Costa Rica, Pura Vida: Arenal

I recently returned from a weeklong vacation in Costa Rica.

It was sort of a last-minute decision to go, but I was really excited for it because I had never been to a rainforest area before. That landscape has been on my list for a while and it finally happened!

As our flight was preparing to land, the flight attendant announced: “Welcome to Costa Rica, Pura Vida!” If you don’t know, Pura Vida simply translates to “pure life” and is the Costa Rican way of life. From reading up on the country ahead of time, I was looking forward to the no worries, no stress, relaxing and easygoing lifestyle. Seemed like my kind of place.

During our week there, we decided to mostly split our time between Arenal and Manuel Antonio.

The first destination was Arenal, home to a giant volcano and lush forests all around it. Here, we did a bit of everything.

We soaked in some natural hot springs heated by the volcanic geothermal activity. I don’t know exactly what minerals were in that water, but my skin felt great afterwards.Another day, we went on a tour to learn about coffee and chocolate, two of Costa Rica’s most famous food exports.

Later on, we hiked around Arenal Observatory, where we saw a bunch of cool birds, plants, and a few monkeys. During the hike, we climbed up a 100-foot tower and peered over the vast canopy. It was a little windy and shaky getting up those steps, but it was worth it for the stunning view.

As part of the hike, we also walked across a couple hanging bridges. Walking past all the ferns and exotic plants, I felt like I was in Jurassic Park. Minus the mosquitoes, I could hike through that jungle for days. Bug spray was our friend.

Last but not least, we ziplined through the rainforest! Some of the lines took us in between trees and some of them took us above canopies. It was quite the thrill and the views, man, THE VIEWS. At the end, we capped it off with a giant 250-foot Tarzan swing. This goes right up there below skydiving as the most exhilarating things I’ve ever done.

After three days, we headed off to our next destination in Manuel Antonio. This was actually the first time I’ve ever rented a car internationally and I must admit it was a little nerve wracking.

From having to negotiate the car rental contract to not knowing local driving behavior, there was a lot to figure out. Fortunately, I did research ahead of time and was also able to use trusty Google Maps to navigate.

Except for one detour route through a short stretch of super rocky, hilly, and poorly-maintained roads, driving was pretty pleasant actually. It was really convenient to have a car and the roads we ended up taking winded through some incredibly interesting and beautiful scenery.

On the way from Arenal to Manuel Antonio, we stopped for a bite to eat in Jaco, a sleepy-during-the-day and party-during-the-night beach town, and walked across a bridge over the crocodile-filled Rio Tarcoles.

A five-hour drive later, we were in Manuel Antonio! Part 2 of the Costa Rica trip to come.