Costa Rica, Day 2 ( March 23, Monday)

View of Volcano (not cloudy) in early afternoon). Series of 12 (?) or so hot springs (man made) with water heated by the nearby volcano. Blue Hydrangea Red Ginger (also comes in pink and white varieties). Ginger root comes from this plant. Parrot Flower looks like it's close cousin the Bird of Paradise. A Succulent type of tree? This flower is called Red Flag and comes in red, yellow, and mixes. Often the volcano was seen like this--partially covered with clouds. Rain showers come and go here this close to a wet rainforrest. We got to bed around 12:30 a.m. So nice to sleep. Around five o'clock this morning was a loud raucous outside our room. I thought at first it was macaws. Later, we learned it was a bunch of Howler monkies in nearby jungle that made such a racket. Later, we got up and got dressed to make it to the hotel breakfast down in a main building below us. It was a bit like I picture Adam and Eve discovering the Garden of Eden. The air was warm in the mid 60s. Outside our hotel room, there were gardeners weed wacking back the persistent green flora. There were flowers galore and rock/cement pathways winding down and around other rooms. (Each small building housed four rooms, two on top, two on bottom). In the breakfast area, the windows were open wide and looked out onto the cloud covered volcano, green hillsides and plants. In the breakfast room, below the restaurant, they had a chef making omelets, a small cereal buffet, tropical fruits (pineapple, papaya, watermelon, cantaloupe,...) buffet, European sandwich selection and local favorites like fried plantains in a sweet syrup, fried cheese squares, quesadillas, and Pinto de Gallo (beans and rice fried eaten in little servings at every meal). Ricardo taught us a bit about Costa Rica today and because this is an Adventure Trip we learned about the activities we could sign up for in the rain forest/volcano area. Costa Rica was named "the rich cost" by Christopher Columbus who landed here and was met by natives wearing armor consisting of hard metals mixed with a worthlessly soft metal (gold). He thought he had found El Dorado and kept asking the natives where the gold was. They wisely told him "south" and so he went and conquered panama and sailed down and up the coast to Nicaragua before returning forty years later to Costa Rica. They say it made all the difference upon their success as a nation. We enjoyed discovering the hotel (see Joe by the hot springs. The water is heated by the nearby volcano). In the early afternoon we drove to a nearby waterfall, La Fortuna, for a hike. This hike was a real steep descent (and then stair stepper back up!). Joe tried to swim out under the falls but was repelled about eight feet from the center by the force of the waterfall. Later that night we ate at the small hotel restaurant Heliconia (after the flower). We tried the soup and split the Eduardo V11 Sea Bass. Delicious! Soup special: Kioro Soup, part Cream of Palm Heart, Part Creamy Cheddar seperated by a line of Oil and Vinegar. On our way back to our room was this small Coffee Snake and a small gray cat (or monkey)?