After visiting El Salvador, the next stop was Costa Rica, which was a completely different culture and environment, particularly given their relative proximity. The first thing, which stood out in Costa Rica, was the (very) lush vegetation, and the second thing was how slow the traffic moved up and down the hills and around the bends. After hiring a car at the airport, it took two and a half hours to drive the 75 miles to the Arenal Volcano National Park. The National Park contains two volcanoes, a lake and lush tropical rainforest at base of the volcanoes. Whilst staying in the national park we were able to see many wonderful sights, the highlight being wild monkeys and toucans.
In addition, the trip to the national park offered excellent cuisine and great activities. These activities included a ziplining canopy tour and a day relaxing at a spa with over 25 different thermo mineral hot water pools. Although, the top activity was a trip to a local rescued animal sanctuary, as this allowed the opportunity to feed monkeys and other exciting animals.
Robin Bell 