Today we woke up early, re-packed our backpacks and took a shuttle bus to La Fortuna. The bus company we used, Gray Line, was great - very professional and friendly. Turned out we were the only ones going to La Fortuna today so we had a big van all to ourselves. Made it a more comfortable ride and there wasn't anyone to judge our reactions during the drive: one minute we would be clinging to the seat because we were about to take a hairpin turn at 60 km/hr, the next we were "ooh-ing" and "ahh-ing" at the scenery. We had a pit-stop half way and the view speaks for itself...we're not in the city anymore!
Rolling hills and low-hanging clouds for days.
When we got to our hotel, Roca Negra, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that we were basically already in the jungle, albeit a jungle with a great swimming pool.
Driveway to our hotel (off the main road).
Walkway to our room.
Cooling off in the pool.
After getting settled, we were off to grab a bite to eat. We hadn't eaten anything at this point, so we were pretty hungry. Fortunately, Delicatessen was right across the street from our hotel - there we got a few much needed sandwiches. Next we headed into town (about a mile and a half) to walk around and explore the area. On the way, we saw a few other hotels and many, many cows.
View from Delicatessen of the hotel next door.
Very colorful villas at another hotel down the road.
We probably saw more cows than people on the walk into town.
Downtown La Fortuna is nice - it's not very big, but there are many tourist-friendly cafes and restaurants. There were also a lot of helpful and friendly locals. Many offered assistance even though we weren't booking any of our tours in the area through them. The main square in town is a well-manicured park with a fountain; however, the best view in the park is looking back at the volcano.
Iglesia Católica y Volcán Arenal.
After we'd seen the town (not that hard to see it all given that it's so small), we walked back to our hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. We wanted to try something truly local so we went to a "soda" for dinner. Sodas, as they are known here, are essentially family-run restaurants where you eat directly in their home. Soda de Los Flores was close to our hotel, so we went there. The food was great, and like most Costa Rican food, very simple: protein, rice, beans, plantains. I had the steak, Sarah had the chicken. Along with our fruit smoothies and an empanada to start, we were quickly full for only 10,000 Colones (around $18). Tomorrow we explore the volcano; Sarah is already tired of my Dante's Peak jokes...