The clouds finally cleared yesterday and I got a good shot of the Arenal Volcano. The clouds had been so heavy that I didn’t realize how close I was. I sent this picture to my brother and told him this was my work trip. He’s in Ohio. He gets to do quite a few fun work trips though, so he can’t complain too much.
I have had an eventful couple of days! I messaged my contact at TEC to tell him that I left to go to La Fortuna. He apologized for the smoke detector, told me he was glad I found somewhere else to stay and told me he would see me on Thursday. Since TEC has not been prepared for me at all and doesn’t seem to care if I’m there, I decided to go back on Wednesday afternoon.
Yesterday afternoon, once it stopped raining, I walked down to La Fortuna. It’s a 30 minute walk but there was what passes for a sidewalk almost the whole way. That’s rare here. I found this awesome little shop that sells clothing made from bamboo, banana and hemp. The bamboo and banana fibers are super soft! I bought a t-shirt made of bamboo in San Jose so I was already interested. I bought a pair of bamboo pants that are the most comfortable pants I’ve ever had. They fit perfectly! Even the right length. The clothes are made in Costa Rica and they seem to be really good quality. Costa Rican women are not very tall, which is probably why the pants fit. I bought another pair this morning when I went to lift weights. The owner of the store is an immigrant from Ukraine who moved here in 2014 because of political instability. He came with $300, no Spanish and no English. Now he speaks both. He said it was hard. It’s nice to contribute to the local economy.
There is an Indian restaurants right down the road from the hotel where I was staying, so I ate there last night. It was really good! The Indians who own restaurants in Costa Rica make their food spicy. I ordered medium paneer butter masala, and I felt it!
I went to the gym this morning in La Fortuna. It’s very small, has really old, rusted equipment and no AC! But there were a lot of people there, both men and women and most of them were super fit! There were some people moving heavy weights. The Costa Rican women were young, beautiful and barely sweating. Within 5 minutes, I looked like I was melting into a puddle on the floor. Almost everyone there seemed super nice and helpful. It had a really good vibe overall. But, there was one older guy, probably 60s but in extremely good shape, who came over to talk to me. He was training someone else, so I assumed he was going to give me tips. Not so! He asked where I was headed next, then asked for my phone number so he could come visit me in San Carlos, which is 1.5 hours away from La Fortuna. He never asked for my name and didn’t give me his, but wanted to hook up in San Carlos at the university where I’ll be staying. What kind of women say yes to something like that? That sort of thing is a very rare occurrence here in Costa Rica. Costa Rica historically has had a strong women’s rights movement, and they are much more progressive in terms of gender than many other parts of Latin America. But, there are creepy people everywhere. Anyway, I said no and he left me alone so I could finish working out. Everyone else seemed very pleasant.
The walk back to my hotel was rough! I was already tired, it was hot, and it’s a steady slope up to the base of the Arenal Volcano where I was staying.
I’m currently at one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever stayed! The hotel in La Fortuna was fine, but I found one with excellent reviews for $95 a night in the middle of the rain forest. It’s spectacular! My room is beautiful! It’s like someone dropped this place in the middle of the rain forest without damaging much of the surroundings. There is a nice pool, but the hot springs are amazing! There are a series of small pools, surrounded by plants where thermal water is pumped in. It’s raining and cool, so really good weather for hot springs. A little less rain would be nice. There is also a river with pools where you can swim. I’ll walk down to that tomorrow if there is a break in the weather. It’s a 90 degree slop down to the river and it will be a rough walk back up too.
I have no idea how they run this place for $95 a night. There are similar places here that cost $400+ a night. It is in the middle of nowhere. There is a restaurant on site, but without a car, that’s your only option. The food is good though and not that expensive. I had pasta for $12 tonight. I highly recommend this hotel and I’m hoping to come back next weekend. If any of you want more information, the website has some good videos. https://heliconiasnatureinn.com/
They keep goats and chickens here. Apparently, the restaurant uses the eggs.
This post is getting really long and I’m running out of energy. I booked a massage for 11am tomorrow. I think I’ll need it after the weights and hiking that I did!
Traveling with Emily! 