Costa Rica, November, 2006

The active Arenal volcano juts from the jungle floor

My sweetie and I splurged on a month-long Costa Rican vacation. Other than a three-night stay in a hotel near the Monte Verde Cloudforest Reserve, we spent the entire month in the highlands midway between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, in the general vicinity of the active Arenal volcano.

We rented a house atop a small ridge about 3 kilometers up a rutted dirt road on the edge of a rainforest. We awoke at sunrise (5:30) to the barks of howler monkeys, and the chatter of toucans and Montezuma's Oropendolas. It rained almost every afternoon, which gave us ample time to relax in the hammock on the covered deck of our rental.

Tucked into the valley below our house was a working farm and rustic lodge, the Chachagua Rainforest Hotel. We had full access to the hotel's grounds -- the swimming pool (fed exclusively by crystal-clear waters from streams above in the mountains), the restaurant and bar, and the raw, rudimentary hiking trails cut into the surrounding rainforest.

We both brought digital cameras, and a computer. We downloaded our cameras' cards daily to the computer. Because of that, were were able to shoot several thousand photos over the month. Luckily, I've pared it down by about 95 percent. That's still a lot of pictures, though, so feel free to browse the index below for the categories that interest you and skip those that don't.

What did our house look like?
What's up with the cows?
Sightseeing at Cano Negro
A wildlife rescue and zoo at La Marina
Monkeys at The Hanging Bridges at Arenal
The Arenal Volcano
Want to see a cat walk upside down?
Big, beautiful bugs
Getting hungry yet?
Time for a soak in the hot springs
And then, birdwatching!
Pretty flowers, strange plants, and more
Frogs, lizards and whatnot
I think coati deserve their own category
How about a look at Lake Arenal?
Let's take a brief tour of Tilaran, too
Bidding adieu to Costa Rica
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