It’s time to embark on a long awaited adventure, and to realise a dream that has been nestled in my heart for over ten years.
Danny and I left home at the civilised hour of 08:00 (gone are the days of getting to Luton airport for 05:00), took the civilised Elizabeth Line to Heathrow, and had a civilised breakfast before boarding our flight. Being the friendly chap that he is, Danny assumed the responsibility of middle-seat-occupant, and chatted away happily to the young woman next to him about surfing, the Barbie movie, and the civil service. This allowed me to hunker down into a Harry Potter marathon, which I was very pleased about. We paused in Toronto for a couple of hours, then took a second flight over a cloud-ocean, waves cresting along an amber horizon, which turned molten ruby as an inky night began to fall. We landed beneath a pale gold moon, just starting to wane.
After some mild taxi-faff, we made it to a hotel near the airport and crashed into sleep. Well, as far as was possible with the planes roaring overhead, shaking the flimsy tin roof.
Jetlagged and coffee-fuelled, we left San Jose early in a shared shuttle, driven by a good-humoured man called Jesus. We wound past plantations of sugarcane, coffee and papaya, climbing steadily. After a while, visibility (and thankfully, Jesus’s speed) reduced – we were driving through cloud, with what I could only imagine to be a perilous drop either side. The coral Bougainvilleas and amber Flame of the Forest transmuted into lush ferns draped with tendrils. We passed over rivers coursing around boulders, and past haciendas in which herds of cattle munched the plentiful vegetation. More time passed and the landscape changed again – as we descended the sun re-emerged, shining on neat ochre houses bordered with carefully tended gardens. Suddenly, Jesus stopped. “Look!”
We tentatively crossed the road and peered into the trees. A gorgeous two-toed sloth was nestled in the branches, gazing at us with a calm, wise smile. Unable to believe that I’d had the good chance to meet such a mystical being so early in the trip, and at such close quarters, the rest of the journey to La Fortuna passed in a flash, as I dwelled in the fulfilment of a dream that I’d had for so long.
Once we arrived we checked into our hostel (unfortunately unlike early flights from Luton, the days of hostels are not over), then headed to a bougie vegan cafe for our first proper meal since our civilised breakfast in London 36 hours earlier. We then made our way to the Bogarin trail, an area of conservation land bordered by farms, and conveniently located opposite our hostel. Over the next two hours, Jason led us through the forest, pointing out bats, vultures, toucans, an owl, a red-eyed frog and of course sloths. These sloths were very high up, and a bit sleepy, so weren’t quite as engaging as our chance encounter that morning. Nevertheless, the experience of being in such a tropical and diverse habitat transported me into another way of being.
The next morning we woke up early (having not quite transitioned to Tico Time), and took an Uber (oh, the convenience) to Arenal 1968, a conservation area in the shadow of Arenal Volcano which erupted in the year of its name. With low expectations, we embarked on the longest of the three hikes available (which wasn’t very long by our standards), and disappeared into the rainforest. To begin with, the path was fairly sedate, winding between the sails of ceibu roots. We then began to climb, doubling back on ourselves in tight hairpins, obscured by dense greenery. The path became a mosaic of black volcanic rocks, which would occasionally tumble out from beneath our feet. Eventually the view opened out to the blue water of Lake Arenal, and in the other direction, the volcano itself. She hid coyly behind a veil of cloud, which occasionally lifted to reveal a few more metres of her height. Her crown remained covered, but in spite of that, a silent, potent grandeur emanated from her lava heart.
We descended through more lush forest, serenaded by rasping croaks and melodic trills that seemed to come from everywhere all at once. Lines of leaf-carrying ants zig-zagged across the path, and occasionally we’d catch a blink of a butterfly, or a flash of a lizard’s tail. We circled around an inviting lake (in which we were advised not to swim due to the caimans), and rejoined the main path. Just as we were nearing the end of trail, we saw a group huddled beneath a trumpet tree. We saw a female sloth climbing higher up the tree, each graceful movement seeming to connect seamlessly to the last, as if she was swimming through the air. We concluded our hike with a cold drink and an empanada, and the smug feeling of exceeded expectations.
We then took a short Uber down the road to the “Free Hot Springs”, which is really a hole in a fence used by locals and tourists alike to reach the warm thermal waters of a natural stream. For the second time that day, we were pleasantly surprised. We floated in the warm pools for an hour or two, gazing up at the leafy canopy and immersing ourselves in the elemental experience. Danny felt very relaxed.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in a local park, reading our books and sipping coconuts beneath the shade of a tree.
For our final day in La Fortuna, we decided that we needed the full hot springs experience. We went for the mid-range option of Eco-Termales – not as pricey as Tabacon, but a step up from the free hot springs. Our Uber driver steered us down a narrow tarmac trail curling through a corridor of lush vegetation. We arrived at the reception, were offered plush white towels, and then led down another jungle path towards the pools.
Wisps of steam licked the surface of the large thermal pools, connected by tumbling waterfalls and sheltered by a canopy of ancient ferns and the broad fans of palm trees. It was surprisingly quiet, except for the occasional group of American retirees recounting golf stories and ordering Pina Coladas. The sound of the waterfalls blended with the pattering rain on the leaves. We immersed ourselves in the warm water and felt our muscles melting, as we watched hummingbirds hovering overhead.
La Fortuna has been an excellent introduction to the Pura Vida lifestyle. We’ve met the local wildlife, unwound in the thermal waters, and reconnected to a taste for adventure that had lain dormant. We’re ready to go deeper into the forest.
nativeoyster 