It was an early day, again!
We were up same time as yesterday and off to breakfast.
Breakfast over we were back to the room to finish packing before heading down to the office to checkout and meet our van for the three-stage trip to Arenal.
Stage 1 – Over the mountain
The van picked us up, then stopped at another hotel to add a few more passengers before heading out toward the mountains.
The first part of the trip was “over the top”
Stage 2 – Across the Lake
Eventually we pulled off the road and backed into a mud track that was lined with vans like ours.
Arriving at the end our bags were quickly unloaded by other van drivers and deposited in one of the boats tied up on the mud beach (It’s the end of the rainy season so of course there’s mud.).
We boarded the boat and it took off on a “cruise” across the lake.
We found seats, 
watched the captain back us out, 
looked at the scenery, 
more scenery, 
mugged for the camera, 
and more mugging, 
and more scenery watching. 
Soon boredom began to set in, 
as the scenery looked much the same, 
but we had a good time anyway. 
We were headed toward the dam 
when the captain announced that there were monkeys 
in the trees. (One is dead center. The other is 11:00 from his position.)
Lake Aranal is the largest lake in Costa Rica at 33 sq. miles. There was a much smaller natural lake there before the dam was completed in 1979 – tripling its size. Hydro-electric power from its dam accounts for 17% of the country’s energy production.
Stage 3 – Off to the resort
Arriving at a somewhat more formal dock our bags were quickly loaded into a waiting van and we were driven the short distance to the resort.
Settling In
Check-in complete we moved luggage into our rooms and met at the pool bar for a late lunch.
This is the only eatery on-site that doesn’t require reservations for lunch so it became a favorite to provide a bit of flexibility with our schedules.
They also had a couple of different menus – a “snack menu” with typical (and not-so-typical) bar snacks, and an Asian Fusion menu – including sushi prepared by their on-site sushi chef.
And yes, they also served unique and refreshing adult beverages.
Like any good resort in the area they have a killer view whenever the volcano sheds its cloud cover.
After lunch we chose our own activities. Brian and Asher took an Uber to a water park up the road.
Some of the rest of us hung out and swam.
Others napped and/or worked on getting the Blog caught up.
We gathered again for dinner at the resort’s Italian restaurant.
So that’s the first travel day.
Tomorrow we dig in with serious exploration of the many activities on offer around here.
Till then,
R