I had planned a couple of days in La Fortuna which meant I had time to do the weekly wash. Travelling so lightweight means I’m only travelling with bare minimum in the way of clothing so need to get by with hand washing in the shower and a good soak in laundry powder when time and necessity arise. And necessity had arisen. With the aid of hostel hound, Nala, we got it sorted. Then, I headed out for a stroll around town.
La Fortuna is famous for being the only village in the vicinity that didn’t get buried beneath tones of volcanic debris when Volcán Arenal erupted in 1968. Locals didn’t even realise it was a volcano, referring to it as a hill. That all changed when Arenal blew it’s top (literally and violently), destroying all in its path. Now awakened, Arenal decided to let locals know who was boss and kept them on their toes for over 40 years. Until it got bored. And stopped. Although still considered active, Arenal is mostly impersonating sloths these days and is pretty docile.
I found a nice little restaurant overlooking the town plaza and settled down to survey the scene over something to eat and a couple of icy cervezas. La Fortuna is definitely a tourist time and there is no escaping the fact. Everywhere you look is brightly painted murals of Costa Rica’s ‘Big 5’ (sloth, monkey, toucan, hummingbird and red-eyed tree frog); though to be fair none of these are likely to kill you unless you come across a rabid specimen. Fortunately, there is an almost complete lack of street hawkers which means you can still stroll the streets unmolested.
After checking on my washing, I continued my wandering around town. I was wanting to get out to Volcán Arenal to hike around the trails there but couldn’t find any reliable information about buses. I instead decided to book a tour which included the volcano, as well as a private reserve with a number of suspension bridges high in the jungle canopy, and a visit to some hot springs. There was an option for adding on a waterfall visit as well but I needed to be back by mid afternoon for a Zoom meeting so discounted that.
Then it was back to the hostel to chill in one of the hammocks. Rio Danta Hostel is a lovely little property surrounded on two sides by a small stream. There is a beautiful little deck overlooking the stream as well as hammocks in a garden alongside it. It was as good a place as any to stretch out and soak up the serenity.
Wild Woman Wandering 