Monday, March 23, 2015

Costa Rica: Baldi hot springs and Los Nenes Restaurante


Macaw on a wire - so excited.

Baldi Hot Springs

The lovely view of Arenal - completely misted in.

Loved these chairs







Waterslides - they were some of the fastest small slides ever!

Lovely view...




The rain was swirling mist as we awoke this morning. It stung our faces as we walked the short distance down the hill towards breakfast. The view of the birds was brilliant, but Arenal volcano was a mist-ical illusion.

Today was a perfect day to go to the hot springs. So, we got our bathing suits and heading down the mountain to the thermal hot springs at Baldi. I have heard that Baldi is where you go with children, while Terracon is where you go to relax with no children. We took the advice and went to Baldi.

You will need $6.00 for a locker and they give you towels for a $10.00 deposit each. They offer you the price with a meal included. I would suggest you don't take that option. We ate our meal at the snack bar and including alcoholic beverages, we spent way less than the $22 per person that they wanted at the gate. Instead, one kid was half price and the entrance was $34 each. The other thing they don't tell you is that you can exchange your towels once during the day. This I would suggest you leave until you are getting changed at the end of the day. Our towels never did dry and I changed ours too early.

This place is incredible. They have water slides and pools of varying temperatures. I would suggest you head straight up to the spa and book evening appointments, or late afternoon. We did that and it worked well. We then started at the top pools and worked our way down the hill, sampling all the pools. By the time we hit the bottom, we were at the snack bar for some of the best pizza. I indulged in  a very yummy crazy monkey too. From there, we were able to go back and find our favorite pools.

My favorite was the hot volcanic steam room and hot pool. The kids liked the water slide pool and the pool that contained a mixture of hot and cold. The water slides are very fast, but they even enjoyed the large bucket that spilled water over their heads. This place is amazing....did I say that already?

The day ended with massages at the spa on site. These were some of the best massages we have had in a long time. The treatment was royal from start to finish and for the children, they were allowed into the private pool area while we finished. The lady doing my massage was exceptional. The pools in their private area are also incredible as you climb stairs into a large deep pool that has a view of the entire space, great for bird watching. The spa gives you soft robes, and you finish with a serving of hot tea and biscuits. Pampering took on a whole new meaning.

The  day ended with more soaking and then driving back into La Fortuna to have another meal at Los Nenes Restaurante. The time we went simpler. Ute the food was still some of the best we have eaten. This restaurant was our eldest child's choice too, that is how good it is.

I forgot to mention that on the drive in we were fortunate enough to find a red macaw preening himself/herself on a telephone wire. That made the daywesome from the get go. We also found two sloths cuddling in the trees. Apparently that is also rare. I have loved it here in the highlands. Tomorrow, we head out for the beach.


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