Insane? Maybe.

Thanks to a nice tax return, we have planned two little weekend getaways. When we asked Alex and Maggie where they wanted to go, it was a no-brainer - of course, the beach is always top of our list, but they wanted to go back to Volcan Arenal, an active volcano about 90KM outside of San Jose. We visited in 2006 when the lava was flowing consistently. According to locals, the volcano was very active at the end of 2010, but has been quiet since the beginning of this year. We were disappointed to not see "the show" but we had a wonderful weekend. We filled out weekend with a canopy tour, horseback riding, relaxing in thermal pools and hiking up mountains to get the best views. We came home exhausted!

It crossed my mind on several occasions and came up in a few conversations how insane this seems. We're sleeping at the base of an active volcano. How wise is this?!? As we went through the canopy tour, at one point I looked down (which I don't recommend doing!) Our highest point was 160meters - that's 480 feet high! I looked down and a sudden panic hit me that if our cable should break it was a loooong way down! The little straps wrapped around my body weren't all that comforting! However, we were safe all weekend and enjoyed our adventure. We were blessed to have this opportunity and we made memories I'm sure we'll be telling stories about for years and years to come!

Here's a few pictures of our weekend ~

Alex zipping through the forest

Two of the 11 lines passed in front of a waterfall ~ simply amazing!

A native of the Maleku village tells us about his tribe, their history and artwork.

Maggie's favorite thing to do ~ ride horses!

Alex relaxing in the "cool pool" with the volcano looming behind. Most of the pools are thermal springs with warm to scalding hot water. This is the only one that's kept cool.

Maggie, Corey and Alex relaxing in a thermal pool.

Beautiful Arenal Volcano. Although there is no lava visible right now, you can see the steam blowing out of the top.

A beautiful day with a clear view of the volcano.

After a very tough 2km uphill climb we arrived at the observatory...but the clouds moved in ahead of us. At least it was a good workout! My legs were shaking from exhaustion by the time we got back to the bottom.

Maggie getting some froggy kisses!

We'll take our second getaway next weekend as we go to the beach to celebrate the end of language school!
~Tona