Joel & Shawne Vacations: On To The Arenal Volcano

Thu, 1/27/11 –We moved about 25 miles west to a Tica hotel near Arenal Volcano. On the way we stopped in the small town of Muelle at a bridge with a tree full of iguanas. The local restaurant feeds the iguanas which in turn attract tourists who then eat at the restaurant. A win/win/win situation for everyone.
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Our new accomodations, Cabinas Los Guayabos, were much simpler but clean and pleasant. The volcano loomed over us. It was wreathed in clouds for part of the time but we had a great view of it from our back porch. Its rocky half of the way down then the greenery takes over and it has a lush cover of trees, grass and bush. Late afternoon we went on a drive to see the back side of the volcano hoping to see red lava at dusk. The main roads in CR are much better than we expected but once off the main road its a different story. Our Honda Fit would have been shaken to pieces and the bottom dragged off by the pot holes. Pretty hard on Lizz’s sore back.
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We almost ran over an animal on the road that we thought at first might have been a racoon but later found out he was a white headed coati. Black and white with a long fluffy tail. Saw one up close when we parked.

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Sad to say no active volcano lava much to Joel’s disappointment. But we met a naturalist near the volcano who gave us a short tour to see the volcano better. He seemed to be a very sweet man. His name was Silvano but his nickname was "lion" due to his lion-like-mane.
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He took us across a rather shaky hanging bridge and up some dubious steps to see the mountain. Great view. He will take Lizz, Joel and Neil on a tour tomorrow.