Costa Rica - La Fortuna

From El Salvador, I had to take a flight for the first time on this trip to get to Costa Rica, in order to skip Nicaragua. This is very unfortunate because Nicaragua is also a wonderful travel destination. But the conflict that broke out there in the spring is by no means resolved, but the protests were brutally suppressed by the government. So I will keep this destination open for another time.

It was clear that Costa Rica would be significantly more expensive than the previous countries. The reason for this is probably that it is considered very safe and therefore very popular with tourists. And this in turn is because the country is economically and politically quite stable, as the military was abolished decades ago and there have been no military dictatorships or civil wars, as in the rest of Central America. There is also a lot of investment in nature conservation, there is little waste in the streets, entire areas are not deforested, and even the tap water is drinkable.

Now, first of all, I'm going to La Fortuna at the foot of the Arenal volcano. Tourist shuttles are offered for $100. As always, I take the public long-distance bus for $4.50. Once there, a severe thunderstorm forces me to wait for 20 minutes in the bus terminal because I would have been soaked after just two steps outside. But that was to be expected, because Costa Rica generally has a lot of rain (that's why it's so green) and September is still the rainy season.
But eventually I arrived at the hostel, more or less dry. For dinner, I had a cassado in a soda, the typical dish with fish/meat, rice, and several side dishes in a typical, simple eatery.

The tour to the volcano the next day was a waste of time. The lava fields, where lava flowed down the mountain daily until 2010, were not very exciting compared to the active volcanoes in Guatemala. But that's what happens when you're on the road for so long and see so much. The highlight was bathing in the warm river.
The bird watching the next morning was much more exciting. In a protected forest area, there were owls, vultures, hummingbirds, a toucan, and sloths (and more). With the guide's telescope, it was wonderful to see everything.

After a leisurely rest day, I continued towards Tortuguero National Park. More on that soon... (too many animal pictures at once would be boring 😁)