Strenuous climbs, precarious ledges, a healthy dose of fear, and awe-inspiring views - and that was all still in the car ON THE WAY to Mistico Park Hanging Bridges! Oh, and for the second day in a row I saw a toucan from the car as we were driving! (Pretty incredible when that glorious bird is perched beautifully at the side of the highway. Not conducive to photos when the highway is narrow and twisty with a soft muck shoulder.) Of course, the morning vistas out to Lake Arenal from La Mansion Inn were a picturesque start to the day.
Another day that the weather was very much in our favour! It teemed rain through the night - right through the early morning. Lauren and I went for a little walk while my 7-year old "teenager" Everest sprawled in a heavy sleep, but Lauren wasn't loving the rain (or the act of walking...again I was carrying her). Anyway, we wandered by some coconut trees and through the little hamlet along the highway and by then she was insistent that we return to the suite. It was still raining as we went to breakfast (tasty but strange to have a vegetable omelet filled with broccoli and cauliflower) and raining enough that we delayed slightly departing the resort. (Everest was thrilled to find another pool table and played a game with Mindy while Lauren and I played chess.)
Eventually we loaded into the car, and the skies cleared by the time we arrived at Mistico. (Up some steep climbs and through rough roads that fully utilized the 4WD function on the car!)
Brief glimpses of the volcano when it was less shrouded in clouds... (Almost always at least partly covered in clouds at this time of year.)
Everest knows how to flip the camera from front view to selfie view...and was having fun after taking our photo...
16 bridges - including 6 major suspension ones - traversing the high and deep rainforest-covered ravines in the foothills around Arenal Volcano. Hoping to see some monkeys when we're so close to the treetops! (Spoiler alert: we didn't.) Mindy and I got the kids ice cream and ourselves some iced coffees, and then....discovered that there's no food or drink permitted on the path. Gulp that drink down! (Everest and Lauren needed no encouragement to eat their ice cream quickly. Mindy and I later learned - with no toilets on the trail - that guzzling iced coffee was a poor bit of planning.)
While we didn't see monkeys, we tried to focus on other Costa Rican fauna, starting with the important pollinators (including stingless bees)...
...and a tribute to the patron saint of Costa Rica "La Negrita" or Our Lady of the Angels.
Mindy managed to keep Lauren occupied - walking - for the first little while. After that, my daily strength training ("bear hug carry" in gym terms) began...up steep hills and stairs through the humid jungle.
This is an enormous fig tree! I don't know what I expected a full-sized fig tree to look like, but not a towering mass like this!
Admittedly, we saw little wildlife in the trail. A lizard (iguana?) up in a tree, various birds - far away, a mildly venomous (not a concern to humans) brown vine snake...
...and another bullet ant! This time on my neck!! I brushed it off and it landed on Everest's back! (Father of the year moment...) Ugh!
Never mind all that, we're here for the bridges!
The first major suspension bridge!
Lauren started off in my arms in the bridge...which didn't make me very comfortable as that put most of her body above the side fencing. Thankfully, she quickly decided - before I forced the issue - that she preferred to be on her own two feet on these. (Strictly on the bridges, though. For the most part, she still wanted to be carried...)
You may notice Everest way ahead in the photo above. He wasn't struggling with the height or sway of the bridges at all!
Bridges and climbs and dips and twists all through the jungle.
We did NOT traverse this bridge!
Lauren was brave, but not loving the movement on the high bridges.
A side path - only another 100m but all of it down stairs that we then had to climb again - brought us to a magical waterfall.
A tough 3+ kilometre walk up and down in the hot jungle. Mindy and I loved it, and the kids tolerated it well enough. (More acknowledgement to Everest who actually
walked the whole way, compared to Lauren who mostly tolerated my warm and sweaty arms carrying her! 😆)
Lauren gained her confidence by the end...
Hummingbird garden! (Lauren's hands weren't fast enough!)
The kids wanted a moment on a little playground while we waited for the shuttle back to our car - in the company of a local.
The main event as far as Everest was concerned wasn't the coati, the climbs, the bridges, or the views. The Costa Rican tooth fairy is coming tonight!
Driving away from Mistico, we were treated to more breathtaking views.
Tomorrow we are going to more remote Costa Rica, so we stopped at a local farmer's market to stock up! We went nuts for "My Nut's Rica" - granola and nuts! A French ex-pat who moved to Costa Rica some years ago, she was encouraging about our thoughts of an extended stay here. (Also nice to be able to chat with someone in a language where we are both fluent.)
We bought some bananas (60 cents for a handful, plus a couple of free ones from the merchant "for your babies").
The rains returned in the afternoon and we were tired.
Restaurante Cafe Mediterraneo is not Costa Rican food. Delicious (familiar) foods and an indoor playground made this a highlight for Everest and Lauren.
When we learned that our waiter is Cuban, I was sure to clarify that we are Canadians! To his credit, he immediately differentiated between American people and their government.
It was a dark, rainy, windy, nerve-wracking drive for Mindy back to La Mansion. (Thank-you for getting us here safely!)
Waiting for the tooth fairy....
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