An Incredible Day

This was a day of exploration and learning for Mr. Evans and me. He has spent time here before, but this is my first foray into Central America.

I learned a few things about Costa Rica today, as I began to soak up the culture and atmosphere of this ecologically rich nation. I learned that this place is not NEARLY as hot or humid as I imagined it would be. I am sitting outside our lodge at 9:00 pm as I type this, and I am a bit cool. The weather has been a very pleasant surprise for me! It was quite warm in Liberia when we arrived, but as we made our way up to Arenal it was very nice. We rolled the windows down in the Mitsubishi and enjoyed the equatorial air.

Not as pleasant a surprise were the roads. While highway 1 was mostly very well maintained, it was also only two lanes. There was a lot of crazy passing going on, and we met some rather amusing vehicles. These included several with people hanging out the side and one horse riding in the open bed of a pickup truck. The drive to Arenal was long and VERY winding, and the roads here are chocked full of pot holes so deep you can't see the bottom.

The currency here is the Costa Rican Colon, with an exchange rate of approximately 500-1 US dollars. The paper money is very aesthetically pleasing!

This evening before dinner we hiked in Arenal National Park and witnessed the volcano spewing ash and steam several times. It was VERY cool to see an active volcano doing its thing! As Mr. Evans mentioned, the sun set very early: 6:08. It was odd to see so early a sunset in the summertime.

More hiking and exploration of the natural wonders here are on the agenda for tomorrow. Hope you have enjoyed the pictures and posts from today, and I'll have lots more to share in the days to come. Please check back often, and don't hesitate to ask questions or make comments!

Mas Noticias manana (sorry for the lack of Spanish punctuation--it is killing me not to be able to punctuate correctly, regardless of the tongue)!