Trip to Costa Rica

 Day 4 - Sunday, January 9, 2022 - Arenal National Park to Monteverde

The beginning of today was a typical travel day. Up at 6, luggage out by 6:30, breakfast and on the bus by 8. Our first stop was Arenal Park where we took a 2 mile hike and learned more about the flora and fauna of the area. Our guide, Rafael, was extremely knowledgeable about the culture, history, geography and the nature of Costa Rica. We walked to the lake where we got great views of Arenal Volcano. On the way back we went up the tower to get even better views of Arenal.  From there it was on to Monteverde. Monteverde is the largest private reserve of Costa Rica. It is also called the Eternal Forest of the Children. This is due to the donations of children from 44 countries to buy this land and to conserve it. We were told that it wasn't that far away but it would take at least 3 hours because of the narrow, windy, bumpy roads that we would be traveling. Our guide called the ride a Costa Rican massage because of all the bumps. We can't say enough about our bus driver who did an amazing job navigating the roads. We made a stop for lunch in Santa Rosa and had cosada (a typical CR lunch) and arrived at our hotel in Monteverde around 2:30. We had a chance to clean up and settle into our new hotel El Establo before leaving at 5 for a brewery tour. The tour with Andrew was very informative. He took us through the brewing process from beginning to end. We also got a chance to sample the product and then had dinner. Ron stayed away from the hops as he learned his lesson in Tecate, Mexico.  Another wonderful day though.  As an aside the Monteverde area and the resort we stayed at was developed by the Quakers during the 50's.  They are among other things pacifists and sought a country where they would not be subject to military service.  Costa Rica has no Military and one of the highest standards of living in Central America.  I personally might have sought a different area in CR as there are hills everywhere in this region and difficult terrain to walk. 


Arenal National Park

Views of Arenal Lake

Views of Arenal Lake

Rafael, our guide, pointing out various birds,
plants and animals in the area.

Views of Arenal Volcano

Views of Arenal Volcano

Views of Arenal Volcano

Views of Arenal Volcano 95% of the time
the top is cloud covered 

Lunch in Santa Rosa -salad, rice, black
beans, plantains, chicken

Our hotel in Monteverde - El Establo

Our hotel in Monteverde - El Establo

Our hotel in Monteverde - El Establo

A small microbrewery - The US embassy
had a program for Costa Ricans to 
visit and learn from US businesses 

Andrew, one of the owners

The brewery

The brewery



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