Ziplining, Hot springs and Hiking in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Arriving in La Fortuna
After the rural gravel backroads near Caño Negro, we immediately noticed that La Fortuna was a much bigger town. Arriving on the paved highway, we drove past dozens of grocery stores, restaurants, resorts and cabins.
Upon arriving, we first drove to our AirBnB, a series of rustic cabins off the main road. We met the host and dropped our bags inside.
After a few hours in the car, we were eager to get out and walk around. Just behind the rows of cabins, we took the trail down to the river. The path was less than half a kilometer long, but the trail was steep and muddy. We slipped as we stepped down the trail which was slick from the several rainfalls that day. I watched out for snakes even though every stick and vine has that cylindrical shape.
The river rushed past us, loudly babbling along with a chorus of screaming cicadas. The scene was really beautiful and it felt great to stretch our legs. Here we spotted our first coati, a raccoon like mammal that is very common in Costa Rica but new to us!
Our Cabin in La Fortuna
We rented a rustic wooden cabin with a view overlooking the valley and the river below. It had a kitchen, small living area, two bedrooms with a balcony looking out the back.
We liked having a kitchen so we could prepare breakfasts and some dinners at the house; while still enjoying a few meals out at local restaurants. We liked the local cuisine with beans, rice, meat and salad; but also the economical balance of grocery shopping and cooking.
One night a bat flew around the main room of the cabin. We ducked and covered, army crawled and opened the doors. The woman that runs the set of cabins told us that the bats are common, harmless and eat the pesky mosquitoes. However, we did not want to share our space with bats. Fortunately, once it flew out, we didn’t see any more; and we kept the doors closed at dusk.
We enjoyed several quiet evenings at the cabin with home cooked dinners, wine, card games, and reading books. With the limited wifi, we shared our pictures from the day and enjoyed the company of good friends. In the mornings, we woke to the sound of the river rushing down the hill and sipped coffee before starting the day.
Baldi Hot Springs
Our first day in La Fortuna, we had tentatively planned to hike. However with the rain and clouds, we swapped that for a day at the Baldi Hot Springs. We drove the five minutes up from town and paid the daily entrance fee. We opted just for a day pass without meals, since we wanted to grab lunch at a place in town and could return afterwards.
The Baldi Hot Springs was a fancy place with a luxurious spa atmosphere. It contained 25 thermal pools including some cool and contrasting pools. As we walked up the paths, each pool was hotter and hotter, all the way to a scalding 100+ degree lagoon at the top. Each pool was surrounded by lush gardens and steam rose from the heated pools.
The day was totally relaxing. We soaked in the warm waters, read books, and lounged on the built-in recliners in the thermal pools.
Before we left, we went down the waterslides, labeled as “Extreme Slides,” with warning signs that riders may fly down the chute at 27 miles per hour. In preparation for tomorrow’s zip line, I decided to go down to get my adrenaline ready. Sure enough, my screams reverberated all the way up and down the slide as I hit the two turns and then the straight shot down to the pool.
Eventually, when our fingers were all pruny, we grabbed towels and showered off, all relaxed from our day at the hot springs.
Ziplining at Arenal Mundo Aventura
How did I sign myself up for ziplining in Costa Rica? I am absolutely terrified of heights and much prefer to keep my feet on the ground. I guess you’re only in Costa Rica once and just can’t miss the opportunity to see the jungle canopy from above.
A driver picked us up at 10:00am and brought us to the ecoadventure park, “Arenal Mundo Aventura.” My hands trembled and I took deep breaths as we completed our registration. Then, the staff handed us a harness, carabiners, a heavy gear set and helmet which filled me with terror and we watched a five minute safety video on the bleachers with fifty other tourists. There was no going back now.
Next we climbed onto the tractor trains to start up the mountain. We met our guides, Jean Carlos and Pablo, who would spend the day with our group. Luckily our group had also signed up for repelling, which meant we had a small private group with just us while the others had large groups of people only participating in ziplining.
The Tower!
The most terrifying and challenging part for me was climbing the initial tower. To start the ziplining, we needed to climb up a gigantic tower. 18 meters, or 54 feet, looming above me filled me with panic. In just the first steps onto the first platform I froze and declared that I couldn’t do it. It was only a few feet off the ground, but I knew this was the absolute last moment to back out. Once you’re up, the zipline is the only way to get back down.
Eli was ahead of me. I was tightly packed right into her backside so I couldn’t look down. My eyes mostly closed all the way up, I panicked at each step of the stairs, each bend in the ladder, each shift of my hand up the rail. I cried and said many four letter words. I had never been so scared in my life!
Reaching the top platform, I shouted to Jean Carlos to clip me as soon as I reached the top of the stairs, even though it was far from the edge.
Ziplining!
At the top, it was decided that I could ride tandem with one of the guides. This way, with all my effort on managing my phobia, I didn’t have to also worry about braking at the end, or worse, getting stuck in the middle. So, for each of my ziplines, there was an extra weight on board and an expert controlling the departure and arrival to the next platform.
For our first zipline, I was the last one off the platform from our group. I watched each of the others step up and start their ride with cheers and thrills. I clipped in with Pablo and my very obvious fear grew into an even bigger panic. He instructed me to sit back, cross my feet and lift them up. And nope. I couldn’t move them. My feet were firmly planted to the platform.
Eventually, we took off and once we were airborne, the panic slightly subsided and I enjoyed the stunning view. I mostly looked out over the canopy instead of straight down into the ravine below. Since Pablo would brake at the end, I just tried to enjoy the view and open my eyes to the scenery. On our first ride, we saw a great view of Piño Blanco Waterfall.
I reached the first platform with tears still flowing but landed with a cheer. I was ready to celebrate that I made it, but that was only the first of seven zipline runs!
Rappelling down the Piño Blanco Waterfall
At this point, I realized that I could opt out of the repelling section. The girls would repel and climb out to the same spot. After the panic of simply climbing the tower, the repelling was just not a realistic challenge for me.
I watched while the gals got a quick lesson. I stayed clipped into the platform, enjoying the warm jungle rain, 80 meters above the forest floor. Each one of my friends took tentative steps off the platform, gripping the rope to slowly lower herself for 30 meters of freefall. Then, they bounced another 50 meters down the mossy canyon wall. Down below expert guide, Jean Carlos, lowered them to the river.
Coming back out of the ravine, the girls needed to climb up a dreadfully frightening ladder. It was made from six regular ladders strung together, fastened together with cables. Even if I had made it down the repeling, I’m certain that I would have been stuck down there.
After repelling, our ziplining continued with six more runs. Each was unique, some faster, others longer, another even higher above the canopy. I always stayed clipped in and riding tandem with the guides. That way, I had the chance to enjoy the experience instead of sheer panic. A few times we passed over treetops too close, catching a branch or two with our extra weight.
Demonstration Village of Maleku Indigenous People
Connected with the Arenal Mundo Aventura, a group from the Maleku tribe shared a demonstration of their village life and an art gallery. We entered the thatched roof shelter that served as shop and gallery and one man explained to us about their traditions, culture and history in Costa Rica. He showed us the traditional snake-skinned covered drums and wooden masks with faces of jaguar, toucans and snakes.
Only 600 indiginous people remain from the original Maleku people that inhabited the area before the Spanish colonization. They were granted a trivial amount of land and only 30 years ago were granted government ID cards and the right to vote.
They have struggled to maintain agriculture, livestock and their former way of life on the land, especially with local development affecting their water sources. Today they rely mostly on tourism for economic survival.
Horseback Riding
Our adventure ended with a short horseback ride down the mountain. The thirty minute ride was just enough to get where we needed and to enjoy the horses but not have sore legs from the ride later on.
We stepped up on a massive tire to mount the horses. They were named Marijuano, Cenizo, Colorado, Martino and Chan (like Jackie Chan). The trail started with a super steep muddy section and then continued on a flatter gravel road. We followed “Killer,” an old corgi mix, as he led us down the hill and back to the stable.
Closing out the Adventure
When we arrived back at the reception area, we dropped off our gear and walked over to the restaurant area. Our adventure included lunch with the day trip. The cold mango juice was refreshing after a day out in the sun and mud.
While I really enjoyed the ziplining views and felt proud that I challenged my fears, I was very happy to have my feet back on the ground. I’m glad the girls encouraged me to give it a try.
Around La Fortuna
We spent a bit of time wandering around the town of La Fortuna. The streets were touristy, lined with souvenir shops, hostels, tour and adventure companies and restaurants aimed at visitors. I purchased my obligatory travel patch at one of the gift stores. One afternoon we stopped for drinks at the “Lava Lounge,” a cute bar with a kinda rustic patio look.
Twice we ate at diners called sodas, like soda fountains. First we ate at Soda “La Hormiga.” We ordered from a menu displayed on the wall and sat at the rows of bench-seat tables. We all ordered the casado, meaning “married,” which combines rice, beans, steak (or another meat), potatoes and veggies. I had a chocolate milkshake, because, why not. And together we shared a plate of fried plantains with cream. Delish!
Another day we ate at Soda “Vicente” and had the best “Mexican” nachos ever, with real chips, beans and pieces of beef. Along with a pork casado and a cold Sprite made with real sugar, we left full and happy.
Hiking to the La Fortuna Waterfall
So, this is funny. We were about to pack up the car on our last morning before driving to Monteverde, when we realized that we had one more full day in La Fortuna! So, we went back to Arenal Mundo Aventura, since our ziplining activities from the previous day included reentry to hike to the La Fortuna waterfall.
We started just before 9:00 from the reception area. The first part of the hike took us through the “Educational Area” with signage to teach nature tidbits to visitors. Along the river we learned some interesting facts like how termites are blind so they follow pheromones. We stopped to watch leaf cutter ants form long lines; their backs empty in one direction and returning with pieces of leaf up to twenty times their size.
The nature along the path was incredible. We were surrounded by tall trees, many wrapped in vines and covered in green moss. Some interesting plants rooted themselves into the high branches of trees and other plants. We hiked along the rippling river when we realized that we were right across the river from our cabin area.
The next 45 minutes of the hike were harder as we steadily moved up the side of the volcano. The wide path was wide enough for the tractors and horses that use the road. However, the humidity was high and there wasn’t much shade. We took a few breaks to take in the scenery, green covered hills in all directions.
Soon we arrived at the dreaded Tower from the ziplining adventure, 18 meters of terror. I took a few steps up which didn’t provoke the same anxiety as the day before since my brain knew I wasn’t going to ascend all the way.
At the Falls
From the “Ranger Station” we descended the final 600 meters to the La Fortuna Waterfall. The trail was well worn with built-in steps and handrails. We crossed over a hanging bridge and continued through the mossy damp jungle.
Once we hit the bottom of the river, we saw many more people. Lots of visitors arrived from the public entrance from the other side.
We needed to cross the river by wading through it to reach the falls. The waist deep water was quite cold compared to the hot and humid air temperature. Once on the other side, we awed at the falls, a tall 75 meters in a single drop.
After relaxing and taking in the falls, we waded back across the rivers and put on our shoes. Then, we started the hike back up. Those 600 meters uphill were tougher, especially with all the humidity but we were in no rush. Another 40 minutes later and we made it back down the hill to our car.
Volcano Hike – ARENAL 1968
We went to a private park, Arenal 1968, to hike around the famous volcano. So we picked a six kilometer route that would take us through the best variety of the park’s ecosystems.
We started the trail from the initial viewpoint at the cafeteria. The clouds cleared a bit from the frequent rains in the region and we saw the volcano. It was hard to plan our outdoor activities in La Fortuna; we originally planned on this hike our first day in town but got rained out.
The first section of the hike took us deep into the jungle with moss and vines everywhere. Lava rocks and greenery filled the scene with the sun barely peeking through in some areas.
We hiked around Lago Los Patos which formed from the 1968 volcanic eruption. The lake was covered in algae so it seemed like a shallow marsh area but it was actually 22 meters deep.
The next stretch started up the skirt of the volcano. The trees and green plants became more sparse and the views opened up.
From the final view point, we looked out over the field with Lake Arenal in the background and the sun peering down between the clouds, highlighting the lake. In the other direction, we had a clear view up to the volcano. In the final scramble, we reached an even closer view of the volcano.
A few sprinkles started and it was time to go. The exit path was a straight shot down the volcano, which is probably best to have as a quick exit from a volcano. The whole hike was an enjoyable two hours of taking in the diversity of Costa Rican nature.
Next Stop, Monteverde!
