Day 6: Arenal Volcano and Tabacon Hot Springs

Buonos a Todos!

Today was another amazing day! I think everyone on this trip agrees that today was "Costa Rican Paradise". We started out our day a little bit later, so we all got to sleep in just a little bit. We left San Jose at about 9:00AM and Vinny, our guide for the day, gave another wonderful tour as we made our way to Tabacon. It's amazing how much there is to know about Costa Rica!

Our trip to Tabacon had two stops during the course of a four hour travel time (yes, it's a long trip). The first stop was at a souvenir market and to see hydro-powered machines that make giant wagon wheels. These wagons were painted with a variety of vibrant colors with amazing designs. After this, we moved on to a place with an amazing garden. Check THIS out....

All of the bushes in this garden were carved out into some pretty artistic shapes and figures.

More bushes...but look at that beautiful church behind! It is completely made out of steel.









After our stop at the gardens, we started the last leg of our trip to La Fortuna, where the Arenal Volcano was, as well as the Tabacon Hot Springs. This was another long and windy trip, but after a couple hours of traveling, we saw this....

How incredible?! We learned a lot about this volcano from Vinny. According to him:
-the Arenal Volcano is the only volcano in Costa Rica that is perfectly conical in shape.
-this volcano is one of many in the Pacific "Ring of Fire"
-the volcano is roughly 1,600 meters high
-the volcano has "two faces": one with green vegetation (inactive side) and one with grey rock and lava (the active side)
-the volcano extends to the side with two other sub-volcanos called "volcanic relics". The natives call these together, the "Sleeping Indian".
-the volcano is still active and is only about 40 years old. The first eruption was in 1968.
-the Volcano has its own micro-climate, meaning that in one moment you see what I showed you first, and then within 30 minutes you see this...

There were many other facts he shared with us. But, that is the idea of what he talked about. Not long after our view of the volcano came the Tabacon Hot Springs.

The Tabacon Grand Spa and Thermal Resort is one of the worlds leading small hotels. It has a five-star rating and people travel from all over the world to enjoy this incredible experience. Lets take a look at some of what the resort offers!

Right away, you see the jaw-dropping hot springs that are just inviting you in to a complete state of relaxation. Soon after, you notice all of the beautiful green vegetation and beautiful varieties of flowers. There are a variety of paths and bridges to get you around the resort...

The resort also offers hot and cold swimming areas. One of them actually has a slide!

So as you can see, this place is nothing short of a five-star resort. The resort served us a high quality lunch and dinner, both buffets that had a wonderful selection. Some of the members of the group decided to get massages that were to die for (cough...Hawk...cough). The girls from SHS decided to get together and collect money to give to Ms. Hawk for her massage at the Hot Springs. This was a gift for her birthday (March 12th). She was incredibly appreciative :-)

We spent the entire day at the Tabacon Hot Springs and left for home just after 8:00PM. Such a relaxing,  yet rejuvenating experience!

Tomorrow is our last full day in Costa Rica. We are coming home soon, parents! We will go to Cafe Britt, a major coffee plantation in Costa Rica and then we will visit the free market during the afternoon. We will then have a last dinner out and return home to pack for our trip home on Sunday. 

Come back and visit the blog tomorrow! Adios!

-SHS WC and CSR WC