Off to Arenal Volcano!

We woke around 6:30 AM today to get ready and have a delicious breakfast in the hotel before heading off to Arenal for the next couple days. We were on a transfer with another couple and two women who had all just arrived the night before as well. After a couple hours of driving, we arrived in La Fortuna, dropped the others off at their hotels, and then headed around the volcano to the Arenal Observatory Lodge. We were lucky enough to have clear skies, and even were able to see the top of the volcano that afternoon! We drove up the long bumpy road through the forest, and arrived to our lodge around noon. Our room wasn't ready yet, but they took our bags, and we had lunch with incredible views of the volcano. After lunch, we went for a walk around the lodge to check things out, and then went on a short 30-minute hike to a waterfall near the lodge. It was beautiful, and no one was around! After feeling the mist from the waterfall and taking some pictures, we headed back to the lodge. Our room was still not quite ready, so we took a quick rest near the pool, listening to the sounds of the surrounding forest. We got checked into our room - which had a spectacular view of the volcano - and pretty quickly crashed out. I am not normally a napper, but after two nights in a row of less than four hours of sleep, I just couldn't stay awake. I awoke a couple hours later to pelting rains, like I have never seen or heard before. I got up and listened to the rain for a bit, and then we decided we better have dinner. We ate at the lodge, listening to the rain, and went to bed pretty early, as we had another full day ahead of us tomorrow. Unfortunately, it was cloudy all night, so we didn't get a chance to see any lava coming out of the volcano. Perhaps the next night ...