COSTA RICA Part 2 Lake Arenal -Northern Highlands Pura Vida Continues

                                         

“A high-brow is someone who looks at a sausage and thinks of Picasso.”     AP Herbert, English writer

High-brow, low-brow, anyhow, sausage is but one reason why we drove 150 miles NW of San José in 5 hours*** to reach the scenic Northern Highlands towns of Lake Arenal and to eat at the German Bakery in the middle of Central America. Linda kept extolling its treats as we’d pass by their road signs advertising the bakery @ 20K,16km,12km, just 8km …

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When at long last the restaurant’s bright yellow signs appeared; down at the end of the main drag in the quaint town of Nuevo Arenal, pop. 2,200; beckoning us with their German treats. Decidedly peckish, there was no time to linger, and ordered up their famous bratwurst sandwich and Pilsners to wash it all down. Since moving to meat-centric Latin America, I’ve been slowly returning back into the meat-eating fold, but never have I encountered such a mighty beast as this sausage sandwich. The behemoth set before me could easily feed a family. Being hungry travelers, we dug in and conquered those suckers. Well worth it, a feast for the famished. Plus, pastries (to go!) were on par with their fine German specialty.

***parts of the trip are on the Pan-American Highway – a super network of roads stretching from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina, a distance of around 30,000 miles.

***5 hours to drive 150 miles?! Welcome to Costa Rica, land of riches, but poor roads. The country is almost the size of West Virginia – go figure.

Beautiful Lake Arenal (elevation: 1,800’) is the largest lake in CR and lies beneath the looming and majestic, mile-high Arenal Volcano (one of five active volcanoes in CR). It encompasses 85 square kilometers (33 sq mi) and is 30-60 meters deep (100-200 feet), depending on the season. It’s the biggest man-made lake in Costa Rica and provides essential hydroelectric power generation for the country.

The massive volcano and surrounding, lush rolling hills, along with its shining blue waters, make Lake Arenal an incredible area for all sorts of adventure activities: hiking, horseback riding, wildlife spotting, and photography. Small hotels, spas, hot springs, and tourist towns make the area one of the most popular and exciting tourist destinations in Costa Rica between its two coasts. All that said, we chose eating/drinking and lolling about as our favored activities. Aah … the art of living!

After the German gorge fest, it’s check-in time at the Lucky Bug B&B, www.luckybugcr.net, a charming and tranquil collection of buildings set amidst beautiful gardens, forest, and overlooking a duck pond. Monica is the proprietress, a European artist, and you can see the imprint of her touch in every little detail in the rooms. Nighttime shows off her lighted psychedelic-like painted mushrooms that line the driveway path. And in her gift gallery, we bought lovely souvenirs and mementos.

For all its tranquility, the premises are alive with the sound of birds vying for attention; filling the late afternoon and early morning hours with their lively, lyrical songs. Add into the mix the sounds of the pond frogs and the elusive Howler monkeys; always heard, but rarely seen and whose loud howls can travel more than a mile through the dense rain forest. This was nature’s musical jam session. Surely, this score will be repeated throughout our stay in Costa Rica.

Silent through it all, is the Tayra, a large Costa Rican marten, a member of the weasel family. A sudden rustling in the trees and out popped a startled and startling Tayra staring at us. Initially curious to us, he snapped branches as he noisily scrambled his way down, playing peekaboo with us in its hasty pursuit of victuals. Linda says one of the devil varmints recently ate a chicken on their Finca (farm). No love lost there.

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College redux? Tonight’s informal, makeshift dinner could have been a scenario from college dorm days as it played out in the ladies’ room: bags of ice in bathroom sink, table set as a smorgasbord of tasty, small bites, and libations: gin and tonics, wine, and tequila, with homegrown limóns from the Finca. I think Linda and Rita must have been striving girl scout ribbon winners in their youth, being so prepared. They scored brownie points in our book.

We gathered on the small balcony overlooking the grounds as twilight descended and you’d think we chatted and drank until the sun came up, but far from it – by 8:00 these ol’ fogies hit the sack. Methinks the bratwurst did us in.

Revived and refreshed, an ample breakfast (are you beginning to see a food trend?!) is served al fresco on the terrace overlooking the misty morning pond. Hummingbird feeders line up all along the overhang, treating us to a nonstop show with the colorful hummers zooming and darting in ‘n out, back ‘n forth just feet away. The birds are voracious drinkers and keep the owner busy with replenishments. However, this morning the feeders were empty, so instead, the birds found David’s red cap and red glasses irresistible and enticing (who wouldn’t?!) and they’d buzz him within inches of his face. That was fun for a short while.

Afterward, we put PURA VIDA to its ultimate test and planned on not worrying about the world in general, but rather chilling out and enjoying the sounds and beauty of Mother Nature and all her offerings. Some of us read, napped or walked the grounds taking way too many flowers photos, one more beautiful than the next. I tried to read but the nap gods took over. You may know the saying, a man plans, but the gods decide.

David went gung-ho photographing the flora. They’re manicured in such a way to appear like nature gone amok, overflowing into one another and changing colors as you go along the path. Busy insects were in constant motion, hopping from plant to plant. We happened upon an immobile turtle in the middle of the driveway and promptly placed him safely back toward the pond, but not before David got onto the ground and faced the frightened fella eye-to-eye.

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Linda’s favorite restaurant in Nuevo Arenal is the unique, lakefront Tinajas Arenal. To get to this off-the-beaten-path restaurant ain’t no easy feat, folks, as we had to traverse a long and winding unpaved roadway. The three-mile drive seemed much longer as we slowly maneuvered and rock ‘n rolled our way up ‘n down the dirt road. The bumpy ride triggered hunger pangs. What place could measure up to such an ordeal?

Well, Tinajas Arenal sits high on a promontory facing the lake; and has an amazing view to the west that culminates with a spectacular sky show at sunset. Tonight’s would not disappoint. The special of the day was unanimous by popular choice: grilled Corvina (sea bass family) generously topped with a generous mix of shellfish: shrimp, mussels, baby clams, and calamari in a very delicate, tasty saffron sauce. Again, portions were big enough to have been shared (please see German Bakery), as none of us were able to finish our plates. However, they’ll be transformed into wonderful fish tacos for a merienda (snack) once we reached Linda’s Finca mañana.

After the sunset waned off to the west, and throughout our meal, came the rains; quite hard at times. There’s no better sound than that of rain on a tin roof to end a glorious, lazy day’s finish. Viva La Pura Vida!

Next up … A long drive Eastbound to the Caribbean and Linda’s Finca outside the port town of Limón. It’s about 160 miles from our current destination, but being mountainous and with more long and winding roads, expectations were for a four-hour trek through the heart of Costa Rica.