Costa Rica 2011: Days One and Two

This past July, Ethan and I headed to Costa Rica for his 13th birthday. We had hoped that both Rodney and I could both go, but it was too logistically crazy to figure out what to do with the little ones so Rodney had to skip. We missed him a lot!

It was our first trip to Costa Rica and we LOVED LOVED LOVED it! I came home daydreaming of buying a home there (Rodney laughs at me and all my glorious dreams) so you know we'll be back.

Day One: Flight to Costa Rica; Drive to La Fortuna
We flew out of SFO a little after midnight and arrived CR a little before noon on Monday, July 18th. Once we got there, we were fetched and delivered from the San Jose airport to La Fortuna, about four hours away. Ethan slept on my lap practically the entire time. On the way, we stopped at a restaurant to eat and Ethan indulged in some 7Up so I couldn't resist snapping a photo that made me reminisce about the fun Grussing Family Cancun vacation of 2006. Man, how quickly they grow!


We stayed at a modest hotel in the middle of town, which was really convenient and fun for us. The Arenal volcano was right close by. Next to it was a mountain they called La India Dormiendo (The Sleeping Indian).


We booked all our rooms and adventures in advance and I am so glad that I did it that way because it left little to plan once we got there. We used a local firm, Desafio Adventure Company (http://www.monteverdetours.com/), and they rocked.

Day Two: Canyoneering, Liquid Lava Tour, and Baldi Hot Springs
We spent our morning and early afternoon canyoneering; it was hectic (well, the hiking was hectic on poor lil' ol' unfit me anyway) and so much fun! Rappelling is my new favourite sport. We wish we could have done more rappels! We went out with a group of 11 and had about 5-6 guides. These rappels were down waterfalls so we definitely got WET! The last shot below is of Ethan passed out in our room between this and our volcano hike. Did I mention that he slept on my lap on the drives to and from?

Later that evening, we headed towards Arenal volcano for a hike. We saw a lot of beautiful flowers and vegetation, a few birds, and a crapload of ants (yuck!).

After the hike, I was introduced to a drink called "Liquid Lava" with the local rum, Cacique. I fell in love. Hahaha! We were taken to Baldi Hot Springs down the road where Ethan and I lounged in pools of hot water and falls, all heated from the volcano. When we come back, we'll have to spend at least a day or two at this resort. It was exquisite.