Above is the name of the best restaurant in the city of San Ramon. Our driver Alex and his friend Eduardo (seen below with Michael and the kids) brought us here on our way back to San Jose from Arenal. Oh, and Alex wanted me to know that he's not "just a driver" but THE BEST driver in Costa Rica. We had a fantastic Arroz con Pollo with fried yucca, plantains, etc. It all came attractively displayed on a banana leaf. We were too full to try any of their amazing fruit smoothies in such exotic flavors as guanabana, cass and tamarind.




Here you see the kids with Senor Tucan out front of our lodging at Los Lagos Hotel in La Fortuna.



Our room looked upon the Arenal Volcano which was delightfully active and rumbly. We would wake in the night to hear the rumbles and hear rocks and stuff clattering down the side of the mountain.





One of the features of Los Lagos was the hot springs and water slides. These and the swim up bar were enjoyed daily.





Los Lagos also sported a menagerie. Here you see one of the crocs. It was a little odd to look at all the butterflies, frogs, etc. in a zoo format after seeing them in the wild. But we were happy to see the crocs with a barrier between us.




Directly across from our room was not only the volcano, but a beautiful hillside with these painted horses grazing and scampering around. We often sat on the porch outside our room listening to the calls of tucans while watching the horses and the steaming volcano.





Before we came to La Fortuna/Arenal tourist haven, we were still enjoying the wild Osa Peninsula. Here you see Rex with a butterfly and the lush flora behind him.



Also on the Osa we played at Playa Preciosia and stayed a couple nights at the Iguana Lodge. They had boogie boards for use.



This is a moment from our stay at the Lapa's Nest House (just after the Tree House). You can see the amazing panorama with rainbow on this day. We were treated to fantastic animal shows (tucans, macaws, monkeys) and lightening shows at night. It was very peaceful and just what you imagine a tropical vacation ought to be.