In the afternoon, we decided on an easy hike on a dry January day. Lucky for us the Arenal Volcano Trail was right down the road from the Arenal Observatory. We started out on Sendero Las Coladas and turned right onto Sendero La Ceiba. We wandered through the beautiful tropical rainforest with fern, orchids, and bromeliads all along the trail.
Vida even got to touch the Sensitive Plant (Mimosa pudica) and see its drooping act on contact.
At the high point of the circular path, we ascended some metal steps off to the right took us up to a rocky pathway to more metal steps to another rocky pathway with lava rocks to climb over before arriving at a point that had a sign saying, in essence, don’t go beyond this point. The hike down was serene. But then we realized that we had no transportation back to La Fortuna. Time for some hitchhiking, and soon we were sharing a ride with another stranded traveler.