We planned to hook up with the Germans (Sonja, Klaus, and Mia) in Nuevo Arenal on the north west of Lake Arenal. They were still in Costa Rica for another week, and G needed to deliver some electronics acquired in the States to Klaus. The road around the lake is paved and well maintained, but still scenic. Sonja had prepared us for the authentic German bakery in Nuevo Arenal. We started seeing signs for the place 30 km out of town. Once in town, we thought the best bet to meet up with our friends was to go to the bakery. We soon found why they had been raving: delicious German bread, pastries and Costa Rican coffee. How can you go wrong? We were not wrong to stop there, because they soon rolled in. We headed to a camping spot on the lake that they had already taken advantage of. G and I were getting a little ripe, so we took advantage when the sun went down and took showers from our tank. No curtain yet – so we were counting on no surprise visitors.
The following day we headed for another lake camping spot in a little down a dirt road from the Arenal Park entrance. On the way there, Brummer (the German’s Mercedes) had some mechanical issues – they were out of diesel. We soon remedied the problems and were on are way again to the campsite. We were treated to great views of the volcano and an ample wood for a roaring fire.
We visited the Arenal Hanging Bridges in the morning. The $24 entrance fee was steep, but the park was wonderful. A short 3 km loop took you over 6 hanging bridges in the forest canopy and past jaw dropping views of the volcano.
We spent our final night with Sonja and Klaus in the parking lot of the La Fotuna Waterfall, which worked out perfectly for us, because I wanted to check it out the following day. Sonja treated the men to burritos thus satisfying G’s meat cravings for a day or so.
The next morning, after seeing our new friends from Germany off, we hiked down the stairs to the waterfall for a dip.