Our second day in Arenal, we went on a hike in the forest at the foot of the volcano. Rafael, our very knowledgeable guide, pointed out different features in the forest, making it a very interesting hike. Most of it was an easy stroll on the trail but the last half was over lava rocks, some of it quite steep and uneven. But the sight of the volcano close up was worth it.
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| The trail. |
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| A nephila spider and its web. |
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| This is called a "backbone" tree - looks tall and healthy, but it's hollow inside! |
A tank bromeliad - they were everywhere, on the ground and on tree trunks.
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| Ant-hill of the leaf-cutter ant |
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| A leaf-cutter ant carrying its load |
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| The lava rock trail |
Many beautiful orchids along the trail...
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| Lava rock |
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| At the foot of the ever elusive Mt. Arenal |
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After the hike, we drove around the man-made Lake Arenal and had lunch in a restaurant on its shores - a pretty place memorable for its nice patio and huge homegrown macadamias. We arrived in Monteverde after a long bumpy ride on pot-holed roads, almost an indirect way to protect the cloud forests from intruding tourists.
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A beautiful sunset in Monteverde |
Beautiful pictures as always. We went on a hike in a forest park too but can't remember its name. I think we hiked a little way up a mountain and took pictures of the lava rocks. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day and we couldn't have a panoramic view of the whole forest. But my zip line adventure surely did.
ReplyDeleteIt must be the same park. We also hiked a little way up, some people who are not so mobile had to stay at the bottom to wait for us. You're very brave to hit the zipline. I've heard that it's the hiking between stations that was strenuous (for people our age, I mean).
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