Sunday, February 23
This morning after breakfast, we head to Arenal National Park. Established in 1991, it encompasses around 30,000 acres. 1968 was the last eruption of this volcano, and gases and clouds stopped around 2010, though it is still considered active. Though it is swaddled in clouds this morning, we will find canals where lava flowed and craters filled with water. Andrey says he came here with his father when the lava was still flowing. Volcanologists say it is a young volcano, about 10,000 years old
After a quick group picture we set out to explore. At first the trail is pretty level and we enjoy watching several sets of leaf cutter ants.
The ants don't actually eat the leaves, but store them underground where they develop into a fungus. The fungus is the food. The ants have quite a caste system of workers, soldiers and of course the large queen. The ants are blind, since they live underground, but use their sense of smell to follow trails. They keep their trails clean and have a huge nest (20'x20')with many chambers.
Looking closely at the piece of leaf an ant is carrying, Andrey points out another tiny ant that is riding on the leaf and cleaning it. A male ant mates with the queen one time and then dies. "You don't want to be a male in the insect world," says Andrey. And they have a "cemetery" where they deposit the dead. One colony can be 5 million ants!
See the tiny cleaner ant.
Cleaned ant trail
Ants begin at the edges and eat inwards.
This fern was just beginning to unfurl.
The trail gradually gets more steep and rocky - mainly lava rock. Not easy going for some and we get passed by several groups. According to Andrey, everything is "about half a mile", even though I think this one is about 2 1/2 miles. Still, Pura Vida, no one complains and we enjoy the hike. It becomes single file which makes it difficult to keep up with what Andrey is showing at times, though we can hear him with our "Whispers". 
More and more of the volcano becomes visible, but it isn't till we are back at our cabins that we can see the entire thing.
Another snake, wrapped around a beam in a pavilion.
We catch sight of Arenal Lake at several points - actually a huge reservoir. Some woodpeckers are hanging out near an overlook where we pause.
We go back through La Fortuna and stop to pick up laundry. Then we stop in town for some independent looking around. Being Sunday, the main park area is quite busy with both tourists and locals. The Catholic church, Parroquia San Juan Bosco, is quite beautiful. Andrey says most of the country used to be Catholic only, but now there are other religions also and more people who do not practice any religion. He estimated that 60-65% are raised as Catholic.
We take a quick look in the grocery store before riding back to our rooms from which Arenal Volcano is fully visible!
Later this afternoon we head 2 1/2 miles to a farm called Vida Campesina, which includes a botanical garden with beautiful flowers and various local crops.
Our guide is named Greivin, but says we can call him Guapo (which means handsome in Spanish).
They sponsor and work with the Jauuri School, a small project with 42 rural families who use traditional systems of production of sugar cane, bananas, coffee, tapioca and ornamental plants. Greivin walks around and has us taste several leaves - one very bitter which is used for stomach aches and hangovers, one sweet (stevia), cilantro, citronella and several others.
Then we enter a pavilion area where he talks to us about sugar cane. He recruits some volunteers to help beat and then crush the sugar cane to extract juice.
Rick hammers the rings on the sugar cane stalk.
Then Russel, Sharon and Steve use a "juicer" machine. A few stalks makes enough juice for all of us to try. Grievin says it is like Costa Rican Red Bull - a quick energy boost. It is also an aphrodisiac.... The remaining chaff is used for compost, cow feed or by paper companies. Sugar cane takes 7-8 months to mature. It is cut, but will regrow from the roots. This can continue up to 15 years!
Next he offers us all a shot of sugar cane moonshine. If alcohol content is more than 40% it is illegal, so we are having an illegal drink. Anyone who wants has a shot and then a piece of sugar cane to chew. Not bad!
We then move into a covered dining area where we each are given a ball of dough to flatten into a tortilla (after washing of hands). The cooks take over and serve a tasty dinner all made with local ingredients - Andrey says this is his favorite meal of the trip. Rice, beans, tortilla, a chicken and vegetable kind of stew, a piece of yucca and papaya root hash. It is delicioso!
Then it is back to the resort where, we are happy to report, we have hot water in our shower!
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