Friday, April 19th, 2019

Day 7 of Full Costa Rica adventure by Bamba Experience

Todays itinerary:
“Arenal Vulcano and Baldi hot springs
You’ll be picked up at your hotel at 15:10 hrs. Take about 7 hrs. Destiny Travel Costa Rica

The impressive Arenal Volcano is a natural wonder found in La Fortuna de San Carlos, Alajuela, offering thousands of tourists the opportunity to appreciate the columns of white smoke, ash and fumarolic activity emanating from the conical-shaped colossus. It is important to bear in mind that the volcano had remained asleep for at least 450 years, until on July 29, 1968 it experienced a great eruption, starting a new period of pyroclastic activity which has been decreasing in the last years.

After being picked up at your hotel in La Fortuna, you will visit a viewpoint that is closer to the base of the volcano, where you can also see the Arenal Lagoon.
Eventually, the tourist will enjoy and relax in one of the best hot springs in the area, where you can enjoy the rejuvenating effects of them, as well as a massage (optional activity) or other special treatments that must be reserved in advance.

The facilities of Baldi offer the tourist, 25 pools of thermal water, which flow naturally from the volcano. The medicinal waters are certified by L.N.A (National Water Laboratory), and the temperature ranges from 33 to 66 degrees Celsius (93-152 Fahrenheit) providing customers with a wide range of options that suite the taste of the person.

And for a perfect ending, before returning to your Hotel, a delicious buffet dinner is served with a great view of the volcano so you do not miss any opportunity to appreciate it once again.”

We get up late. I first check the view.

Then we go to included Magic Mountain breakfast. The hotel has approx 400 guests, less than 100 seats for breakfast. The guy at the Omelette Station does his best. The queue never ends.

I check the tours. They all start at 7:30am. We are late. The girl at the reception is super helpful, recommends doing Arenal 1968 park, if we want to walk. We take a taxi (25 usd), pay the entrance (15 usd pP) and walk. It is hot, the walk is around 8 km, good views on lava and the volcano. Even due it is Easter, nobody is walking here. We text the driver, wait 20 minutes, drive back to a supermarket close to the hotel. Shop there, than back to the hotel, coffee cooking. They have a coffee machine in the room, 1 pad only.

Change and wait for the tour, which will start at 3:10 PM. A guy picks us up in his car, “no walking, no walk”. I am surprised. For an English speaking guide his vocabulary is rudimentary. He drives in direction of the national park, suddenly stops on a hill on the side of the street. We get out. “This is the viewpoint”.

This is the edge of the road to a cow paddock with barbed wire. He shows as a spanish/english book about the eruption of Arenal volcano of 1968. Aha. Then he brings us to Baldi hot springs, pays the entrance and hands us over his cell number, to call as we want to be picked up.

We go inside. A locker costs 6 usd, a towel 10 usd deposit. Costa Rica is not the cheapest place. I go from pool to pool. As more up I go, the hotter the pools get. I skip the 60° C.

We have dinner at 6 pm. Mass tourism. It is full, Easter weekend is the main holidays in Costa Rica, we learned. Tons of locals. We do as the locals.

At 7 we call the driver, at 8 he picks us up and brings gs us back to the hotel. We pack our things once more.

Accommodation: Hotel Magic Mountain, La Fortuna