Day 3: Part 1: Arenal to Monte Verde

This morning we were greeted with SUNSHINE when we woke up!  The warmth and light was amazing!!

We loaded the bus with our packed bags, ate breakfast, and prepared for our journey!  We left the Arenal Region today and headed toward Monte Verde.  But, boy was there a lot that we experienced between our morning bus boarding and our afternoon checkin at Monte Verde.

As we drove along the road, the bus slowed for us to see a man feeding the white nosed coati.  These are like raccoons.  Our guide knew these were all females and juveniles because they were in a group.  The males are almost always by themselves.  Yesterday, we saw a male.  It should also be noted that one should NOT feed the coatis because they can bite.  This was a lesson for all of us in what NOT to do as a tourist.

We then drove on a bit more--through winding roads, with beautiful vistas.


We had a mid morning stop at a German Bakery--yes, I typed that correctly...a German Bakery.

Our guides shared with us that the country is 93% of Spanish descent, 1% native, 3% Asian, 3% German or Quaker.

We will all tell you, it was a DELICIOUS stop!!!  Students had croissants, nutrolls, fresh pretzels, and bread--the smells alone were worth the stop!

The view, was also quite dynamic!

We were back on the bus, saying our final goodbyes to Lake Arenal.  Lake Arenal is the same lake that we kayaked on yesterday.  The lake is 33 square miles--it is man made--and up to 100 feet deep in some places!

We bid one final farewell and then we were in our next region:  Monte Verde!

The scenery quickly changed from volcanoes and the lake, to rolling hills.  It has been recognized by National Geographic as one of the best cloud forests and one of the nicest places to visit.

We pulled up to our next hotel and checked in.

We also had a delicious lunch of chicken, beans, eggplant spread, homemade chips, salad with cucumbers, and fresh pineapple.

There's a lot more to tell...stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 to follow!