Central America - Days 14 & 15 (Monteverde to Fortuna, Costa Rica)

On Tuesday, we left around 7:15 a.m. to drive to Arsenal Lake to catch our boat across the lake over to Fortuna. The boat ride was about 45 minutes and then we drove about 30 minutes to the town of Fortuna and went straight to the tour operator to choose our activities for the next few days. I chose to do the hanging bridges, the waterfall and white water rafting. Then, we headed to our hostel. This is the first time I have stayed in a hostel and I was a bit hesitant, but this one seems to be premium with a pool, hot tub, happy hour and on-demand coffee. They also have a lot of different options for accommodation, including pods and camping. Our room had bunk beds and I stayed on the top bunk with four other friends.   

After lunch, we decided to hang out by the pool and then headed out for dinner in the pouring rain. It is raining season, but we really haven’t had much rain on the trip. We chose a Cuban place and it was like eating at a grandmother’s house. I love tostones, so I had nachos made with tostones and it was delicious. 

On Wednesday, my pickup was scheduled for 7:30 so I got up early, walked to the bakery and grabbed breakfast. Then, the provider told us about the day. We headed to the hanging bridge park first. We saw so many animals and most them were dangerous. The guide taught us the difference between venomous and poisonous as we saw both types. The snakes we saw were venomous because they can inject us, but the frogs are poisonous because they pass on their toxin through touch.  

White-nosed Coati (a member of the raccoon family)

Line to get to the hanging bridge

Another pit viper, this one older

Mot mot

Eyelash pit viper

Strawberry poison dark frog

Then, we went to a large waterfall in Fortuna. It was nice, but a bit too commercialized. I like a waterfall that you have to earn and this one, you just needed to go down 500 stairs and it was right there. They built a nice pathway about 3 years ago, according to our guide. 

You could swim at the bottom of the waterfall, but just in a small area. It was cold and crowded, so I just dipped my toes in the water. Plus, I am not big on natural water with creatures. I like a pool over natural water, unfortunately.

After the waterfall, the guide provided a buffet lunch and we headed back to the hotel to enjoy the pool a bit more. Tonight we are heading to dinner and then tomorrow, we make our way back to San Jose.