Costa Rica - Day 3

Day 3 started with a beautiful view of Arenal...

We were told that we might not see the top because it's covered by clouds most of the time. Sometimes it takes days for a cloud covering to clear away, but by the time we started our hike in the national park we could clearly see the peak -- what luck!

I love this photo!

We took a public bus to get there and it dropped us off almost two miles outside of the park -- so we had a nice little stroll in. Along the way we passed some farm land that had a bunch of cows grazing. I know how much you love cows Mom, so I took this picture just for you :)...

Once we paid the ten dollars to get inside we walked to the lookout point...

Then we headed to trailhead #3 - which lead us to the lava fields...

We made it!

Me and Theres in the lava fields

And decided to do a few yoga moves ;)

T doing "mountain"

From the top of the lava fields we had a clear view of the lake...

There was a warning sign saying we shouldn't be walking on the fields, but Arenal hasn't had any activity in over 6 months. I was a little disappointed because I wanted to see some lava!

Unfortunately we had a 2:45 bus to catch back to San Jose, so we had to make our Arenal visit very brief. The bus that had dropped us off at the park in the morning wouldn't be back until 2:30 that afternoon so we walked back out to the main road to grab a taxi. After twenty minutes of not even seeing a single taxi we decided to hitchhike back into town. I look at Theresa and said "will you be scared if we hitchhike back?" She said "no" and then I reminded her of the time she and Emily tried to hitchhike in front of our Grandma's house. When they were probably 7 and 8 years old. Thankfully a neighbor caught them and turned them in, haha!

It's fairly easy to catch a ride in Honduras because of all the pick-up trucks and I was hoping that would be the case in Costa Rica. Carrie and I stood on the rode with our thumbs out for awhile but everyone passing was by were either other gringos traveling or Costa Ricans in a rush to get somewhere. Most people who drive past would just honk and wave. Then Carrie saw a sign that said "3 kilometers to the information center". So we started walking, but I continued to hold my thumb up for good measure. Within five minutes a nice looking tour van pulled over. The man inside was on his way back from dropping a group off and told us he would take us back to our hostel free of charge. Then he told us he was on his way back to San Jose (where he lived). So Carrie asked how much he would charge us just to go back with him, so we didn't have to take the bus back. He replied "nada (nothing)" - jackpot! This man was so incredibly nice. We asked him a few times to accept some money but when he refused we told him we would take him to lunch and he thankfully accepted our offer. Not only did he drive us to San Jose free of charge, he also helped us get bus tickets for Puerto Viejo. It makes me happy that there are some truly great people in this world :)!

Here are Theresa and Carrie enjoying our spacious 12 passenger van complete with air conditioning...

After we got dropped off at the bus station we realized the last bus going to Puerto Viejo had already left, so we went with plan B and checked into Tranquillo Backpackers. The coolest hostel I have ever stayed in. I loved this place! Bright and fun decor, interesting people, and some rockin' tunes!

I was so excited I called my mom at 11p.m. her time to gush about it and the rest of our trip. Sorry Mom!

After we put our stuff in our room we walked around to check out the rest of the hostel and stumbled across these great hammocks...

When we were finished hanging out downstairs we headed up to bed and fell asleep to the tunes of Fleetwood Mac drifting into our room...

Day 4: Beach here we come!

"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love" - Mother Teresa