Adventurous Fortuna...Don't be scared!

Hey my friends, wherever u r, this story will excite u!

In OUR last entry WE showed u OUR planned schedule for Costa Rica...so wlecome to Fortuna which is north west of San Jose, right next to the vulcano Arenal. Unfortunately it is not active any more (since Oct 2010),...sorry guys, no own lava pics!

Arenal today

Vocano from above

Arenal in former times

For our few days here WE planned to have some adventureous moments, like jungle tours with dangerous animals, walking over hanging bridges and canopy (beeing a monkey and "jump" from tree to tree in the rainforest).
Every day WE had to pack OUR little backpacks precisely: Raincoat, first aid set, knife, headtorch, water, food, etc.

Actually already our hostel was quite exciting, as there was quite some wildlife around. The tree in front of our door was full with iguanas...colourful, little dragons and the owners of the hostel had two green parrots as pets, wherefrom one was able to speak some Spanish.

"Liebe ist" (for Henrik and Lisi;)

"Hola, hola"

On the first day WE did a guided rainforest tour and a hiking trip including hanging bridges; i know, very touristy but it was great fun! Just on the way to this area we saw already a bunch of cute cuatis (the one we missed with our camera the last time) scurring next to the street:

I don't know, but somehow, they look nasty

This time we gotcha!

Arriving there, i first thought i will not survive this trip! As u guys know, i am afraid of heights, right? Ohh...one of my biggest fears since i am little. Normally, i am not even able to stand on a latter...
However, something has changed since my "hypnosis" therapy...the fear is gone...completely! i walked over all 11 bridges...without loosing control...
The view from these bridges over the trees, little rivers and hills were breathtaking; here r some impressions:

...from the highest bridge, more than 60 m above the ground.

me and MIKE on a bridge...still smiling!

The guide showed us how to find tarantula's in the forest - one of the largest spider species on earth. He said we have to find a little hole in the soil, check with flashlight, if someone is home and then oscillate with a thin stick infront of it...she may trys to catch it. Surprisingly, the guide was not successful but MIKE was. Unfortunately, no pic because he was always last from our group, and i was on the forfront carrying the cam in my pocket.

Nevertheless, we saw many plants, flowers and animals. Have a look:

Street of leaf-cutting ants...sooo cute!

A juvenile terciopelo or bothrops asper, the most poisonous snake in Costa Rica.

A yellow eyelash viper behind a leave.

Can u find the insect in this pic?

Here it is! A walking stick belonging to the family of the phasmatodea...looks really like a plant!

jungle jungle jungle

more jungle

What a paradise!

After the tour WE wanted to go for dinner with some other groupmembers, as we all were really hungry and the guide promised us that he knows a great "local" place. After he brought us there, we realized that it was a lie...tourist trap!

So we went to another place...in Fortuna. There we have eaten well and cheap and after some beers (except MIKE) we were happy.

The jungle crew: Derek, Yemi, me, MIKE and Ana.

The next day WE were keen to do the zipline adventure tour which is nothing else then sliding through the jungle, flying from one tree to another...like monkeys. Surprisingly, our new friends, Derek and Yemi did the same thing. So we spent another day together which was such a great coincidence!

This canopy "training" was for me the last proof that my "theraphy" really worked. If i would survive this, than i am really healed from my fear. Indeed, this trip was one of the most exciting things i have ever done. U really feel like u can fly.

U just hang on one rope and slide over a zipline...very fast. It is possible to reach a speed of almost 70 km/h.
We all were afraid...scared we do something wrong but the instructor was cool and laidback and his English was good, too.
So here r some pics to impress u guys:

MIKE of course tried the superman first ;) HE is sooo brave. i was the second and last one who tried it, all others did not.
After that we four were just relaxing in the hotsprings and were watching some butterflys.

Kisses :*

In the evening we went out again for a Costa Rican dinner.

All in all a cool trip; PURA VIDA!
Here the song i thing suits best for Costa Rica, a place to explore...

Currently WE r in Alajuela (directly next to the airport) because WE wil leave this exciting country tomorrow and are going to explore Rio de Janeiro next (and because WE didn't want to go back to ugly San Jose)! With this animal representing San Jose the best, we say good bye this time and...

A wet two finger sloth (pfui teifl)

...cu soon in Rio!