PURA VIDA : part 2

If asked what surprised me the most about Costa Rica, I would have to say, "The fences." Fences, you ask? Fences for pasture are made from barbed wire, and post are branches cut from trees. The soil is so rich and the weather so perfect for growing, the "post" form roots and sprout branches themselves becoming trees. As a child, I remember our family used commercially treated post for fencing. It was treated to prevent rotting in the ground. The post in Costa Rica don't have that rotting problem, because they are living structures. Amazing! 

The post in the foreground has sprouted a branch from top.

The volcano is amazing. It is still active and the lava is visible on the sides. Since it is still active, there are several hot spring resorts. We visited one called Tabacon. It was wonderful with many private pools and small waterfalls. The water was very warm and flowed quickly. The last pool, complete with a water slide, had a bar at the far side. I couldn't resist trying out the slide. It was as much fun as I thought it would be.

It was dark and I couldn't get good pics.

Lake Arenal is very large, but we only saw one boat on the lake. Chuck, being a true angler, packed his travel rod and reel in hopes of catching something on the vacation. The fish were not cooperating that morning, so we took the 4-wheeler to the Butterfly Conservatory. I learned that butterflies have host plants. They are picky eaters, only eating one type of plant. The butterflies were very active, and very pretty. 

After the butterfly museum, we visited the snake museum. There are vipers in Costa Rica, and we saw one while horseback riding. Both of these museums were very interesting. 

Our last day there, we went to Sky Trek. You ride a gondola up into the mountains, and the only way to get down, is the Zip line. It was so much fun.

See that little white dot... that's me coming in!!!

Coming in fast!!!

On our last night, we had dinner with three of our friends. It was a fabulous meal, I had the Gordon Blue Chicken. Okay, I think they meant Cordon Bleu. The food was excellent, and the company even better. After dinner we all gathered in the hot tub at the Majestic Lodge. It was a perfect end to a perfect vacation, and I know I will get to do it again some day.