Into the wild....

After the adventure of yesterday, we were happy to have a nice relaxing morning. We began by making our way to the Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge. However, we made an interesting stop along the way to view a great colony of iguanas that live in trees! These lizards were huge and right at eye level so we got some great pictures.

We finally made our way to the refuge and got on a boat that took us down through the wetlands to view everything from a Baltimore Oriole to howler monkeys. We had great weather and got to see some fine examples of the well-protected wildlife in the area.

Our last afternoon in the Arenal region was spent walking around the town of Fortuna and waiting at the base of a volcano in hopes of an eruption. Unfortunately, we did not get to see any lava, but we had a great time watching the stars and thousands of fireflies by the river.

Thanks for all the posts and more tomorrow!!

Water water everywhere......

We began today bright and early for our big Canopy tour on the zip lines!! Many aching muscles and sore throats later, we all made it across the course in one piece. We finished up the morning by hiking down (then up....) to see the Fortuna waterfall.

Finally we finished with a relaxing evening in the hot springs......many kids did not want to leave and asked if we could stay......:)

More tomorrow!!!!

A Walk in the clouds....(2/17)

Hello everyone!!
We are just settling into our cabins at Hotel Cabanitas in Fortuna.
We started off our day at InBioparque where we explored the 3 different types of ecological zones of Costa Rica. We saw some great examples of indigenous species (the first being a three-toed sloth!) followed by a presentation on the creation of Costa Rica´s geography and native peoples.

We contiued our day with a drive to the Arenal regionby visiting the Poas Volcano, viewing the huge, green crater while trying to avoid the smell of the sulfur! Luckily, we got to eat a traditional Costa Rican meal at a local eatery to tide us over for the afternoon.

We stopped along the way to check out some shops and local flavor before heading to our hotel for dinner and finally sleep.

More tomorrow, we have a busy day!!!

Pura Vida Costa Rica!!!

We have arrived!!! Our flight landed around 11am this morning- about 30 minutes early. Except for the minor turbulence, we had a great flight.
We got to our hotel, Gran Hotel Costa Rica, in the heart of San Jose. We are on the center of a large square, where there are clowns making balloon animals, face painters, and many artists selling some interesting art work. This hotel has some great colonial architecture, as well as historical importance to the people of Costa Rica. Former President John F. Kennedy frequently stayed here during diplomatic visits and there is a plaque on the very chairs he sat in found in the lobby.
We enjoyed lunch in the square- most of us at Pollo Campero the rest at McDonald's.
We were going to head to the Teatro Nacional (the National Theater and Museum), but the kids actually asked to head back to the hotel and nap!! Its been a very long day, and they really need some relaxing. (The boys are making a video in the hotel gym, the girls are planning outfits for tomorrow.... :) )
We will be eating dinner this evening around 6:30pm Costa Rica time (7:30pm CT time) at the hotel, before heading to bed. Our day starts early at 6:30am, then after breakfast we head out to the InBioparque, the hot springs and onward to Arenal. We will try to add some pictures tonight-otherwise we will get some up tomorrow. :)
Please send us messages- we would love to hear from you!!

15 Days to go!

Hello Costa Rica Travelers!!

We are quickly approaching our departure date. Hopefully you are all putting the finishing touches on your packing. We will all have a chance to sit down and ask questions tonight at our final departure meeting. See you in the lower library at 7pm!!