Costa Rica: Zip Lines, Horses and La Fortuna

After the washing of rain that soaked the mountain last night, we got up to a leisurely start. Breakfast was included at our resort so we made sure to eat plenty, so that lunch could be a snack. The breakfast was delicious with my favorite omlettes made fresh to order. You could see the tropical birds playing in the garden and watch the clouds swirl around the Arenal volcano.

Today, we opted to do the zip lining tour offered through Arenal lodge. They take you straight to the canopy tours. I had thought we were doing 15 lines, but it was only 8. They were very lovely and the sunshine peaking through was delightful. The girls were able to manage the lines on their own, even doing the monkey crawl hand over hand when they didn't make it to the end. They loved it! Watermelon and pineapple greeted us on our return and we quickly sucked back some water before our next adventure.

Next was walking around the corner to the stables where we mounted horses and then climbed the outskirts of the volcano to reach a green lake, and closer views of Arenal. The horses were very frisky so make sure that you know how to trot and post. I have never seen horses that quick to run uphill. The lake views were as magnificent as the volcano.

The tour bus brought us back to the hotel, but after some thought, we opted to drive to La Fortuna for supper. However, it was still too early for supper, so we walked the butterfly garden trail at our resort. It is a one mile trek around the property. We stopped in the garden and then melted our way through the humid gardens and undergrowth. Despite the warnings, we did not see one poisonous snake. That was a relief I might add. After cooling off, we drove down the cobbled track to La Fortuna.

We chose Los Nene for supper after two guides recommended it. It is traditional Costa Rican food.  Quite frankly, why would you eat anywhere else? The specials came lit by fire, and were cooked to perfection. The kids ate spaghetti and were pleased with that. The specials were fish and steak and you can't watch those platters coming out of the kitchen without wanting one. Despite being ridiculously full, the girls wanted ice cream so we wandered up the street to Pops. Pops is a ice cream chain and it was delicious once we got there.

We did get distracted on the way by an artist shop. Everything in the store was locally made by a Costa Rican artist. Since there were still some gifts to buy, we stocked up. Now that we had parcels to carry, now it was time to eat coconut and chocolate brownie ice cream. Yummy. We have tired kids who are insisting they aren't. It makes for yet another great day in paradise.

Note: tours were booked through jacamar naturalist tours. You may do better booking in La Fortuna.

Miss K's first zip lining adventure - she was a pro from the get go.

The leader was as camera happy as me!

Butterfly Garden

The road less traveled aka the path through the woods behind our hotel room. Note, there was a poisonous snake warning in effect at all times and I still wandered the trails with the family. Crazy.

La Fortuna on Dwellable