Costa Rica - Nayara Springs, Arenal Volcano (Part 1)

We've officially been married one month today! We got back from our trip to Costa Rica two weeks ago and I'm so excited to finally share about it. It was an absolutely incredible trip. We stayed in two different locations when we were there. We have sooo many pictures, so I'm going to have to break this up into a couple posts. The first location we went to was inland near the Arenal Volcano in La Fortuna.

We left at about 3 AM from home, landed in Liberia at about 2 PM, and had another 3-4 hour drive to La Fortuna. The drive was absolutely beautiful, and we learned so much along the way just chatting with the local driver. We stopped about halfway to get something to eat at a beautiful spot that overlooks Lake Arenal.



Our first taste of the local food - SO good!



After another couple hours in the car, we finally made it to our destination, Nayara Springs. You guys, this place was unreal. I don't even know how we found it or ended up here. We went through a local travel agent and somehow they were able to cut corners to get us in here. I have never, nor do I think I ever will get the chance to stay in a place this nice again. Pictures don't do it justice, but I'll try.

By the time we arrived, it was already dark out, getting late, and we were pretty beat. We were shown to our new home for the next four days and then we were more than ready to rest and call it an early night. The next morning we went out to explore the place in the daylight.



The front of our little casita.



The deck - comfy lounge chairs, a hammock, a hot tub/jacuzzi, a little view of the volcano, and nothing else but rainforest. No better combination.



The first thing we noticed was how private everything was. You could literally go your whole stay without seeing anyone if you wanted. Everyone had their own little space. But there were also plenty of opportunities to see people and socialize if you wanted.



There were so many pathways that lead to different pools, hot tubs, coy ponds, gardens, places to eat, etc. It took us three days to explore the whole place.



Breakfast was probably our favorite meal of the day when we were there.





After breakfast it was still a little overcast and cool so we decided to try out one of the hidden hot tubs we found that morning. They had these all over the place hidden in the trees.



They also had more places than you could ever need to relax and just lounge around.



Then the sun started to make an appearance!



Time to move on and keep exploring.





They had various wildlife, especially different types of large birds, all over.





So lush and green everywhere you looked.



One of the many coy ponds.



Where will this take us?



Jackpot.



I got my virgin pina colada and I was in heaven.



We had to cut the pool visit short because we had scheduled a Volcano hike that afternoon, but we knew we would be back!



We started off hiking to an overlook to get a better view of the volcano. It didn't matter what kind of terrain you were on, it was absolutely gorgeous everywhere you looked.





This one was a good workout - lots of climbing/stairs ;)



We started seeing the very dark volcanic rock.



We made it - with breathtaking views.





We had a great tour guide who taught us a lot on the hike. I'll spare you from all the details. But one of the common myths is that the city of La Fortuna ("The Fortune") got its name from being spared by the volcano. When the sun is out, you can really see all the volcanic rock on this side of the volcano where it erupted and was covered in magma. Somehow, the other side (La Fortuna) was left completely untouched.



It's not often that the clouds part long enough to actually see the top of the volcano - we were lucky!



After the volcano overlook, we hiked down into the rainforest to try and spot some wildlife.





We saw lots of different types of plants and animals but the coolest was the toucan. They were absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately we didn't get pictures - they were hard enough to spot with binoculars.



Rainforest sunset? Check that off the bucket list.



The day wasn't over yet! After that, we went to Tabacon's hot springs. The water is completely heated by the Arenal Volcano's magma. We actually realized when we were in there, the water is naturally so hot, they actually pump in cold water in some places so that it stays around 98.6 degrees.



This experience was totally new for both of us and absolutely worth it. Once again, it was like everywhere you went there were secret little areas and cut-outs to explore. We were only there at night and pictures definitely don't do it justice. This place was incredible.



We ate a much-needed dinner after changing into some dry clothes and then headed back home. And that was only our first full day in Costa Rica ;)



The rest of our stay at Nayara coming up next!