Hikes in the Rain and Slides into a Hot Tub

 Arenal is one of the famous volcanos in Costa Rica, but also located in the heart of their cloud forest and frequently obscured from view. After a rather long and damp hike, the picture below shows all we were able to see of that famous (and unseen) peak.

 Fortunately, although we were rained out of our second hike for the day, the lodge we were staying at was able to leverage one of the benefits of nearby geothermal activity - namely a giant hot tub. Not only were there several smaller and personal pools that you'd expect with most hot tubs, but the sheer volume of hot water available meant that the entire pools were very toasty and several were accessible by water slides. (the picture below is early in the morning when the water has been drained for cleaning)

 After a few water slides and some frolicking, it was nice to be able to enjoy a few drinks at the swim up bar. Wrist bands let us charge drinks to our rooms rather than fuss with money, and a cool fruity beverage was a perfect match for toasty warm waters.