Day 7: To Arenal

Being the only guest in a lodge certainly has its advantages, as breakfast is served whenever we feel like it. Today, it was around 07:30.
Right after this, we embarked on a small boat for yet another boat safari on the river system.

Caño Negro is a swampy area right next to a lagune which almost completely drains during the dry season. Right now, we are in the wet season and the entire area is flooded with about one metre of water.
This naturally attracts many species of birds, reptiles and amphibians, and that is the main reason why we’re there.

The guide took us around the area in about two hours, along rivers, small waterways and on the lagune. The amount of birds in this area is simply staggering! Hundreds of cormorants, Anhinga’s, Egrets, Herons and Kingfishers have passed our lenses, many of which played nice and posed for us.
Many cayman also call this place home, as do quite a lot of Jesus Christ Lizards and Green Iguana. It is a marvellous place!

The only downside of it is, that it sits in the middle of a 50km dirt road, of the worst kind imaginable. The drive there is quite an adventure, but with our new and trusty 4×4 Rav4, everything is fine!

From Caño Negro to La Fortuna (the village right next to the Arenal volcano) is about 120kms and the drive is great! The first 30km is dirt road, but after that everything is tarred and just fine. It is not Dutch quality, but we managed just great. After about 100 km the majestic volcano is visible as it stands way taller than anything around it.

We booked a frog watching tour through the hotel garden the moment we arrived, and have seen around 10 species of frogs! Including the very Costa Rican Red Eyes Frog. Great frog, and very picturesque at that.

Tomorrow we’ll walk the Arenal National Park, to get some more scenic views of the grand mountain.