Mount Arenal Volcano

     We had fun getting to Arenal from Monteverde, even though it was a long, bumpy 3 hour ride in a shuttle. Next, we took a boat ride and another private shuttle to get to our accommodation at the Arenal. We did a two hour hike in the forest looking at flora and fauna. We saw a variety of  sloths, yellow birds, red frogs, iguanas, green Jesus Christ lizards, colorful butterflies. Our tour guide informed us that the red frogs are poisonous. We also saw leaf cutter ants hauling a piece of leaf  each bigger than themselves and following a trail.These small creatures have an amazing work ethic and are inspiring to watch!      

      Also, we loved the Catarata Rio Waterfalls that we saw in our Arenal trip. It was 480 steps going down to get close to the falls to swim in the water. Later, we had to ascend these 480 steps again to get back back up to the parking lot. So far, it has been the highlight of  our trip!

       Currently, we are at CPI Spanish Language School for two weeks residing at the student apartments. Our student housing is very comfortable. We have a kitchen, dining and family room on the first floor. Our individual two bedrooms are upstairs with attached private bathrooms. 

         Finally, we had a Spanish test today. I'm in the beginner Private Spanish class for 4hours from 8-12 a.m.  My teacher is pretty good. She has already assigned homework for tonight. We have a cafeteria with reasonably good food. We might eat lunch here. We plan on doing hikes to learn more about the flora and fauna in Monteverde every afternoon after 2.