Arenal Volcano and why there must be mosquitoes

In the morning we headed to Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal first, arriving shortly after it opened at 8am.

There weren't too many cars in the parking lot yet, which was packed despite its size when we returned from our hike.

The plants along the first section of the path weren't too tall, but they provided some shade, which was pleasant even this early.

We came to a lava field that was created during the volcano's last eruption in 1992.

There was a viewpoint here with a view of the Arenal and we were also lucky with the weather: the sun was shining and the volcano was clearly visible and not hidden behind clouds like the day before.

On the other side you could see Lake Arenal.

The path continued over lava boulders to another viewing point.

From here we took the slightly longer route back through the jungle.

On the way we saw a group of capuchin monkeys jumping through the trees.

They tore the epiphytes off the trees to look for food, but simply threw most of the plants on the ground.

We also saw a rusty-bellied guan along the way.

After the hike, we drove by car to another viewpoint from which you could see the volcano and lake.

We drove around the volcano by car to get to the La Fortuna waterfall.

We went down 500 steps to the foot of the waterfall.

Once at the bottom it was swarming with people, many of whom went swimming in the pools at the base of the waterfall.

We decided not to take a bath and just looked at the waterfall.
Then unfortunately we had to climb the 500 steps back up.

As we were recovering with a smoothie in the restaurant, a spider monkey came by and swayed through the trees next to the terrace.

We drove back to La Fortuna and stopped at a “Chocolate Tour” that we happened to pass by.

Since there was another tour in the afternoon, we booked a place straight away.

During the tour we learned a lot about the history and distribution of chocolate. For example, we learned that cocoa comes from Brazil, but the first chocolate factory was opened in Switzerland.

The tour also included a tour of a small cocoa plantation, where we saw cocoa pods and were able to taste the beans, which were a little too bitter.

Here we also learned that the existence of mosquitoes has a meaning: without them there would be no chocolate because they are necessary to pollinate the flowers of the cocoa tree.

The guide then showed us how cocoa was traditionally made as a drink.

We were then allowed to try them with spices of our choice (e.g. classic chili, vanilla and corn).

Finally, there was liquid chocolate, which we added toppings to and ate while still warm.

Sated from all the chocolate, we drove to the town of La Fortuna and strolled through the main street for a while.

The very colorful and bright Christmas decorations were still set up in the city park, which didn't quite suit our taste...

After buying some souvenirs like bamboo and banana shirts, we headed back to the hotel.