"Pura Vida", Tico style in Costa Rica!: "BFFs" reunited!

Exactly after 6 long years, my best friend from dental college in Ahmedabad, Adya and I were going to get together on this trip. It would be our first time meeting each others boys and of course the first vacation that our families would enjoy together. We had until the evening to spend in San Jose till they arrived and we began our drive to La Fortuna. After a hearty "made-to-order" breakfast of multi-grain pancakes, eggs and fruits we were headed to the Volcano Poas and the La Paz Volcano Gardens with our driver, Julio in his spacious mini-van. The former was a disappointment though with the volcano hiding under the thick clouds and fog, a very common phenomenon apparently when you decide to take it easy in the morning and reach there at 10.30am! The hour long drive up there was stunning with dense and unique vegetation all around and herds of cows, at times blocking the narrow road! Next stop was the La Paz Waterfall gardens, a large privately owned property housing several birds, animals and butterflies that were rescued from harm. The grounds are very well-maintained and the place is very beautiful with an abundance of flora and fauna unique to this region including the "umbrella leaf" plants! The lunch buffet was appetizing and had enough tasty vegetarian options to satisfy our herbivorous family! We were able to burn off those lunch calories with all the walking through the gorgeous trails and exhibits. The highlights for me were the almost fake looking colorful Toucans and actual metamorphosis happening in front of our eyes in the butterfly exhibit! Where in the world would I expect to see the life cycle of a butterfly in real-time? "Butterflies being born" from their larvae to pupae stage, crawling out of their chrysalis! While waiting for the shuttle near the waterfalls, we had company with at least half a dozen animal friends who sat right next to us. Too bad, none of the people waiting there were able to confirm the name of this never-seen-before animals! Eventually, we found out they were "Pisotos".

After a fun-filled afternoon and a shut-eye on the drive back, we arrived at the hotel just in time to pick up our luggage and go to the airport with the Odyssey Tours driver to pick up Adya-Jay and Vihaan. The 2 and a half hour drive to La Fortuna went by fast with so much to catch-up and the kids gelled with each other instantly with reminders to keep the noise level down in the car! The heavy fog on narrow and windy roads made us all feel good about our decision to not rent a car and drive ourselves! Volcano Lodge and Gardens, our hotel in La Fortuna was quite impressive even though we couldn't appreciate the beauty completely in the rainy night! We charted out our next three days in the Arenal Volcano area tentatively over dinner at the on-site restaurant and parted for some Zzzzzzs after a long and exciting day before we could start another exciting day ahead!