Costa Rica: Day Three (Justin’s Birthday)
In case a morning horseback ride through the mountains wasn’t enough, Justin and I decided to descend from our steep mountainous getaway and explore on his birthday. First, we drove for a good hour down a dirt path - that might be classified by some as a road - to tour an entirely self-sustaining organic ranch, http://ranchomargot.org/ . I left Rancho Margot thinking that I might actually try to volunteer there over the summer next year before starting grad school. At the ranch, a person can volunteer for one month (gardening, giving tours, cooking…) and stay/eat for free. I think it would be a great time for me to experience something out of my element and would help me transition from my current job at the Statehouse to the busy life of a grad student. Justin and I also met a dog at the ranch that we wanted to take home, but were already worried about getting coffee through customs.
After touring and potentially deciding to move to Rancho Margot, J and i went on a self-guided hike at Sendero Los Tucanes up the sketchy dirt path road. It was one of the more sweat inducing hikes of the trip, but ended at a Jurassic Park scenescape-worthy mirador overlooking the best view we’d seen of Volcan Arenal yet. Then, Justin saw a snake. I did not.
We finished the day at dinner in La Fortuna and a trip to the hot springs. There are a good number of hot springs in the area, but we chose Eco Termales as it was mid-range in price and less touristy; I was glad we did. I had the best guaro sour of the entire trip there and there were about seven pools with a few waterfalls and varying temperatures. It was quieter than some of the nearby hot springs, but filled with people for the off-season (they keep it to 100 person max). The springs are also surrounded by rainforest, making it a really unique experience. While there, it started to storm and I was terrified of the drive back over the lake and up the mountain, but Justin did a great job!
