The Time We Ran From a Tarantula (Costa Rican Honeymoon Part II)

After two fantastic days in Arenal, it was time to head to Monteverde. Always adventurous, we opted to take a boat-horse-taxi transfer. A group of tourists crosses Lake Arenal, boards horses and rides partway to Monteverde, then get picked up by a taxi for the rest of the trip. Pretty easy. At least, that was what we were told...

The day started out well. We got picked up by a driver from our hotel early in the morning. He headed towards the lake. So far, so good. Once at the lake, he pulls over on the side of the road and says, "Here we are." Um, where are we? So we get out, grab our stuff, and the driver hands us a bag with water bottles and a pineapple. He points down a dirt hill saying, "Your boat is down there." There are about six boats pulled up on the dirt embankment. Um, which one? We set off down the path and a boat captain waved us down. He points to his boat and tosses our stuff in. We're the only people there. Um, where is everyone else? Turns out we were just the first of the group to arrive. So we waited at the "dock".





Eventually a large group of tourists showed up and piled on the narrow boat with us. We started out across the lake and had been on the water for about half an hour when we headed toward the shore. The boat pulls up beside three Ticos and a dog standing by a tree limb pole. The boat captain looks at us and says, "Your stop." Um, what?



We jump off the boat and move out of the way for the other tourists... except they aren't following. It's just us getting off. And apparently our bags were staying on the boat. (They said they would catch up to us at the taxi portion of the trip.) So for the second time, we watched our luggage float away without us. We sat around on the edge of the lake talking Spanglish with the three guides and waiting to see if this would end up as a private tour. About 15 minutes later another boat pulled up with a large family who joined us. Time to saddle up and head out!

Our horses - Billy and Tommy:

After riding for about three hours (and taking a break where we ate our pineapple - along with other fruit), we dismounted, sent the horses home and jumped in a taxi for the rest of the journey to Monteverde. We saw interesting sights along the way.

Typical Costa Rican fences made from tree limbs (which start growing again once planted):

Coffee plants:

We stayed at the Rustic Lodge, a really cute B&B owned by two Tico brothers. All the furniture is carved from trees.


While in Monteverde, we tracked through the muddy rain forest on two hikes: one at night, and one in the morning. During the night hike we saw all kinds of creepy-crawly animals. We even were herded by about 50 coati who were not happy we were infringing on their territory.

This ant was huge (half the length of your thumb), and could hold up this huge branch with his pinchers:


As we approached a tree stump, our guide wouldn't tell us what we were about to see, but he warned us to do two things: 1) Walk softly so as to not cause vibrations and 2) Not scream. He poked a stick in a hole, and out ran a huge tarantula!


I'll admit, I screamed. Then he told us not to run away because it would give chase, and if you get bitten you have "two days to say goodbye to your family." He was just joking of course!

The morning hike was much less jumpy since we weren't afraid of random things jumping out at us from the bushes.

Millipede as big as your finger:


The leaves were bigger than we were!


"Poor man's umbrella":


Loved the hummingbirds!


Monkeys use this fruit to comb their fur:


We saw puma tracks! Unfortunately we didn't see the actual cat.


How a fern starts - "monkey's fist":


A (who hates heights) decided he was brave enough to conquer the hanging bridges which spanned the treetops. We felt like we were birds perched high on branches watching everything going on below. And when a breeze blew, they swayed slightly. I thought it was fun!


Actually looks like he's enjoying it!


We ate at some cool restaurants in Monteverde. The Tree House is literally built around a huge fig tree. The staircase wraps around the trunk, and you eat underneath the canopy.


When you walk into Morphos, the theme is obvious: the big blue morphos butterfly is all around the restaurant. It's cute and the food was delicious!


We knew we wanted to try some Monteverde ice cream, but the shop in town ran out when we stopped by one afternoon. Luck was on our side one night as we wandered around in the rain. Very fresh and yummy!


If anyone was questioning the intensity of our rafting trip, here are some of the pro pics:







Coming up next... crocodiles, sloths and monkeys, oh my!