Day 14 - La Fortuna Day 2

It rained heavily several times overnight.  It was very misty again in the morning and we couldnt see the volcano.  As we were preparing to leave for breakfast I noticed some pig like creatures at the front of our room.  We saw them again as we went to breakfast.  They were called Collared Peccary and are not related to the domestic pig.  Apparently they leave a smell like a skunk so I hope they dont return.  Fortunately we didnt smell anything.


 
Collared Peccary

 
Collared Peccary

Todays excursion was first to La Fortuna waterfall and then to a chocolate plantation.

The waterfall was very near to the hotel.  We were given wristbands, made to sign a disclaimer and then, after a visit to the viewpoint, walked about 500 steps down.  There were 2 places to swim.  One was in the pool where the waterfall fell and the other was over some rocks where the river was flowing away from the waterfall.  We were advised not to swim in the waterfall pool.  We had to climb over many slippery rocks to get to the water.   We managed to sit on a rock, partially submerged but the water was very rough and deep so we moved to the other side where it was calmer and there were a lot of fish.  There was quite a strong current and the ground was very uneven so we were glad of our water shoes.

 
The waterfall and pool

 

 
Us in the river away from the waterfall pool


 
The river


 
Fish in the river

 
Fish in the river 

 
Fish in the river 

We had about 30 minutes to spare before lunch so walked around the orchid trail.  There werent many orchids in flower.  I would have been a lovely walk but there was loud music coming from the restaurant which was just above the trail.

 
Orchid in bud

 
Orchid trail

 
Orchid in flower

 
Orchid flower

 
Orchid flowers

We had an excellent lunch at the Waterfall restaurant and then went on to the Eden Organic Farm where they grow cocoa and make chocolate.  The bus stopped on the way as there were very clear views of the Arenal Volcano.

 
Arenal Volcano

 
Arenal Volcano

 

The tour was very good and involved walking around the plantation seeing the different varieties of trees that produce cocoa pods.  We also had an extensive tasting session including making our own flavoured chocolate and drinking hot chocolate.  We saw an iguana in a crate but he proceeded to climb a tree.  We also saw an enormous butterfly which we thought was a bat at first.  It could have been a Common Morpho but I didnt get to see the upperwings in detail.  We also saw a sloth.  This is the biggest threat to the cocoa production but to overcome this they plant other trees that are more attractive to the sloth like bananas.  That way the sloths leave the cocoa alone as they prefer bananas.

 
Iguana

 
Iguana climbing tree

 
Hummingbird (cannot identify which one)

 
Clay Coloured Thrush

 
Chocolate Pod

 
Sloth, asleep in a nearby tree

 
Sloth moving across a tree branch

 
Bright blue butterfly at rest, could be a Common Morpho
 
 
A smaller butterfly at rest.  possibly a tatty Owl Butterfly

 
Me doing my turn at making the chocolate

We came back to the hotel for a few hours before going into the town of La Fortuna with our tour guide as the restaurants there are considerably cheaper than eating at any of the hotels.  We had a quick sightseeing tour in the bus.  The town is mainly made up of souvenir shops, travel agents and restaurants.  There is a church and a park.  The church was full and the congregation spilling outside because there is a special service for Ash Wednesday.  We found a really nice restaurant and had a meal and drinks for quite a reasonable price, certainly compared with the hotel.

 
La Fortuna Church

 
The park

 
Fountain in the park

 
Large cricket that flew into the restaurant.

We have tomorrow morning at La Fortuna before leaving at midday for the Cloud Forest.  We have been warned that internet may not be good there.


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