La Fortuna, Costa Rica
6/7/19
We left Fidelitas at around 8 today for Arenal. I haven’t been feeling well this week (I have come down with a bit of a cold), but I really did not want to miss out on the activities for this weekend. I slept most of the way to La Fortuna. When we arrived, we stopped at a Soda to get some food but there were other places around. I liked this Soda because it was pretty cheap (hard to find in touristy places) and the food was good. I was also able to drink some tea to calm down my throat a little. We then made our way to the hostel, which I really liked. It was really modern and trendy, and super nice. Once we got settled, we made our way to Baldi. I was surprised how luxurious this hotel seemed and I remember being fascinated with the whole process of how they built these man-made “hot springs.” It was pretty cloudy and it started to rain after about an hour or so. I went on one of the waterslides (which was really scary). At the end, it dropped off into a whirlpool type structure and then it dropped you into the water abruptly, but it was fun. At 6pm, we ate dinner, which was an all-you-can-eat buffet type deal. I had pasta and another cup of tea for my throat. I decided to take the 7pm bus home because I was still not feeling well and did not think it was a good idea to stay in the cold, but there was the option to stay later if I wanted to. I then showered, talked to my mom a little bit on FaceTime, and then went to bed.
6/8/19
We left the hostel at 7am to see the waterfall near Arenal. There were a lot of flights of stairs to descend to get to the waterfall, but it was worth it. The waterfall was beautiful and mesmerizing. I felt thankful to witness such a well-preserved part of nature without having to hike miles and miles. The bottom of the waterfall looked really dangerous, but I could have got into water surrounding it if I wanted to. There was a small river nearby with fish in it too that was very pretty. After the waterfall, we checked out and headed to Monteverde. The drive seemed like it lasted forever because it was raining a lot. Finally, we arrived at the hostel which was another Selena (I really liked this one as well). I had pizza from the hostel for dinner, which was really good. I stayed at the lounging area for a while with some friends, then went back to our room. Someone in the room had locked the bathroom door when we first got here, so I could not shower in the room because the maintenance guy was taking a while to come. I asked another group if I could shower in their room, and it was not a problem. I FaceTimed my mom for a little while before bed, and then went to sleep in hopes that I would feel better with more sleep.