Arenal has a volcano, Volcan Arenal, and a large manmade Lake Arenal. The volcano was very active until 2010 when it stopped. There are a lot of natural hot springs in the area. La Fortuna is the nearby town that has all the hotels for the tourists. It is a central spot for all kinds of tourist activities like zip lining, whitewater rafting, hiking, jungle riverboat tours, fishing, etc. The other town in the area is Nuevo Arenal, right on the edge of the lake. It is the “New” Arenal because the old one is underwater since they built the dam for the lake.
Costa Rica gets all it’s electrical power from clean sources, geothermal, hydro-electric, and wind generators. Maybe that’s why the cost of electricity is so high. Many Tico homes don’t have hot water and even upscale houses are designed to take advantage of a breeze instead of using an air conditioner.
The locals like to “tailgate” on the lake side of the road that goes over the dam. Not a problem that there is no room to park off the road, they just pull over to the side and let traffic cross over to the other side of the road. Doesn’t matter which way the car is facing either. I noticed families picnicking, couples, and just groups of guys hanging out.
Something I have seen a lot of is living trees used for fence posts. I was told that the ground is so fertile and moist that when they use branches from a local tree they sprout and grow if there is any life in them at all. Usually the fence is trimmed at a certain height.
