July 4 - 8
For the second half of our trip to Costa Rica, we chose to stay at The Lost Iguana Resort. It
was about a 4 hour drive from Playa Flamingo, where we spent the first 4
nights of our vacay. Leo, the driver we had hired for all our transportation before
we left, transferred us between the locations and made a few stops along the way.
One stop was for lunch at a restaurant on the Corobicí River. Here we tried more American-style meals of cheeseburgers & fries; not bad. Leo joined us for lunch and we talked about many things, including what we should see while in Arenal. He happened to be free the next day and we booked him to show us the sights.
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| Corobicí River |
We drove on and stopped at a outlook point on Lake Arenal and also made a couple quick stops to take pictures along the scenic drive.
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| Roadside Sights |
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| Roadside Sights |
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| Roadside Encounter |
It was an interesting drive but we were happy when we finally arrived at our destination (we enjoy travel but are not very good at it; between my motion sickness and Hub's travel-induced migraines, getting there is never half the fun for us.. but it is always worth it in the end).
The Lost Iguana Resort has a great
location, north of Lake Arenal and west of Arenal Volcano. It is one of
just a few hotels/resorts that had a view of the currently active side
of the volcano while we were there.
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| The Lost Iguana Resort |
We arrived just after 3p and
checked in. A man met us with a golf cart and drove us up to our
room. The rooms are situated in separate buildings tucked into the side
of a mountain and each has a view of the volcano. The cart ride was a
good few minutes, up hill, and then we had arrived.
The room
was amazing! We booked a Luxury Suite for just
$205
USD/night. The room was
very large and comfortable with a king bed situated in front of double
glass doors that led to the private balcony with a breathtaking view of
the volcano. Our room also had a jacuzzi on the balcony and an “outdoor”
double shower (very romantic); it was all very private and we felt quite secluded.
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| Luxury Suite at Lost Iguana |
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| Bathroom in Luxury Suite at Lost Iguana |
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| "Outdoor" Shower in Luxury Suite at Lost Iguana |
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| View of Arenal Volcano from Luxury Suite at Lost Iguana |
The room was a bit musty when we arrived, but it
is obviously very wet and humid in the rain forest. Once we turned the air on it
was less noticeable and it never really bothered us.
We only
tried to use the jacuzzi once. It took a very long time to fill (making
us feel a little wasteful) and once we were in, we were swarmed with
little black bugs! We just laughed; it made the rain forest experience
more real.
The shower was a highlight; it was a very unique experience.
The
room also had a TV (we liked that it was small and blended with the
room's décor), a sitting area, a wet bar and mini-fridge. I suggest
stopping at a grocery store in town for snacks and drinks to keep in
your room.
The resort only has one restaurant; it was good, but a little pricey. The free breakfast buffet was very good.
The
souvenir shop was just opening while we were there but everything was
over-priced. I highly recommend you go into the town of La Fortuna for
at least a few hours. The town has a great view of the inactive side of
the volcano and tons of reasonably priced souvenir shops, restaurants
and a grocery store.
If you are not intimidated by driving in
Costa Rica, rent a car. But we got around just fine without one. We
hired our driver, Leo, to be our guide one day and take us to see the
sights and the rest of the time we took advantage of the shuttle that
runs to and from town for the resort employees (they allow guests to
catch a ride at no charge) or tours (which provide transportation).
You could easily spend a week here and love every minute of it.
We
really enjoyed the Arenal National Park, where we climbed on the 1992
lava flow and got to see and hear the eruptions up close as well as spot
some wildlife and get a great view of Lake Arenal.
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| "Area of High Volcanic Risk" at Arenal National Park |
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| 1992 Lava Flow at Arenal Volcano |
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| Us Climbing the 1992 Lava Flow at Arenal Volcano |
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| A Great Curassow in Arenal National Park |
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| Lake Arenal |
We also liked
La Fortuna Waterfall; it is a steep hike but worth it. Actually, the secondary waterfall (only present during times of heavier rainfall) was more beautiful, in my opinion, but La Fortuna is impressive.
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| La Fortuna and Secondary Waterfall |
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| Secondary Waterfall Near La Fortuna |
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| La Fortuna Waterfall |
Leo also
took us to a frog & butterfly garden nearby. Typically, I prefer to see things in nature, but it turned out to be
very cool. Until, unfortunately, the rain and humidity of the rain forest caused one of my cameras to freak out. We were eventually able to dry it out and salvage it.
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| Blue Jeans Frog (and a tiny lizard) |
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| Rain-Soaked Flower at the Gardens |
We took a Floating River Tour and we saw a troupe of
20 Howler Monkeys, Toucans, Lizards, Bats; it was one of the highlights
of the trip!
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| Floating the Penas Blancas River |
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| Troupe of Howler Monkeys |
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| Bats |
We went to Tabacon Hot Springs for their dinner
buffet and a dip in the springs. The hot springs were amazing, but
Tabacon was pretty crowded and commercialized. If we did it again, we
would go to one of the smaller places.
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| Tabacon Hot Springs |
The Hanging Bridges are
very close to the resort and they will drive you there in the golf cart
at no charge. We enjoyed the hiking on the bridge trail and they have
a restaurant and souvenir shop, as well, with a great view of the volcano.
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| Hanging Bridges |
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| View of Arenal from the Hanging Bridges Restaurant Area |
We also saw a lot of
great things just hiking on the resort grounds, too! It is a quite a
workout though. For dinner or going to the front desk for tours, we
called for the golf cart to give us a ride.
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| Taking Pictures Around Lost Iguana Resort |
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| Around Lost Iguana Resort |
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| Around Lost Iguana Resort |
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| Around Lost Iguana Resort |
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| Around Lost Iguana Resort |
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| Around Lost Iguana Resort |
And of course, we
spent hours just sitting on our balcony watching the volcano. It was
very cloudy and rainy while we were there (which was all part of the
rain forest experience) but we were lucky enough to see the red lava on
the last night of our stay. It was unforgettable.
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| View of Arenal Volcano from Luxury Suite at Lost Iguana |
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| Arenal Volcano (zoom lens, tripod, slow exposure) from Luxury Suite at Lost Iguana |
This has turned out to be a very long
review, but what I am trying to say is that the Arenal area is
absolutely amazing and there is so much to do! Don’t miss it if you are
going to be in Costa Rica! And The Lost Iguana seemed like the perfect place
from which to experience it all.
Feel free to contact me with any questions!
