Day 4: La Fortuna
After a few days of leisurely wake-ups, we needed to set an early alarm for our Tuesday adventure.
Wildlife Safari Float
Wave Expeditions expected us to be ready for a 7:15am pick up. That meant that we needed to get up even earlier take advantage of that delicious complimentary breakfast buffet.
The van arrived right on time for our hotel pick up. Getting to the river took about 25 minutes. We met up with another family group, and our two guides. Each family group loaded up in a raft with a bilingual guide. Wave Expeditions provided the required life jackets.
The Wildlife Safari Float down the Peñas Blancas River typically takes about 2-3 hours. It’s a mellow float. The river did most of the work, but we occasionally had to pitch in and help row.
Throughout the journey, our guide pointed out the wildlife living in the river and along the banks. In the water, we spotted turtles, small caimans, and a large crocodile. It was enormous. The crocodile sat motionless, with its mouth wide open. My son gasped and asked, “Is that a statue?”. Indeed, it looked like something we’d seen on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, but this was real life.
The action wasn’t just on the water, it was also in the trees. We spent a lot of time looking up watching monkeys and and birds. Even when we couldn’t see them, we could hear them.
After a few hours, we reached a pull-out spot. We climbed some stairs and made our way to a small, family-run cafe. We were ushered to a table and served fresh cheese, a plate of fried plantains, coconut cake, and banana bread. They poured us our choice of coffee or soursop juice. (Native to Central America, soursop is a green, spiky fruit that tastes like a mix of pineapple, mango, and citrus.) After our snack break, we loaded back into the van for a ride back to the Arenal Manoa.
La Fortuna
Wanting to see something beyond the resort, we decided to take a taxi into La Fortuna. The taxi ride took about ten minutes. La Fortuna has a small, touristy downtown area.
We started with lunch at Pollo Fortuneno, a spot recommended by several of the guides. The menu was extensive, but we wanted something that was local and traditional. We ordered a chicken platter for four that included a roasted chicken, beans, tortillas, patacones (flattened and fried plantain), and banana ceviche. It was simple, well seasoned and good. We washed it down with a fresh pressed juice, there were several juices to choose from.
After lunch, we spent an hour or so walking around town. We peeked into shops, purchasing some small souvenirs. Before we headed back, we stopped at a grocery store for some snacks for our room.
Jungle Night Walk
During our Sloth Tour with Callidryas Tours the previous day, we learned they also offered a Jungle Night Walk, their most popular tour. We couldn’t resist the opportunity and decided to head out on another wildlife adventure
It was absolutely pouring once again and there was thunder and lightning, too. We thought the tour might be cancelled, but the van showed up to pick us up right on time.
KidTripster Tip: Definitely pack a waterproof rain jacket. You’ll want quick dry shirts, pants, and shorts. We also recommend closed-toed shoes that can get wet. Anticipating we might have wet shoes, I packed a portable shoe dryer.
We headed to a nature trail and waited a bit for the lightning to clear. Armed with umbrellas and flashlights, we headed out into the night. The kids were a bit reluctant, wondering what we could possibly see in the darkness. Our guide assured them that rainy nights bring out a bounty of wildlife, and he was right.
With the help of his trained eye, and our flashlights, we saw all sorts of creatures. Inside the leaves we saw spiders, caterpillars, snakes, frogs, frog eggs, and frogs copulating. Our guide showed us a cool, see-though glass frog. It wasn’t just that we could see the frogs, we could hear them, too. The sounds came from all directions. It wasn’t a basic “ribbit.” Even the frogs sound different in Costa Rica. We didn’t expect to see much at night, but we were delighted at all that we found over the course of a few hours.
As we rode back in the van, the kids compared notes about which creature they thought was the coolest. It was a toss-up between the tiny glass frog and the throbbing frog eggs.
You can see for yourself, in this video showcasing our night walk.
We hadn’t eaten dinner before the night walk, so we arrived back at the hotel hungry. We ordered food at the bar, and had it delivered to our room.
KidTripster Tip: We recommend having some colones with you on any guided adventures. You’ll want to tip your guides. We’re told that U.S. dollars are widely accepted in Costa Rica, but we carried local currency with us. If using U.S. dollars, small bills are best. Make sure they’re not ripped or torn. Credit and debit cards were accepted everywhere we traveled.
Keep Reading: click “5” to read about our journey into the Cloud Forest.
