Arenal

Hello Family,As you probably have guessed, this is our travel journal so we are emailing you everything and somethings maybe should have been left unsaid.Anyways, we had an awesome time in La Fortuna. IN the morning we went looking for a rope swing that went into the river called El Salto. It was free and we are poor so we thought that it would be a good option. We ended up walking about 5 miles up hill to a waterfall that we had to pay for. We decided to pay the $6 and see the falls. IT was definitely worth it. They were about 60 feet tall and we went swimming underneath them and in pools near by. We then talked to some of the locals and found were El Salto was. It was one of the best parts of the trip so far. There was a rope swing that would let you swing out and drop from about 25 feet in the air. The water was warm and we were next to some more water falls that were about 15 feet high. We could dive off into the falls. IT was great. One of the locals goes there every day.We got back from the falls and went on a Volcano Arenal tour. It was $20 but also worth it. They first took us on a jugle tour with tour guides that were biology students and knew a lot about the animals. We saw spider monkeys, howler monkeys, toucans, the works. During the tour we could hear the volcano exploding in the background. They then took us to see the volcano. We could see the lava glowing from the view point. They said that a couple of years ago there were guides and tourist killed because they were too close. Now they take the tourists to a safer spot. After the tour they took us to a hotspring resort with 11 different temp pools and two wet bars. This place made Cristal Hot Springs look like a toilet. We got in for free but other people pay $20 for entrance. It was probably the fanciest place I have ever been. We got pina colatas (non alcoholic of course) and sat in the pools. The best part is that it began to rain. This made the pools steam. In the pools there were islands of banana plants and other tropical plants. It was incredible.Today we took a bus to lake Arenal. We then took a boat across the lake. It would be the perfect lake for waterskiing. I think one day I would like to make millions by taking people skiing. We then took a microbus (VW bus) to Monteverde where we are now. It is a small town in the rainforest very cool. We went to a frog-a-terium. We saw 20 different species including the poison dart frogs. They were in large aquariums and the guide brought a flashlight so that we could see them. (It gets dark at 6pm here and this is when all of the animals become active) He also knew all of the calls and they would answer back.We tried looking for churches every where we have gone. We havent seen any churches or missionaries yet. We have asked the locals and they say that there aren{t any close. We will make it next week.We are safe, healthy, and happy and tomorrow are going to do the zip line canopy tour. Our friends from Israel said it was the greatest thing they have ever done.Well it is time to go and as they say here in Costa Rica PURA VIDA!!!!Scott Paul and Ty