7/2/24
Today was the day we would be doing the excursion I was most looking forward to! Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park is a forest sanctuary which features the coming together of several different ecosystems. This area has 350+ species of birds, 700+ species of plants, 120+ species of mammals, and 250+ species of amphibians and reptiles.
We were being picked up by the tour company at 7:40 a.m. Unfortunately at this time it was pouring rain! He said we could either wait at the hotel lobby until it stopped. Or we could drive the 25 minutes to the park and wait for it to stop. Or we could just forge on in the rain.
We decided to head to the park and wait it out. All along the drive, our tour guide Orlando narrated for us. He told us things we were driving by, about the Costa Rican culture, and more! He really was amazing from start to finish. Much to our surprise it stopped raining right when we arrived and we began the tour right away. He did advise that we wear bug spray, but to spray it on outside and not in the van.
Our tour was booked with Canoa Aventura, and our guide’s name was Orlando. He was amazing! You CAN pay and enter this park without a tour guide. Had we done that, we would have never seen the amazing wildlife that we saw. He knew where to look for things!
Our first hanging bridge to cross:
It was much narrower than I was expecting! And this first one was good practice for how get across without too much movement. He told us to walk with kind of a wider stance and to hold on to the railings.
Orlando explaining some of the vegetation to us:
A snail just scooting along:
Broad-Billed Motmot:
Our guide had a special monocular that he carried all throughout the tour. He was able to focus in on the wildlife so we could all see up close! He also was able to use an older Iphone to take a photo through the lense. That’s how we got such amazing photos!
Poison Dart Frog:
There were several of these along the way. They were just off of the walkway, kind of over the side going down the hill. We never would have seen them!
Here is just a quick view of what the pathway looks like:
As we were walking, Orlando stopped and asked if we smelled something. Just at that moment, my daughter said she saw an animal in the brush. It turned out to be some kind of pig! Orlando explained that the pigs have that smell to deter predators.
I got a quick video but they were running away.
We crossed another bridge and just at the end, Orlando pointed out some tarantula holes in the dirt. We could see just hairy legs!
Our next sighting was a snake!
The Eyelash Palm Pit Viper:
This particular species loves trees, is very small, and has a wide array of color variations. I couldn’t believe how small it was!
We continued on to some more bridges.
This was just breathtaking! I can’t even describe the sounds, the scenery…
After spending some time on this most amazing bridge, we came across another friend along the trail.
This was also an Eyelash Palm Pit Viper, just in a different color.
There was an optional trek down to a waterfall, which everyone did except me.
It was just about this time, that we came across a small group of women who were wiping themselves off. We could hear a monkey screaming just prior to this. Apparently the monkey pooped all over them from up in the trees! A little bit farther into our walk, we came across the monkey! It was very high up and difficult to see.
It was just starting to rain again. Somehow, some way, Orlando spotted this chameleon! I could NOT find it with the naked eye at all.
We were almost at the end of the tour. This was just on the way out on the path:
By this time it was actually pouring down rain! We finished the tour and it brought us out at the entrance hub.
This information is all in the hub before entering the park.
There is also food available for purchase at both this stand and a sit down restaurant.
The views from here are amazing! There is some seating here along the fence.
The volcano in the distance:
Orlando told us to meet him over at some picnic tables when we were finished taking photos and using the restroom, etc. He had this nice surprise for us…fresh cut pineapple and bananas! He literally cut them right there for us with his knife and cutting board.
It was DELICIOUS and a perfect treat after our tour. After we were finished eating, we boarded our transportation for the drive back. It was about 11:45 a.m. So the tour was a total of 2 and halfish hours.
Once back at the resort we headed to our rooms to change out of our wet clothing. We made our way to the pool and ordered some lunch. My daughter had the kid’s mini pizza again.
And I ordered a pizza with ham. It was delicious!
Since Mistico was the only excursion I was signed up for, I decided to make a pedicure appointment since I needed one before my next beach trip. On the way out I caught this fella:
I had to search it up on Google and found it to be a Great Curassow. It scared me as it scurried across the walk in front of me!
After a little bit of pool time, we went back to the room as it was starting to rain more consistently. Part of our group was taking a cooking class during the evening hours, and the rest of us were just going to go to dinner together at La Saca at the hotel.
Here’s a little bit about the cooking class! It was arranged as an excursion through our hotel. The group was picked up from our hotel and taken to the location. They cooked the meal and then ate it!
You can see this is an open air establishment. This seems to be the norm in Costa Rica!
It was pouring!
The chef instructing:
They had a drink called a Guaro Sour. We saw this on most menus!
Chicken:
Tortillas and pico de gallo:
The finished product:
Dessert was rice pudding.
They did make homemade tortillas! She also emailed all of the recipes to the participants.
For us, dinner at La Saca started with a bread service. This was actually very good, with three different butter options.
From the kid’s menu…Butter Spaghetti. My youngest is very particular about food. She eats pasta with butter at home all of the time. She doesn’t eat any sauce whatsoever. This was drowning in butter! We should have asked for it on the side.
She ended up scooping the pasta out and putting it on another plate and it was fine. This seems to be a staple on kid’s menus, as we saw it on many different menus!
Also from the kid’s menu, the cheeseburger:
Pacific Fish and Cheese Arancinis:
Tagliatelle with Cilantro and Basil Pesto:
This was mine and it was delicious!
Pacific Tropical Fish:
We had another great day in Costa Rica!
Up next Day 4!
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures 