Southern Exposure

Sunday, January 4

We had a leisurely morning at the hotel, had breakfast, hit the pool and rolled out by noon. The ride to Arenal took about 4 hours. We both were stunned at how much better and smoother the bikes rode on the dirt road after we loosened the chains. Needless to say, my bike didn’t wobble as much since we put in the missing bolt that was holding the rear frame.

The road took us through lush green country side, crossing the inlet, more country side, and finally arriving to the Arenal area. After doing a little bit of hotel research online, we were conscious of the fact that most hotels could be full or would be very expensive.

We took the road heading east around the lake and pulled into the first hotel that advertised all the amenities we were looking for. To our surprise, the hotel/lodge was almost empty which suited us just fine.

After unpacking, we took a hike down to the lake through a jungle forest, planning on having a quick picnic of sandwiches we bought at Cafe de Paris that morning and watching the sunset.

The lake front was not very impressive, it had a couple of places offering wind surfing lessons, and that was about it.

The water was definitely not see-through like on lake Atitlan in Guatemala ( I later found out Arenal is a man-made like, thus the muddy waters), and it was a bit too windy and cloudy for our taste. We ate our food and headed back up to the hotel, anticipating to spend some time in the outdoor hot tub.

We opened a bottle of wine and headed for the hot tub. It was a tiny hole in the rock, big enough for only two people but deep enough to cover us from head to shoulders. It felt amazing – sitting in the outdoor hot tub with perfect temperature water, gazing over the lake and the stars, drinking red wine, listening to the sounds of nature – a truly divine experience!

It was dinner time. We were one of the only three couples staying at the hotel. We noted to ourselves that the lodge seemed too big and too grand for its current purpose. It had a Hellenic-inspired decor (the owner insists it is Minoan), native indigenous scenes frescoed on the walls, panoramic windows overlooking the lake, mighty columns supporting the inner facade, and a lot of hollow space. It felt like a palace that used to thrive with life many years ago but was abandoned and turned into a lonesome place that hosts an occasional traveller. There was even a complete brewery set up, though obviously not a functioning one. If you’re a brewmaster reading this, the owner is looking for you.

I was quite surprised but happy that the hotel restaurant served dinner. Interestingly enough, the cook/server/the only person in the kitchen was a young skater boy from Califronia. He told us he stayed at the hotel for free, worked for free as a cook and “learned to run a boutique hotel.” The owner, a gentlemen from New Mexico, had built the hotel in the 90’s, and frequently hosted kids from US as interns in exchange for labour. One of them had been a serious skater and convinced the owner to build a huge skate park overlooking the lake, the largest in Central America.

We finished our bottle of wine at dinner, did some work online and went to bed looking forward to the next day of riding around the lake and checking out Volcano Arenal, one of the most active volcanoes in Southern hemisphere.