This was a fantastic day. We got picked up at 8 am and taken to the
arenal volcano which is about a 3 hour drive from the hostel.
We were really lucky to have an awesome driver, Miza, who has to be one of the best tour guides in the country. We saw lots of animals including toucans, went to a tiny cigar factory where Travis got to hand roll a cigar while i pet the goats in the yard, and see lots of other cool stuff on the mountainous drive to the volcano.
The coolest thing we got to do was go to was go to the
Baldi hot springs resort near the volcano. i went to a hot springs pool near Napa last time i was in California, but this was on a whole new level than that experience. Besides the many different hot springs pools they had, they had an awesome hot waterslide where you went so fast it was scary. In fact, the last time i went down, i was going so fast that i lost control and knocked my head and lost conciousness for a brief second. Glad i woke up quick, because the lifeguards watching over the slide exit area looked in no hurry to jump in and save my ass.
Besides all of the cool stuff we got to do, i think the best part might have been the time i spent talking with our guide. I sat in the front of the van the whole time and picked the drivers brain, learning lots of spanish, and all sorts of other cool stuff about central america. I think if i could spend another few months with him, i could be pretty fluent really quickly. He was a great guy, and a great teacher. When we left him today, we all had this weird feeling becasue he really made us feel like we were part of his family. At the end he said that he felt he like he had some new sons, but said he especially felt like he made one son in particular, referring to me.
Tomorrow we leave for Jaco beach after lunch.
Pura Vida