El Volcán

We started today by picking up our new friend, the Daihatsu Bego! After a few scary minutes driving around Alajuela, we finally managed to get the heck outta dodge.


After a long set of deliberations, we selected El Volcán Arenal as our first destination. The folks at the car rental place told us the "fast way to go" (which looked suspiciously on the map to be a windy secondary road),
but turned out to have some really nice scenery(and also to be a windy secondary road).


We didn't have any specific plans for Arenal. All we knew is that we wanted hot springs. I have been suffering from a very painful knot in my neck/back and Isaac was tired of me whining about it. We had many recommendations and read some reviews. The most famous (and one of the most expensive) resorts in the area is El Tabacon. We didn't want to throw down $300/night so we settled on a place that gets great reviews in Trip Advisor, Silencio del Campo.

The hotel is situated next to the Volcano, on the western side which is supposed to be the side with good views of the lava at night. It is not a hotel, but a set of beautiful little cabins. There is a swimming pool, bar, restaurant, and most importantly--a hot spring pool. Now once upon a time, it probably was quite Silencio around here, but unfortunately a gigantor of a hotel has been built right next door and all you hear day and night is the whirring of the air conditioning units from that place! I wonder if the owner's are thinking of changing the name?

The place is really lovely, however. We had a dip in the hot spring, a massage (which felt more like I was being prepared for roasting rather than massaged--but oh well), and a good dinner. Now we're relaxing to the sounds of frogs, geckos, and ....well, the AC from the hotel next door!!