Volcano, Waterfall, and Hot Springs.....

Today we had a busy day in the Arenal Volcano area. We woke this morning and looked out our hotel window to see that the volcano was actually visible. Apparently over 70% of the time you arent able to see the volcano, so we got a real treat. Our hotel faced the inactive side of the volcano but we could still see smoke billowing out all day. After breakfast we took a hike to the La Fortuna waterfall, we hiked up and then went for a dip at the pool in the bottom. The water was amazing, it was nice and cool, a break from the usual water we have experienced. Later in the day we joined a tour group that took us on a hike through the rain forest at the base of the volcano. We spend a couple hours learning about the volcano, the plant life and the animals that live in the jungle. We also saw a bunch of monkeys again today. After that we drove around to the active side of the volcano to chance it and see if there was any lava flowing, luckily for us we got there just as some started coming down. After hanging out there for a while we went to Balhdi hot springs, its a resort that has pools that are natural hot springs feeding from around the volcano. They ranged from 94 to 152 degrees. We put our toes in the hottest one, but that was all we could manage. It was a great way to relax from a busy day halfway though our trip

Brian swimming in the waterfall pool

Arenal Volcano

La Fortuna waterfall from a distance


Jenn Hiking in the volcano rainforest

Lavaflow at volcano