Arenal

We've had a fantastic few days in the wonderland surrounding Lake Arenal and its counterpart, Volcano Arenal. There's a lot to see and do in this area of Costa Rica, so we've been taking it easy on our bikes. Though we've covered less than 100 km since I last wrote, we've been busy!

After biking uphill from Tilaran on Wednesday, we got our first view of Lake Arenal. During the high season, this is a haven for windsurfing and kiteboarding since the winds are high. The electricity-generating windmills on the hills around the lake also attest to the gustiness of the area. Since the lake is man-made and dammed, as well, this is where most of the power for all of western Costa Rica is generated.



Those windmills on the top of the hills surrounding Lake Arenal.

We were expecting the heaviest amount of tourist traffic yet as we started our ride around the lake, so we were surprised when very few cars passed us. After about 15 km we discovered why: a HUGE chunk of road was gone. We rolled up to a giant mud pit in the road, impassable by anything with more than 2 wheels. We had little trouble pushing our bikes into the ditch and back up, but other vehicles had a bit more difficulty. We saw crates of produce being unloaded one-by-one on one side of the ditch and hand-carried to a waiting truck on the other side. Any tour bus passengers headed that way have to disembark their bus, pick their way through the muck, and reboard another bus waiting on the opposite side. Any uninformed drivers of personal vehicles are shit-out-of-luck because there simply aren't any detours that won't take you at least 200 kilometers and 5 hours out of your way. Needless to say, we were suddenly enlightened as to why there weren't too many tourists or vehicles of any sort around. Not that we minded.



Here's that huge hole in the road. Apparently the road was simply washed out by some heavy rains (not surprising). Construction is ongoing to install some better drainage and a proper bridge.

The area around the lake is a bit geared toward your European tourist -- or at least that's how it seems. Every other resort is run by a Swede or boasts German eats. I felt like I was in Epcot Center. Luckily all this kitsch doesn't detract too much from the beauty of the area!

Plenty of the time we found ourselves winding through stretches that would have seemed completely remote if it weren't for the nicely paved road. The trees and plant life are amazingly diverse and colorful here. We also found loads of monkeys, bright and chirpy birds, and even a few pizotes (I think they're related to raccoons, but they look like really fuzzy little bears with long tails. They're sooo cute, and friendly enough to chase after cars). All of this beautiful plant and animal life was periodically punctuated by a gorgeous view of the lake or the volcano looming overhead. Arenal may just be my favorite place from this trip.



A moth on a pretty blue background. We also saw several blue morpho butterflies the color of the background, but they wouldn't stay still long enough for Mike to photograph them.



A monkey performing some acrobatics for us.



And another one stretching or scratching his back. (The pic's a bit out of focus, but that's because I took this one.)



Mike actually found this emerald basilisk lizard at the Tabacon hot springs, but I thought I'd put him with the rest of the animal photos.

On the first day of our Tour de Arenal we stopped at a great little gallery just beyond the hole in the road. It's called the Casa Delagua and features the work of an artist named Juan Carlos Ruiz Soto. We had a nice chat with him and I bought a small painting of the volcano. If you're interested, I linked his web site on the left. Neat stuff.

We finished our first day at an Eco-lodge called La Ceiba. It wasn't our first pick (a little pricier than we would have liked), but we missed the other places we were looking for somehow and it was getting late. The driveway was ridiculously long and steep, but once we actually made it up to the hotel we had a very nice view of the lake. The German couple running the place was very nice and made us an elaborate breakfast in the morning (included in the price of the room). The best part about this lodge was the enormous ceiba tree on the property. Supposedly it's over 500 years old, about 60 meters tall, and famous all over Costa Rica.



Here I am standing at the base of the Ceiba tree.



And here's a view of the whole tree. I'm still standing at the base, as Mike has helpfully pointed out. In fact, he copied my image and stacked it 25 times in the picture. Not that that is even an acurate representation of the tree's height since the perspective is from a hill above it...

The next day on our Tour de Arenal we splurged BIG TIME. We stayed at a top-notch hot springs resort at the base of the Arenal volcano. It's called Tabacon, and I posted a link to its web site on the left too, if you're interested. The hotel room was plush and we were even supplied fluffy robes, but the best part by far was the hot springs resort. Built right in the midst of the jungle, the resort had multiple pools of varying temperatures tucked away between trees and flowers. Some of the pools looked like typical resort pools with slides or fake waterfalls or wet bars, but there were others that were more carefully integrated into the surroundings. Many pools were very natural-looking, and Mike an I weren't really sure how much of the place had been constructed and how much was pre-existing. There were waterfalls and rocky streams everywhere. The black volcanic rock lined many of the pools and slightly smaller rocks made up the bottoms. It was heavenly to sit in those hot springs after all the biking we've done, and especially nice once the rain started coming down. Since we were staying at the hotel, we had access to the hot springs for both our check-in and our check-out days. We took advantage of both and didn't leave on the second day until after 3:00. We purposely planned a very short day of biking to a town called La Fortuna.



A nice stock photo of resort lounge chairs.



A pretty plant by the pool.



Even the food was pretty.



Here I am sitting in one of the waterfalls at the hot springs. Not the most attractive expression on my face, but I'm sure you've come to expect that by now -- besides, that water was HOT! Can you tell how much darker my arms are than my legs? They see a lot more sunlight. You can also kind of make out my sandal tan. That'll be cute with my shoes for Kristen's wedding.



Even the streams at Tabacon were hot.



There were beautiful plants and flowers surrounding all of the pools.



Mike is lounging in one of the hot springs and I'm the photographer for a change.



Mike getting pounded by a hot waterfall.

On the way from Tabacon the volcano sent up a few puffs of smoke in a small eruption. We still haven't seen any lava, but at least there was some activity. It's quite a sight, towering overhead.



Here's a pic of that ashy eruption.

Today we're just chilling in Fortuna before our last stretch of biking. I'm dreading the last couple of days because we have to bike several thousand feet up to get to the airport. We only have about 120 km to go, but they might be our hardest yet. At any rate, I'll be ready for a bit of a break back in the States.

Here are a few more pictures related to past posts:



The Taiwanese Friendship Bridge.



The mosaiced front of the Catholic church in Cañas, decorated by artist Otto Apuy.



The church's unusually-themed jungle stained glass window.



I don't believe I've mentioned this before... Every so often we come across this symbol painted on the pavement in the road. I did a bit of research and found out that they mark the spot where a pedestrian has been killed by a motor vehicle. The symbol serves as a sort of memorial and a warning. There are far too many of them on the roads, if you ask me.



Mike was convinced that the Cat in the Hat was hiding from us behind this hill.

Okay, that's it for now in terms of pictures, but I'll fill you in on the latest poll. We had to patch or replace my tire tube 6 times between September 10th and 12th! It was pretty damn frustrating. Had to do it again just the other day, too. Hopefully, it will hold out for our last three days of biking!

Wet and Wild!

So, the last couple of days have been very . . . wet. It rains everyday here, usually from about 2:00 on, but that's not even the whole story. Before I can even see a cloud in the sky I'm drenched, because when it's not raining the sun beats down on me with scorching intensity. My cheeks were sweating so profusely today that it probably looked like I was grieving a loss. I was sweating like a guilty fat man being given a lie detector test in a sauna . . . on the sun. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore heat, the clouds rolled in and began dumping rain. That's when I got cold. It's still raining now, 8 hours later, and I'm afraid Mike and I will have to rent a canoe for tomorrow instead of taking our bikes on the road. Sheesh!

Anyways, our bike trip from Nicoya yesterday was a doozy. We took a crazy route (the only one really) that led us snaking around the mouth of the river that spills into the bay separating the mainland from the peninsula we had been on. The only problem was that the bridge on the route was not where the map said it was. We took a massive detour that added about 15 kilometers to our day, which we had already planned to be a long one. The bridge was lovely though. Constructed by the Taiwanese and pleasantly named the Friendship Bridge, it is the pride of Costa Ricans who snap photos of its unusual design. Despite the detour, we pressed on (through the rain) and made it to Cañas before nightfall.

The coolest thing about Cañas is its zany Catholic church. Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Well this particular church has been attacked by artist Otto Apuy, and, as our guidebook claims, "is unlike anything on display at the Vatican." The entire front of the church is covered in tiled mosaic, as are many of the other features on the outside of the building. There's the traditional shepherd and some crosses, but there are also some rather trippy designs. The large stain glass features a jungle scene rather than something explicitly biblical. Sadly, the inside is as boring as most of the churches we've seen. I'll put up pictures of the mosaics soon.

Today we biked only a short distance to a town called Tilaran, but the ride was mostly uphill and we wanted to take it easy after our long day Monday. Next, we'll slowly work our way around Lake Arenal towards the volcano on the other side, which is known for its regular fireworks shows. Speaking of fireworks, I now have some pictures of our fireworks-less Costa Rican Independence Day:



An un-enthused parade dancer.



This drummer boy was kind of getting into the spirit.



A pile of maracas being sold a few feet from the festivities.



Some interesting boats off the coast of Coco, Costa Rica.



A boy and his bike on the beach (which had nice rocky outcroppings).



Sand fight! The sand in Coco is very dark and almost has the consistency of mud.

Well, that's it for now. Take care, everyone! We'll be seeing you soon!

What?!? No Fireworks?!?

So, Independence Day turned out to be a bit of a flop. I was hoping for some crazy, colorful festivities, but we either missed them or they plain didn't happen. We got up in time to see the parade, but it was pretty dull compared to some of the impromptu parades we've just happened across on our trip. Basically, it consisted of various groups of school children marching, playing instuments, and dancing (sort of). None of them did so with much enthusiasm -- probably because it was so hot. The bands were almost entirely made up of drummers, which makes for more of a racket than anything. One of the bands had a saxophonist and a trumpeter, but we watched them pass by slowly and I didn't hear those brass instruments once. The dancers (if you could call them that)were kind of amusing though. There was one group of girls in mini-skirts, button-down long-sleeved blouses, black ties, dark sunglasses, and white knee socks that marched by very slowly, stomping only their left feet with every step. They looked like crazy robots. Sadly, after the parade, nothing else happened. No fireworks or anything at night either.

Mike and I spent the rest of the day on Saturday walking along the beach, taking photos and looking for seashells. It was nice. A little rainy, but so is every other day here.

Today we biked southeast to a town called Nicoya. We're trying to schlep our bums over to the volcanoes as speedily as possible since we want to have a bit of time left to chill in the hot springs before heading to San Jose and leaving Central America. Nicoya is more of a stop-over than a destination, but it's nice enough.

I don't have much for news since I posted just the other day, but I wanted to add a little something before tacking on these photos!



Pacific sunset viewed from a hilltop in La Cruz, Costa Rica.



One of the boys in costume, dancing in the central park of La Cruz.



And the girls, all lined-up in their pretty dresses.



Here's a contrast for you: from pretty little girls to parts of a dead cow by the side of the road. Eww!

Coco, Costa Rica

Mike and I are on the Pacific coast for our first time on this crazy trip. We're staying in a town called Coco, Costa Rica, which I like to say because it sounds like I have a bad stutter. We biked in from Liberia yesterday, and I think we'll stay until Sunday morning. We like our digs (which come with a hot water shower, free laundry service, and a kitchenette for just over $20), and the town is nice too.

Today we went scuba diving with some lively characters from Rich Coast Divers on a nice trimaran boat. On our way out to sea we caught sight of some dolphins leaping out of the water in the distance. A couple people claimed to see whales as well, but despite their enormous size, I managed to miss them. That's okay though, because life under the sea was pretty interesting too.

The water was much colder than in the Caribbean, but we had a nice couple of dives. On our first we saw 3 white tip reef sharks, several octopus, a ton of eels (moray and otherwise), stingrays, and some very large schools of fish. Our second dive brought us in close contact with all of these same animals, plus a turtle, some harlequin clown shrimp, and a small wreck. The coral isn't as colorful in the Pacific as in the Caribbean, but I prefer to see the wildlife anyway. I thought the octopus were especially cool since they were very well camouflaged in the rocks. We caught one actually swimming around too, which was neat to see.

Tomorrow we're just going to bum around on the beach before we hop back on our bikes and head toward the mountains. Also, tomorrow is Costa Rica's Independence Day, so we're hoping to catch some festivities. We missed out on fireworks for the 4th of July in the U.S., but maybe we can pretend to be Ticos (that's what Costa Ricans are called) and celebrate independence here instead.

We're a bit behind with pictures, so here are a few from our last day in Nicaragua:



Some crazy pipes in Lake Nicaragua at the San Jorge port -- I wonder what they're used for...



Poor pet monkey chained to a tree. :(



They really like their horse carts in Southern Nicaragua.



This is an ad for the popular Nicaraguan rum, Flor de Caña. "A transparent rum for a transparent people." Is there some kind of more positive connotation for "transparente" in Spanish than there is in English? Can anyone explain this to me?



Our friend at the border is wearing a Scottsdale, AZ shirt.

Central American Country Numero Seis

Well, we've made it to our final destination country for this leg of our journey; Mike and I will be spending the next 2 weeks in Costa Rica before heading back to the States to visit family and friends and attend my sister's wedding (so excited!).

On Tuesday morning we left the island of Ometepe and its thigh-trashing volcanoes behind (Can you believe we're still in pain 3 days later? Pathetic.). We caught an early ferry to the mainland on the western edge of the lake and began our 40 km ride south to the border. It proved an easy crossing as usual, and we continued another 20 km to our first stop in Costa Rica: La Cruz.

La Cruz provided an excellent view of the Pacific in the distance, but it turned out to be an interesting stop for a couple of other reasons, as well. First of all, there was some kind of event at the parque central featuring dances and costumes. We saw tons of cute little kids dressed up in fancy dresses and suits. The girls all had buns and flowers in their hair and the boys wore decorated straw hats. One group we saw perform consisted of kids around 6 years old, and we also saw some older teenagers in costume, though we missed their dance. I'll try to add some photos later, but it was already quite dark outside and I don't think they turned out real well. After we returned from our stroll around the park and dinner we met a German couple staying at our hotel. They, too, are on a bike trip, but theirs has taken them around the world. They've been traveling since March 2006 and have put 39,000 kilometers on their bikes. Even crazier still, the man is 68 years old and puts me to shame! Just to name a few countries, they've been through Turkey, Iran, India, Vietnam, Australia, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, Panama, and loads more. Now that's a good way to spend retirement!

Today we battled some strong crosswinds to make it to a pretty large city called Liberia. One thing that we've noticed is that Costa Rica is a lot cleaner than its Central American neighbors -- almost sterile in comparison. We haven't seen much trash or many dead animals on the road; all of the buses have been greyhound-style rather than hand-me-down school buses; and most people we've seen have been driving 4-door sedans instead of pedalling bikes, driving carts pulled by donkeys, riding horses, walking, or piling into full-to-bursting pickup trucks. The police seem to be on virtually every street corner as well. With its more American atmosphere, Costa Rica comes with U.S. prices once more too (bummer!). Perhaps it will be good in helping us transition back to the States for a bit though -- maybe we won't go into complete culture shock when we arrive back home in two weeks.

Costa Rica has certainly been beautiful so far, and we're looking forward to a range of activities in the upcoming days. We'll head to the beaches in the northwest first, then bike east toward the volcanoes and hot springs north of San Jose. We've already seen some monkeys chillin' in the trees by the highway, and Mike caught sight of an awesome bird, so we're hoping to see some neat wildlife as well.

For now, I'll give you a taste of our hike up Volcan Maderas and a few other photos from the island. Oh, and don't miss the new poll to the left!



Crazy cloud forest trees!



The monkeys are watching our progress.



Here are some more crazy vines and trees. Can you picture us swinging through these all day?



Mike's favorite plant. Remind you of anything?



Our summit shot. It's not the best photo of the two of us, but you can kind of see the crater lake behind us.



Here's a better shot of just the lake. We were told that it only has about 2 meters of water in it, but that the mud on the bottom goes much, much deeper.



Here's a view of Lake Nicaragua and Isla Ometepe below from one of the few breaks in the dense jungle vegetation.



Concepcion, the other volcano on Ometepe. This one's active and emits toxic gases, so we didn't climb it (as if that's the only reason...).



A view of Concepcion from the west.



Say, "Bacon!" Actually, we ate at a restaurant in Moyogalpa that claimed to have the only bacon available on the island. With as many pigs as there are running around, you'd think the islanders would have lots of crispy bacon for breakfast.



"Don't mind me." This is what we had to contend with on the roads of Ometepe: lots of dirt, rocks, cows, and cow patties.