Two Beers and a Pretzel

Finally, good weather in San Jose.  Just in time to leave for La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcano…

This bunny is for my twin neices.  They have one just like it at home.  My sister gave it to me to take pictures so she can make a world geography book for the girls when they get older.  This is by the pool at the Hostel Toruma.

So I left the hostel at 9:30 to get to the bus station.  Met Andy from Germany, Ingrid from Holland, and Erinn from Fort Wayne.  Lonely planet warned that theft is common on this route, so we piled all out luggage in the seat near the middle door and the girls sat on it the whole way.  The bus left at 11:30.  We arrived in Fortuna around 4:30 after stopping about 100 times to pickup and drop-off people.  It sucked – except for about a half hour driving in and out of the clouds in a beautiful area that could have been the Rhine River valley in Germany (except for the tropical ferns and palm trees).

Once in Fortuna, we drudged thru the rain to a small cafe while being followed by a “helpful” local.  I had already booked a room at the Arenal Backpacker’s Paradise (yes, it’s that good), but Andy and the girls had to look for lodging.  Our helpful friend happened to own a hostel and run tours.  Needless to say, that didn’t work out, but the rain stopped and it started clearing up.

So now the girls are staying at my hostel, and Andy found another reputable place.  We all took a tour to see the volcano tonight.  We can actually see it from the hostel, but we went to a spot about 2 kilometers away.

The party bus on the way to the volcano.

Here’s Ingrid.

Everyone watching the volcano…

So now I totally regret shipping my SLR home.  If I could have just waited 2 more days (or had my Canon G9 that is being shipped to my uncle in Brazil)…  the Olympus did OK on 1/2 second exposures, but not as good as the SLR could have.  A guy from Holland had a better camera.  When I get his facebook link, I’ll post his sweeeeeet picture.  Until then, here’s the best picture sequence I got…