Day 14
I shut down our plans to leave early by locking the keys in the trunk. Yup, shut her down good. The cloudforests and volcanoes of La Fortuna would have to wait, at least until the mechanics are up.
Instead, we went for breakfast in the damn good coffee/book cave, Cafe Rico. Despite the dark lack-of-keys cloud over my head, it was one of the best breakfasts ever, and in one of the quaintest places ever. The owner has such a welcoming spirit, let Cali lick the Nutella spoon after making her crepe. We like extra touches.
I bought a coffee mug to remind me of this amazing little experience of delicious comfort food, by a nice man in the magical book cave. It made me happy. I may not have car keys, but I have a toucan mug. Retail therapy works in any language.
The mechanic asked what kind of car we have, then stuck a few tools in his pocket. He effortlessly unlocked our car with four wee items; a small wrench, stiff wire, small metal pole, and clean rag. Yes those tools and a couple of tries is all it takes to get into the trunk-safe, and for the low break-in price of $20. Perhaps a skill I should learn for moments such as there. Perhaps they offer tourist classes.
With all that fun behind us, we drove from the Caribbean coast and headed inland and north toward the Arenal volcano. Passed through many jungle tunnels where you go into trees so thick it’s dark inside, and no sunlight gets through until you pop out the other side. There are no shoulders to the road so pedestrians, bike riders, semi trucks, motos, all share the same space. If that isn’t challenging enough, most of the bridges are single lane with a yield sign on one side or the other.
There are no highway numbers or street signs. Would be close to impossible to navigate this country without gps. I’m glad google maps works without data, as long as you leave it open when you put in your destination in wifi and don’t exit that search upon leaving wifi. Pretty awesome feature especially here.
Sweetly nestled in the mountains is the town of La Fortuna. It has a unique collection of restaurants and other visitor-friendly trappings. Our hotel was on the side of an active volcano of Arenal and there’s a disclaimer you sign when you check in to that effect. Yes, I understand I’m sleeping on a loaded and unpredictable powder cake of lava. It was cloudy, so we couldn’t see the active beast on which we slept, but the grounds guys assured us it was there.
In the absence of lava fireworks and rivers the resort has three screened habitats domes for red frogs, cutter ants, and blue winged butterflies. It also has two of the largest well-fed crocodiles I’ve ever seen. There was also zip-lining and trails through the rain forest. Comprehensive crowd-pleasers for sure. Cali got her first fruity umbrella-ed drink at the swim up bar and was positively giddy.
Our favorite part of Los Lagos were the volcanic hot springs pools. Who knew they would be such a good time, and to some one who isn’t a fan of getting wet. There were many varieties, sizes, temperatures, with waterfall, with waterbar, shallow, deep, with slow slide or crazy fast slide, private pools, with or without bubbles. The variety was impressive. We stayed in the pools for hours. It’s no exaggeration that the minerals in the water make your skin
incredibly soft and happy.
Who knew coming from a Caribbean beach town to stay on an active volcano would be the more relaxed stress-free direction. Gotta love the unpredictability of it all. But tomorrow, I’ll still try to keep the keys out of the trunk.