Friday morning, after a three day stay in San Jose we left for Montaña De Fuego in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. We made a few stops on the way, the first being an Ox Cart wood shop. This gave us a chance to shop for souvenirs for ourselves, friends, and family. As you can see in the pictures the shop was very colorful and all the paintings on the Ox Carts were hand painted. The shop used no electricity and was powered by a paddle wheel that used water to run all the equipment in the factory.

Our second stop was at a local ice cream and souvenirs shop. At this spot we were able to try some delectable dragon fruit icecream. While eating this delicious treat we were able to watch the wild and crazy iguanas in a tree that hung/sleep on branches near the ice cream shop. Jordan also found a familiar buddy that was laying out in bowl in the souvenir shop (see pictures).

In the middle of the rain forrest next to a recently dormant volcano we arrived at Montaña De Fuego. From our hotel we had beautiful scenery of the Arenal Volcano. The volcano was very interesting because we could see how it was recently active in 2010 which is why one side has lush forrest and the other side is in recovery from past eruptions while it was still active.

Once we were able to settle in to our beautiful rooms here at the hotel (see pictures), we went into the town of La Fortuna to walk around and visited local shops. We also got to take a look at the one Catholic church in the town and were amazed at the beauty of the building, inside and out.

Lastly, we went to the highly anticipated hot water springs area located on the mountain side of the Arenal Volcano. The Baldi Hot Water Springs had 10 seperate pools of differing temperatures ranging from scolding to ice cold. Our favorite part was that it had four water slides including a toilet bowl slide and three very fun but would not necessarily fit the safety regulations that the U.S. would have. We spent about 4 hours pruning in the hot mineral springs water, we went up into the semi-outside buffet area and had a wonderful meal. After watching Sergio eat who knows how many chocolate covered strawberries, we came back to the hotel to rest up and mentally prepare for the exciting day of white water rafting we will have tomorrow.

Yours truly, Brody and Jordan. Pura Vida!