A Day at Baldi Hot Springs

When my plans fell through (again) to go to the beach in Costa Rica, I decided I wanted to see a volcano. Since Paos Volcano was still erupting, I decided to take a tour to Arenal Volcano and Baldi Hot Springs. It sounded like it would be a fun tour.

We first stopped in Sochi to see the World’s Biggest Ox Cart but due to some parade, we couldn’t get there and ended up spending way too much time in a Costa Rican souvenir gift shop than I would have liked. That’s how these things go sometimes.

Lunch was at Rancho Perla in La Fortuna which is the town at the base of the volcano. We had a choice of the usual chicken, beef, seafood or a hamburger. I went with the chicken which was fantastic and the beef looked even better. Dessert was orange dreamsicle ice cream – vanilla ice cream with orange sherbet.

While we waited for everyone to finish eating, I explored the grounds around the restaurant. I saw another bird and a mini alligator. I’m sure they have proper names but I apparently forgot to take a course in Costa Rican wildlife during college.

After lunch we headed to Arenal Volcano. It was a short trail to an observation area -- and they even provided walking sticks…probably for the longer hikes through the lava fields but It was still fun to use one. It was a very cloudy day and Arenal was shrouded in clouds. I didn’t even get to see the famous volcano.

Then it was time for the hot springs. Baldi Hot Springs is a resort that features several different hot springs fed from water from the volcano.  It is actually the world’s largest hot springs. There are waterfalls in just about each of the pools. Some pools have water slides while others feature a swim up bar.

I spent most of my time up at the highest hot springs which feature a lounging surfaces in the pool and as well as a waterfall. Some would find this one to be too hot but I liked it.

Even though I spent most of my time in the higher hot springs, I did go in all of the others except for the children’s area and the Hot tubs. I wish I had more than about 2 hours to truly enjoy the place – or people I actually knew to hang out with.  

I also went down 2 of 3 water slides… I refused to go down the 3^rd… People told me it is an adventure. Mandy saw people come shooting out of and skip across the water like stones on a pond. Even Mandy, who will do just about anything, had to have a few drinks in her before she would go down.

Because I was with a group strangers I latched on a trio of older people. One of them liked to hike and explore. We explored one of the paths around the hot springs. It wasn’t a very long path but it did let us see the foliage and some cool plants.

Overall it was a fun but tiring day. I am disappointed that I did not get to see Arenal Volcano but that’s what happens when you go to Costa Rica in the rainy season – you never know what you’re going to be able to see. I would love to go back and try one of the other tours in Arenal – ziplining tubing, or even ATV’ing. The area offers so much to do and I barely scratched the surface.  I would highly recommend seeing Arenal when you’re in Costa Rica because I heard it’s amazing. 

6019. Drink sake

For my last night in Costa Rica, the whole group went out to dinner to Tin Jo in downtown San Jose. Tin Jo is an Asian restaurant that features Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, and Indonesian cuisine under one roof. Each of the dining rooms are decorated for one of the countries but you can order whatever dish you want in any dining room.

We all ordered different dishes. I played it safe and went with beef and green beans. Others had orange chicken, Curry, Kung Pao, and Chicken Teriyaki. You could decide on your degree of hotness.. me being a wimp went with mild even else went with medium. Dinner was very good and I would definitely order this or try something new if I ever got back here.

Beef and Green Beans

Chicken Teriyaki

We also got an appetizer of some crunchy things with a dipping sauce. None of us were 100% sure what they brought to the table.

Our appetizer

Besides ordering Chicken Teriyaki, Nic also ordered Sake, rice wine, for the table to try. He ordered it chilled but it came warm. We each got a shot of Sake.

It tasted almost like rubbing alcohol. Most everyone at the table wasn't a fan of it. The jury is still out for me. Yes it is very dry and strong but there's something about it that makes it unique. Normally I don't like warm wine but this one is actually manageable. I would love to try it chilled.  It's probably something I won't order myself but I would drink if someone at the table ordered a bottle.

Who would have thought I would have Japanese Rice Wine in Costa Rica?

A Visit to Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

Since my weekend didn't turn out as hoped (again), I convinced Nic to go the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica or National Museum in San Jose with me. This is probably one of the few museums I wanted to see besides the churches and this would be my last chance to get there this trip.

The Museo Nacional de Costa Rica is located in an old fort. Once the army was disbanded in 1948, the fort was no longer needed and was turned into the museum. So not only do you get to learn the history of Costa Rica but you get to explore an Old Fort while you are at it. I am sucker for old Forts... that's probably my inner history geek showing through.

After paying our admission ($9), we headed into the museum. The first exhibit was (another) butterfly garden. I'm beginning to think every touristy place in Costa Rica must have a butterfly garden with blue butterflies... 3 different places and 3 butterfly gardens all with pretty much the same butterflies. Now don't get me wrong, I love butterflies, especially the blue ones, but after awhile the whole butterfly garden gets old after awhile. I tried to get them to land on me again but they didn't like me.

Then we headed into the actual fort and learned about the history of the fort and Costa Rica. You can see the gun windows, bathrooms, and prison cells from the original fort.

The Latrines 

Writing on the cell walls

Because the museum is in an old fort, the layout is difficult to follow. We ended up in a courtyard (with cannons!) and had to figure out where to go from there. It was tough knowing if we hit all the exhibits or not.

I personally liked the ancient civilization stone carvings and funeral altars. The history geek/archaeologist in me really loved that exhibit. We even saw dead bodies... hopefully they were real skeletons and not just recreations.

Altar

Funeral "Stretchers"

There was a lot to see including exhibits on work, life, government

Of course it won't be a Costa Rican Museum without an Ox Cart or 2

The view from the fort overlooking the city wasn't bad either

Nic does museums like I do. I look at the exhibits and if something catches me eye I'll read about it. I don't have to read EVERY single exhibit. I'm more of a museum browser. We probably spent about an hour or so in the museum. It was very interesting and definitely worth the trip. I would go back and check it out again if I'm ever in San Jose again and needed something to do.