| lisa |
Feb 24th, 2000 07:00 AM |
Please post a trip report when you get back -- I've heard great things about El Jardin and would love to hear your impressions. <BR> <BR>Arenal Lodge was nice -- had a decent restaurant, a lovely garden in the yard with lots of birds, and a wonderful view of the volcano. There will be a form in your room that you can fill out if you would like to be awakened during the night in the event that the volcano erupts. We filled it out but were never awakened -- only saw a few minor eruptions at night with red lava flowing down the side of the volcano, and could hear it on occation as well. During the day it was mostly fogged in and you could rarely see the whole cone, which is apparently the way it is a lot of the time. There were howler monkeys on the property at Arenal Lodge -- you will hear them (bring binoculars to help you spot them). It was cool when we were there in November but I'm not sure what it will be like at Easter (we needed long pants, long sleeves, and jackets when we were at Arenal even though it was hot on the coast -- the upper elevations were cool and damp). We drove to Arenal Observatory Lodge one day where you can get a much better and closer look at the volcano and take guided hikes to the lava flows if you choose -- but be aware that the road to Arenal Observatory Lodge is a long, unpaved, bumpy ride. We liked it there though and were glad we went there one day. There is a decent restaurant there too although we brought picnic supplies and just ate lunch on a bench facing the volcano. There is a little suspension bridge that goes over to another part of the Observatory. One day we drove partway around the lake which was pretty but the views of the volcano weren't really any better. We did see lots of coatimundi on the road going around the lake. While you're at Arenal you may want to visit Tabacon Hot Springs. It's fun to watch the volcano erupt at night while you're soaking in the hot springs. The grounds there are very pretty. The restaurant is only ok. There is a good little local restaurant just outside of La Fortuna called La Vaca Muca that we liked a lot. They don't speak English & don't take traveller's checks or dollars or credit cards -- just colones. It is a real local "dive" sort of place with very good diner-style food. Arroz con pollo was very good and so were the little tiny garlic shrimp I had. Very large portions. The best gift shop in the area is at Montana del Fuego which are little cabins along the road between La Fortuna and Arenal Lodge. The gift shop is across the road from the cabins. We liked the coast better than the Arenal area but it was neat to see the volcano. Have a great trip!
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