Kristen and I had such a great time at Bogarin Trail that we decided to go back a second day without the kids. On Friday morning we went as soon as they opened to see if we could see anymore wildlife. We had a great time exploring the trails again and did see a close-up of a strawberry poison dart frog and the blue jeans frog, plus we learned more about the walking trees. The trees have roots above ground and actually migrate towards the sunlight that is coming through the forest canopy, they can move up to 60 feet in a year. I also used this opportunity to get another soursop smoothie…delicious! The kiddos stayed behind with my mom and her friend, Iva, to get more swim time at the hot springs.
In the afternoon we took the kids to La Fortuna waterfall. It was quite a hike to get down to the falls, over 500 steps, but the views were amazing. There is a small beach access to the river at the base of the falls and the kids were excited to see fish swimming in the water. They definitely recommend taking goggles to explore under the water! You have to be extremely careful walking around the river as the rocks can get very slippery. The entrance to the water at the waterfall is very rocky and there were a ton of people lounging around. There is a lifeguard on duty to make sure no one tries to swim under the falls. The waterfall is over 200 feet, which is by far the biggest waterfall we have seen, it was incredible. The kids did amazing on the walk down to the falls and then they decided to race back up the stairs. I was expecting to carry them at least part of the way but they made it all the way up on their own. We took a dry bag so the kids could wear normal clothes for the hike and then change into bathing suits at the bottom (they just changed behind towels since the only bathrooms are located at the entrance to the park….500 steps up) We didn’t have any concerns with leaving our stuff by the beach area and there were benches to rest on at the bottom and along the path down to the falls.
After getting back to the top we had lunch at the restaurant, food was amazing but Hope did not like the watermelon salad. She recommends sticking with the chicken tenders. We all really love that the stores and restaurants are mostly open air places. Autumn also spotted a toucan out in the trees while we were eating our lunch!
After lunch we all met in La Fortuna for some more exploring, sightseeing, and shopping around the park/church.
Even though it was only our third day, we also had a routine of getting in the hot springs back at our airbnb. It ended up being a great way for the kids to unwind and the adults to relax. We also found a bar located at one of the more hidden away pools, which was a pleasant surprise!
