Discovering Costa Rica

Next Day Next N

Friday, 18 February 2005 - Arrived late into San José then got up early for a long scenic drive to Arenal Volcano Stopped in Zarcero to see its unique church garden with hedge tunnels and whimsical topiaries, then reached La Fortuna and checked into the Volcano Hotel with distant volcano views. Spent the afternoon relaxing at the Tabacón Hot Springs floating through hot river-fed pools surrounded by tropical gardens.

Costa Rica 2005 — We flew to the San Jose International Airport. Cal was attending a business meeting and Virginia Ann decided to join him for a brief vacation before the business part of the trip. We arrived very late at night so it was up early and a long drive to the Arenal Volcano.

As we left the San Jose valley the coffee plantations on the hill provided a great foreground for a picture looking into the San Jose valley.

Costa Rica 2005 — We were headed to the Arenal Volcano through the Costa Rican back roads. Our first stop was in the town of Zarcero which has a unique garden in front of the local Church. The garden in front of the town church has a double set of hedge tunnels leading up to the church.

Costa Rica 2005 — Evangelisto Blanco, a local landscape artist, modeled cypress topiaries in fanciful animal shapes. There are even faces carved into the hedges.

Costa Rica 2005 — Virginia Ann poses in the garden leading to the church.

Costa Rica 2005 — A view from the front of the church looking out on the park and the town beyond.

Costa Rica 2005 — Inside the church the interior is covered with elaborate pastel stencils and detailed religious paintings by the late Misael Solis, a well known local artist.

Costa Rica 2005 — Once in La Fortuna we went to our hotel the Volcano Hotel . The advantage of this hotel is the great view of the Arenal Volcano. Unfortunately this is the view of the volcano from our room's patio. Beautiful but no volcano.

Costa Rica 2005 — This is the best picture of the volcano we could get. The hotel staff said that they had not seen the volcano in two months due to the cloud cover. A reason to return to Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 2005 — We went to the Tabacon Hot Springs for lunch and a swim. At the base of the volcano the steaming waters of the Rio Tabacon flow from the lava fields and cascade into a series of pools.

Costa Rica 2005 — The springs are surrounded by flowers and plants that are very beautiful. This is an example of the exotic gardens.

Costa Rica 2005 — The main stream is hot - 80 to 120 degrees and is sometimes mixed with another smaller stream which is cooler water. This allows the creation of pools of various temperatures. You can simply float downstream from pool to pool. Very relaxing.

Costa Rica 2005 — Virginia Ann enjoying the Tabacon hot springs - water heated by lava soothes her muscles.

Next Day Next N

Top

Top

Cal and VA | Adventures | Costa Rica

© Cal and Virginia Ann Holman
All Rights Reserved 2000-2025 Do not use without permission.
Privacy Policy - Terms

Modified last on 2025-12-26