On our second day in La Fortuna, we decided to visit the Fortuna waterfall, a part of the Río Fortuna that plunges down for 70 meters (if not imaginative, they were at least consistent in their naming here ;-)). Since it would have been a six kilometer hike just to get there, we took a taxi to go and only made the return hike. When we got to the viewing platform, we had a view not only of the waterfall, but also of the surrounding forest. And since we were pretty high up, we got a good look at birds that dwell in the treetops, such as this toucan:
From the viewpoint, we descended a few steps (480 to be exact) to arrive at the bottom of the waterfall. The water crashing down from about 70 meters above has created a pool with a beautiful light blue color. Since the day was hot, the water looked even more inviting than the picture suggests.
We decided to swim in another pool, a few meters downstream, which is considered safer and is also more accessible. The water was really quite cold, especially considering the temperature of the air, but once we had made it inside, it was just lovely, very pleasant and refreshing. From down there, we had another beautiful view of the waterfall...
... and the small rapids a little further down:
On the hike back, we once again had a beautiful view of Arenal - the second day in a row, and in the middle of the rainy season at that. I guess we got really really lucky here :-)
Back in town, we were starving and looked for a restaurant. Looking a bit indecisive, we were approached by a guy on the street. He turned out to be a Cuban who has been living in Costa Rica for 26 years, handling the horses for one of the tour agencies in La Fortuna. He recommended a tiny locally owned place just across the street. Since we didn't have any better ideas, we decided to give it a try, and the food turned out to be very good indeed. The drinks were excellent, too: I got a drink called chan - a certain type of seed rehydrated in water. Delicious - and pretty!
