While in Costa Rica, we drove a rental car inland to Arenal Observatory. This Lodge overlooks the Arenal Volcano that has been very active from 1968 to 2010, with numerous eruptions of pyroplastic flows and rocky bombs that have landed a kilometer away from the summit crater. The volcano is an extremely steep cone-shaped mountain. The area is called a cloud forest, and at this time of the year has heavy rains several times during the day, and winds that blow up to 30 knots for 30 seconds and are gone for a few minutes. Clouds are passing by at break-neck speed. If we see the sun, it's always a surprise. This area is great for birding, but there are a wide-range of activities including zip-lining, rappelling into canyons, kayaking, white-water rafting, and hiking galore. We are currently staying at some villas called La Mansion in the Lake Arenal area. So far we have identified 94 bird species in Costa Rica. One of our favorites has to be the Collared Aracari!!