couple we stayed with, Brian and Giselle. They have a beautiful home high above the city and welcomed us as we literally dropped in unexpectedly.

Well, you know who all these people are, except that's Brian hamming it up on my left.

Down to Playa Samara, considered to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. Here'ss brother Jeff, with his sunburned arms, but not much on his chest. We stayed at a really decent hotel, right on the beach and I said to Coley "I feel like I'm on vacation now".

Jeff didn't know this pony was right behind him, but they both look like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Here's the pool area at Las Brasisas. We loved it so much that after we checked out, we sat in the restaurant just beyond the pool and played a couple of games before we left.