Time was winding down…we eventually had to leave our wonderful life in Costa Rica.  Although we were sad to leave Santa Teresa, we were excited about the weekend adventures ahead in La Fortuna, the last destination on our Costa Rican journey.  We packed up the rental car, drove 5 hours north past San Jose and landed in La Fortuna, home of the famous Arenal Volcano.  The Arenal Volcano measures over 5,000 feet high and although dormant in recent years, is still in the top ten most active volcanoes in the world.  La Fortuna, which means “the fortunate”, was a town originally called El Borio.  In 1968, Arenal erupted and destroyed all nearby towns except for El Borio.  After the eruption, the town was renamed La Fortuna.  Upon driving into La Fortuna we were immediately mesmerized by the volcano, which towers above the town and is always visible. Even from Hotel Bijagua,where we stayed, the beautiful volcano was out our window.

Prior to our visit, we contacted Desafio Adventure Company to assist us in reserving an “adventure package” that included a zip-line canopy tour and a white-water rafting trip down the Rio Balsa.  Mike had never been zip-lining and Marisa had never been white water rafting, so it was going to be an interesting day.  First up…zip lining!  The tour company picked us up at our hotel, along with another couple from Connecticut.  We drove about 20 minutes outside La Fortuna to a canopy forest where we met our guides and were given helmets and harnesses.  After our guides explained the safety instructions, they took each of our cameras, so that we would get photos and videos of everyone.  In total, there were 12 zip-lines and the scenery was spectacular.   The treetop views and mountain scenes were breathtaking.  We also had the experience of rappelling down from the canopy when we were finished with the zip lines.

Next, we were off to experience the Rio Balsa for some class 2-3 white water rafting.  We decided that class 2-3 (out of 5) was a good place to start given my beginner ability.  There are some much more challenging rivers in Costa Rica, so next time maybe we will try something different.  On this tour, we met a nice couple from San Diego on their honeymoon.  Our guide started off by explaining technique and safety procedures, then we practiced paddling in the raft on shore.  The fun really began when we got going down the river and experienced the rapids and drops!  We got completely soaked, but loved the entire 2-3 hour ride.  It was the right level of adventure to be challenging, but not too scary!

Zarcero Independence Day Parade

Zarcero Independence Day Parade

On our drive south to San Jose, we stopped in Zarcero, a small mountain town highly recommended to us by our hotel owners.   Fortunately, it was Independence Day and the entire country celebrates by having parades down its city streets.  We got to experience part of Zarcero’s celebrations by seeing part of their parade and visiting their beautiful cathedral and gardens.  Once we got to San Jose, we checked into our hotel and prepared our luggage for the long trek home to the U.S.A.