10-11 July - La Fortuna and Volcan Arenal

Last night we went Volcano and wildlife hunting.... we missed on both counts. The highlight of the animal life was a Cane Toad (we rolled our eyes).

As for the volcano...... Clouds, clouds, wait, was that a mountain top...... no, more clouds. It was a cloudy day, filled with clouds, and the occasional cloud that rained on us. We´ve been told there´s a volcano spitting lava and molten rocks.... but the girls from England thought Lake Arenal looked more like Scotland.... murky and dark. Nice lake (loch) though.

Interesting history, it exploded in 1968 killing about 88 people and has since doubled in both height and diameter (at the base) now reaching about 1700m high and about 7000m wide. Phil doesn´t agree, it´s a tourism conspiracy, aided by numerous postcards which we´re sure are photos of Mount Etna or St Helens elsewhere in the world.
Ref: http://www.arenalobservatorylodge.com/EN/

We then went to Baldi Hot Springs which were strangely enough, quite impressive. Pools ranged from 39°C to 67°C, scaldingly hot!!! With 3 or 4 swim-up bars and inter-connecting hot and cold pools the place was quite nice.

On the Tuesday (11th), it was off to Catarata (Falls) with Rachel and Kataya, two English girls who SCUBA DIVE!!! So we´re hoping to meet up with them tomorrow evening in Playa del Coco for a couple of Costa Rican dives.