Lake Arenal, Costa Rica

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Originally uploaded by Brayo

The most reliable way to get to Santa Elena and Monte Verde from San Jose is to get a bus to La Fortuna (4 hours to go maybe 100 miles) and then a boat across Lake Arenal for about an hour, and on the other side of the lake, overland on a good earth road for another hour. The hardest part of the journey was the bus ride from San Jose, mostly just because it was so long. It’s fun to stop in various small towns and watch people get on and off. La Fortuna is a popular tourist destination, and Costa Ricans use the route for gong between towns along the way.
Lunch in La Fortuna was very good. We ate at a coffee and sandwich shop in front of the town square, with a view of the church, and behind it the cloud-covered volcano. Lots of people around, both tourists and Ticos.
Lake Arenal was created by damming a river in a deep valley. (I think?) and there’s little human activity except on the narrow side with the dam. We only saw one other boat on the lake, and one house on the shore. Otherwise it was jungle or steep cliffs covered with grass. The air was misty and the water shiny gray like mercury. On the other side, the road was dirt, and the winding road passed only the occasional farmhouse. This part of the country feels different from San Jose, although it might be mainly a factor of human habitation. Even San Jose was misty and mountainous. Maybe the difference is that here’s just more so.
Santa Elena is plain cold. Or more than that blustery. Our lodge is comfortable and clean, but the roar of the wind outside is near constant. It’s a little calmer down in town, but we were still wearing our down jackets with T-shirts underneath.