Hot and Cold

This morning we got an early start, to try to beat the crowds at La Fortuna Waterfall, which is just a few minutes from our house. At the overlook, we saw someone zip-lining over the waterfall, which looked pretty fun. We then descended over 500 steps to the base of the waterfall.

It started raining just as we arrived and we were all pretty wet and cold. Danny was the only one who wanted to venture into the pool.

On the way home, we stopped by El Salto, which is a roadside swimming hole popular with both locals and tourists. We parked and crossed the road, taking a short path below the bridge to the rocky outcropping over the Rio Fortuna.

Danny was the first to take the plunge, with Zoe going second. It took her a little while to build up the courage. I went third. Zoe and I agreed that the roughly 10 foot jump was a bit scary and hitting the water knocked the wind out of you. Darcy really wanted to jump, but also wanted to have a towel to dry off since she was afraid she would be cold. We promised her we’d be back so she to give it a try.

After lunch, we decided to take a short drive to Rio Chillon, the free hot spring at the base of the Arenal volcano. After paying a parking official a few dollars to park along the road, we took a short path through the woods to the river. It was awesome and not sketchy at all! The water temperature was just right and we were able to snag one of the pools. We also saw a Great Currassow, which is like a tropical turkey. We named him Kevin Rufus. We got there at just the right time, as it got much more crowded later in the afternoon.