La Fortuna Waterfall!
Our second trip to La Fortuna Waterfall was as fabulous as the first. Its neat that the "adventures" of this region are very close to our hotel, about 10 minutes drive time. We thought it was funny that viewing the waterfall came as a tour package, for $50! Ummm, we paid $10 per person. They must be covering costs for a bus and lunch, we're thinking they must serve caviar and hard alcohol to get the price that high. When we left Arenal, the weather was warm and overcast, simply waiting to dump buckets of rain on us. I personally have been more physically comfortable since we got to Arenal. Its a bit cooler than places we've recently visited and the humidity is less.
We arrived and got our back pack ready, paid our fee, and simply ignored the part of the waiver we sign where it says no pregnant people. (most know I'm one of the "rules are meant to be broken" people, odd since I married a man in LAW ENFORCEMENT!) Neither one of us saw a reason not to go, and since I'm not showing (woohoo!) there was little to no chance we'd have anyone stop us. The walk down to the fall takes 10-15 minutes and can be trecherous.... The stairs are questionable, made of rock, steep, narrow, and slippery. Why they singled out pregnant women and people with high blood pressure is beyond me. Its far more likely that average Jose would slip fall, break his neck and crash to his death in the water than somehow injuring the baby..... Anyone could have abdominal trauma if they fell on those rocks! Then again, I am a risk taker. I'm one of those people who lives life in moderation. Yes, I've fed my unborn child fish and sushi and plan on doing it again. I've also sipped champagne and refrained from chugging it, AND I sit in hot springs and hot tubs*. (My midwife said to simply use common sense, if I'm too hot, get out, and people, pregnant or not SHOULD use common sense). 
Once we reached the bottom of the waterfall, we were surprised to see it more crowded than last year. Most people sit around and take pictures on the small bank of sand, sit on rocks, or just get in the water. Matt, the daredevil that he is, got right in. I took pictures. I went in a bit last year and it was just as cold today as it was then and I wasn't in the mood. Matt did emphatically remind me how much warmer it is than the lakes and rivers in Washington, but come on, this is Costa Rica. I prefer the bath temps of pools and oceans. We scaled rocks for a bit and attempted to not fall in or slip and break something. There's just something about this waterfall thats totally awesome. I think its both of our favorites and go figure, its one of the cheapest things we do here. Seeing the fish (my future meals) is always neat and its fun to see how many people brave the frigid temps of the water. 
As we were getting ready to head up, the rain started. Surprise surprise! At first, it was a drop here and a drop there and before we knew it, it was pouring. Of course the pouring rain made the trek up a bit tough, again battling the slick rocks, narrow paths, and the chain "hand rails". We made it to the top with minimal breaks, no broken bones/nails, and beyond soaked! You'd have thought I swam too, it was awesome though. In Seattle, it certainly doesn't rain warm rain that you want to be in, thats all it does in Costa Rica. It was likely 83ish degrees and the warm rain felt like a shower. Fabulous! My only complaints from the adventure was that dirt got in my shoe and that I saw a huge spider and screamed.
Tonight we'll spa again. Its a rough life but someone has to do it.
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