Alajuela and San Jose

This morning we woke up bright and early to head on our way to visit La Paz Waterfalls Gardens. About half way between the trip from Arenal to San Jose, the Park is like a mini zoo with a huge butterfly sanctuary, frog house and snake house where you can see and even touch many of the varieties that are native to Costa Rica. The gardens also have a system of trails that lead to each attraction, including a pond with huge goldfish and waterfalls all along a river that runs through the property at the bottom of a hill. There is also a traditional house on display that is furnished and equipped like an average farmer's home from 100 years ago. We wandered through the park looking at all the attractions, ate a buffet lunch at their restaurant, and then continued on our way to Alajuela - a city north of San Jose - to inspect some hotel options in the area. In the evening, we returned to San Jose and enjoyed dinner with some others from the in country office in San Jose. It was nice to finally be able to meet and chat with some of the people I email with everyday! After a great Caribbean style meal, I returned to the Hotel Le Bergerac, said good-bye to everyone, and turned in for the 5 hours of sleep I would have before catching my flight home in the morning. All in all, the trip was fantastic and I could now easily say that I fell in love with the country and the people!