Liberia, located in north western Costa Rica is a provincial capital and ranching town of about 45,000 people. Though it had little to offer in the way of tourist attractions, we loved Liberia for its slow paced tree lined streets where everyone sits and chats in the Park Central at sunset. There is a small street Calle Real that has several old colonial style houses, as well as a house that is completely covered on the outside with news articles relating to the town. After our long border crossing day we grabbed a quick but tasty pizza at Toscano before checking into our hotel, Hotel de Casona and calling it an early night. We planned to stay only one night but after having an excellent breakfast in Café Liberia and missing the bus to our next destination or rather the bus to catch the bus we
decided to stay another night, our original hotel was full so we moved to Hospedeja Casa Vieja and after checking in and resting from the heat, we returned to Café Liberia for more of the good food and free Wi-Fi. We wandered the streets of this town in the evening sitting in the Park Central to listen to the birds and watch the people. The next morning, very early we boarded the bus to Canas and from Canas we caught a minibus to Tilaran. We had a wait of several hours in Tilaran and spent the time wandering the town, using the internet and having pastries and croissants at Mus Anni, a Costa Rican bakery chain (very good pastries). Finally we boarded the bus to La Fortuna; the ride was along a winding road that hugs the shores of Lake Arenal and was shared with many cows. On the way into town we had our first view of the Arenal Volcano, the active volcano that is the major tourist attraction of this area before finally arriving in La Fortuna and checking into our hotel, The Mayol Lodge.
