Agricultural school, volcano and mineral springs

Today was a busy one! We checked out of Selva Verde (green jungle) Lodge and headed to the Arenal volcano area at La Fortuna. Along the way, we stopped at an agricultural high school and it was quite an experience. The students start there in 7th grade and choose a "major" such as agriculture, ecology, ecotourism, etc; they take the appropriate classes and also work 4-6 hours a day in their major. For example, the school runs a farm, complete with vegetable gardens (where I got to "plant" some hydroponic lettuce), pigs, goats, cows and chickens, all of which supply the cafeteria with ingredients. I was most impressed with the hotel that is run by the students! They have a patio for dining and even have a botanical garden for guests. It was a student endeavor right down to the last detail - even the artwork on the walls was student-made.

Then, off to La Fortuna, only a 45 minute ride. After we all checked into our bungalows at the base of the Arenal volcano, we had a productive teacher meeting and fantastic dinner, followed by a nice, long dip in the mineral spa. Tomorrow is hiking, probably zip-lining and then some free time in the city. Shopping, anyone? I can't decide whether to shop or visit the hotel spa on my free afternoon ;-). Just kidding. Shopping always wins. It's a bit cloudy (have I mentioned that sometimes, just sometimes, it's a little rainy here?) so we haven't seen the top of the volcano yet, but I am hopeful we'll see it before flying back to San Jose on Friday morning.

More to follow! Hope all is going well!
Hoping to post some zip line pix tomorrow. Until then, take a look at this lovely poison dart frog I saw on my way to breakfast this morning. Cute, huh? I have found tons of frogs, but most have been the famous blue jean variety, which is also poisonous. I've only seen three of these little green and black fellows!

Pura vida!