We paid our final bill (although this is more of a higher end rustic option it is quite the value based on US terms) and got our son's hat back from the owner. Huge kudos to him for calling the farm and retrieving the beloved Jackson Hat that had been left in their truck. They didn't have to do that.
We went over to the barn and each kid milked the cow again. This was turning out to be a new favorite activity. The chickens were even louder than the other day and I noticed quite a few eggs laying in the nests. My son was motioned into the pen and helped collect the morning eggs.
A few notes about the animals and barn. We aren't necessarily country folks but have visited quite a few farms all around. This barn had to be the cleanest one wed ever seen. I'd venture to say these animals get excellent care. They looked extremely healthy, clean and happy.
After the barn we headed to breakfast for the last time. Today was a typical breakfast. Even that was delicious. The French pressed coffee was brought straight to the table today (I had to talk him into getting coffee on day 2 and he had thanked me repeatedly) and the rice and beans had some sort of special umph, The breakfast waitress whom I can't for the life of me remember her name seemed truly sad to see us go. She couldn't understand a word from the kids and would kiss them instead. I would translate and when we went to leave she walked out front and waved us off.
LAST THOUGHTS ON LEAVES AND LIZARDS
This trip to Arenal was night and day compared to the last one when we stayed at Arenal Paraiso right in the thick of things. Many things played into that but we loved Leaves and Lizards.
The service by the restaurant staff and Hazel (before she left) was great. They were patient with our kids and brought our daughter her special big chair every night. We were quite nervous because we were always there with just one other couple. Not ideal when you have two energetic preschoolers.
Halfway through our trip the owner, or the man I presumed was the owner, arrived. He never introduced himself. He was pleasant but Josh and I didn't get the warm feeling do many people had mentioned in reviews. He would ask the other couple about their day but never asked us. It was a tad odd but we figured that perhaps our kids were annoying?
If we were to come back we would take advantage more of the grounds and resort itself. They have horseback riding to their own private waterfall. We weren't sure if our kids were too young. Since no one mentioned it we didn't sign up. They also have hiking trails and a morning hike with Oscar three days a week. Again no one talked to us about them so we figured they might be too much for us. Perhaps asking those questions ahead of time via email when English is easier would be good.
We stayed in the Toucan cabin which was actually our second choice. I had originally requested the Hobbit cabin based on reviews. Although, I didn't go into the Hobbit house, I went down to it to see the location and view. I'm glad we ended up in the cabin we did. The Toucan is more remote and has an unmatched view of the volcano. It is a bit of a walk to the front and restaurant which means we chose to drive when it rained hard. The Hobbit was right under/next to the restaurant. With our noisy kids it was best not to be so close to others I'm guessing. It looked like they had a good view and the house inside the hill was cool but I liked our location in the jungle.
HANGING BRIDGES
When we were planning our time in the Arenal area one of the things we had asked the resort to book was a guide for the Hanging Bridges. For some reason that was the one thing they didn't. It was fine, we decided to do it on our own without a guide.
By the time we finished breakfast and got to Hanging Bridges (45 min drive) it. Was almost 9. They open at 7:30. If this was a major item on our list or we had a guide is want to be here at 7:30 when it was cooler and less people. Our kids are noisy so at times I felt like we had to quiet them for others spotting animals.
The park is basically a well maintained hiking trail through high rain forest right by the tip of Lake Arenal. It uses a series of different types of bridges. Some long and high hanging bridges to make the loop. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with mobility issues. I thought it was great for families and kids between 4-10. There were a few bridges that freaked me out and made me cling on to the kids for dear life. I envisioned a small child tripping and sliding through the narrow opening at the bottom. Are those normal thoughts of parents?
The kids would have been happy it were just about the bridges. We had a map and they treated it like a treasure hunt to find the next one. We were however in the midst of a heavily populated ecosystem. As we were hiking tips from the refuge were ringing in my ear "if you see 10 wild boat you are ok. Once you see 20, climb a tree. There are herds of boar by the Hanging Bridges." Or "Don't worry if you get bit by a venomous snake. We have the antidote to all but one. What is important to make sure you know what snake it is."
I read in one of the tips that going to do the bridges without a guide was like walking with your eyes shut. I would agree. What we did see it was because we kept stumbling across other groups and a female guide who had a super crazy binocular scope. Yesterday our kids were being horrible with a capital H (we had to stop the car on the side of the road to remove one after blood was drawn in the back seat - don't let our cute pics fool you). I don't know that our 3 and 5 year old would have tolerated much longer than what we did. Maybe it would have engaged them more?
We ended up seeing a Blue Jeans frog right by the trail, a huge frog that jumped in front of me and almost tripped me, a yellow and blue parrot (I didn't really see it but nodded my head with the rest of the group) a viper snake which thankfully was a good distance away, a howler monkey and a sloth eating up in a tree. Thank you to that kind guide who insisted we look at him through the binoculars. If I had seen her in the parking lot I would have tipped her but my child was already melting down by then. For $46 total it was a great morning. Children under 12 are free, great views, good workout, family friendly.
ON TO LA CAROLINA LODGE
We had planned to hit the free hot springs across from Tabacon after the Hanging Bridges to make up for the night before. It was clear our children were in no condition to be in public so we decided to drive and find lunch along the way. Using the same handy map from L&L and combining it with the directions from La Carolina Lodge we made our way out if town and towards the paved road. We somehow missed both restaurants and soon found ourselves on gravel/rock roads again. It was only 1.5 hr drive from there so we figured we would just stop when we got to a little town.
Lesson: when you are hungry, stop when you see food.
We came up on Katira, the town we planned to have lunch in. As we entered the town we suddenly got into the middle of a traffic jam. Odd. We noticed an abundance of men riding horseback in the streets. That wasn't odd but what was was the fact that all the horses were decorated. Within minutes we were snack in the middle of the town's annual festival. My biggest regret this trip is not somehow forcing my kids to behave long enough so that we could have gone and participated. Those people probably would have thought we were crazy but so what. I'm sure there was food, and a good horse show, there. The kids rides looked shady. As we drove through town we saw every local person from miles walking that way and every restaurant subsequently closed.
Next town - 5 km. We got to the next "town" and discovered it was one store that had a sign with the name of our lodge pointing down a gravel road. Uh oh. We got to the final town square and realized it was only houses. No lunch for us.
These roads to the lodge are obviously rarely travelled by visitors. It's 20 km drive down a road needing 4x4 to get there. The local frames stop and stare at us as we drive by. The cows aren't even behind fences in many circumstances. A couple times Josh was worried one would ram the car. The land around La Carolina is lush farm land with small rivers. As we got close it started coming back to me.
We pulled into the lodge's road and I could feel my body start to relax. In the last 10 years we have stayed in many places around the world. This is the only one I have returned to. I was worried that the improvements to the property over the last 6 years would ruin everything that was special about it. We got out of the car and as a group of women started shooting Spanish my way at a rate I couldn't possibly comprehend. I knew it would be the same oasis.
I think everyone has their own definition of a happy place. My physical place is very clearly along a bubbling stream or noisy river. Here I get that combined with the best service I received in any establishment (will politely provide anything needed but stay out of our hair), top notch home cooked meals and the opportunity to meet like-minded people.
Before leaving for the trip a co-worker inquired about where we were going. I joked that I would have no service here (we have no phone or wi-fi at all) along with the fact that it is candlelight only at night. He responded that his wife would never allow those kind of vacations.i didn't say it but I remember thinking that so many people miss out on really living if they can't appreciate this.
Back to our arrival. We showed the kids the river and then went up to the cabin. It was perfect. Almost like a treehouse set up on the banks of the river. It is simple and rustic with all the details you need. The high front porch overlooks the horse barn and wood chopping area. The horses were just coming in so the kids planted themselves on the stairs to gaze. The back porch was furnished with a huge hammock beside the rushing river and the rest of the patio was filled with a large wooden table and stools. There were two bedrooms inside and each of the kids got their own bed. The shower was huge and fed by a gravity rain water cistern system.
The entire cabin was filled with massive windows that opened up for breezes and access to the river sounds along with candles that would be lit every night while we were at dinner.
As I was studying our home for the next 3 nights I was jolted back to reality by the strong thunder and the realization that there were about 30 stone stairs to climb with all our suitcases. We made it just in time.
While Josh and our son ventured into the nearby "town" to get beer, my daughter and I decided to test the hot tub. There was a steady rain but the hot portion was under a roof. Now this is no normal hot yin and one thing that made me fall in love with La Carolina so much. The attention to detail and ability to use nature intelligently. is remarkable. The water is fed from the river. Wood is burned in a fireplace adjacent to it and the container dividing the water and fire then heats. That in turn warms the water. The result is a warm water oasis against the small rapids of the river right behind you. They've also created a small cold water pool and an area to get into the river a little further down.
We must have spent an hour in there with our daughter practicing ballerina moves and pretending she was a mermaid. Once the boys returned the kids took turns holding their breath under water which was a first.
Josh shared with me that his trip to town had resulted in him buying 4 of the 6 beers the store had. He tried to ask about wine but that got him nowhere. Not knowing how to keep our beers cold he bought those and returned.
We still had time to kill before dinner so the four of us played a few riveting rounds of Memory and Go Fish. It was amazing to see the vast difference in behavior after we separated the kids for a short time. Josh and I noted how crazy it is that we have to travel this far to learn simple parenting lessons.
Waiting until 6:30 for dinner felt like an eternity. By 6 we figured we would head down and sit by the fireplace and wait. When we got there we saw another family with the same idea. Turned out they were from Boone and staying in a house down the street but came here to eat. Small world. They had just finished a two week stay in Samara (our next stop). They gave us a few recommendations (there kids were about the same age and a little younger).
Thankfully they told us dinner was ready early and we sat down to the most relaxing meal of the trip. The tables here are hightop and the kids are out in chairs with railings all around them, they can't get out. The kids were starving do they ate everything. The meat was almost like barbecue ribs without the bones, Our daughter demanded about seven helpings. Our son even exclaimed that the salad was delicious. Something about home cooked food that had been fully cultivated on the land you are staying. Almost all of their food is grown or raised organically. It was delicious.
We scarfed down our desserts and asked the kids if they wanted to sit by the fire for a few minutes. Our daughter put her head in her hands and mumbled "no, I just want to go to bed".
We've started a new habit (on this trip) of telling stories. Rightly or wrongly we purposely brought no books or kids toys. A set of cards and their phones for the significant travel times. (I even regret that one) It has caused us as a family to be more creative. One of those is more storytelling. Everyone partakes and I love it.
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