Costa Rica - Arenal

There's plenty to offer in La Fortuna and barely 500m from the centre of town is the Bogarin Trail presenting a great opportunity to see Sloth.

This was our first real sighting and a real treat as this individual was palpably racing down a tree to presumably perform its weekly ablutions.

Then there were two together in a single tree. One was having a good old scratch. Gorgeous creatures.

The birdlife here was great too. A couple of Black-mandibled Toucan posed beautifully along one of the trails.

Black-mandibled Toucan

Chestnut-sided Warbler

White-throated Magpie Jay

Of course there's the volcano that rises high beyond the town but its splendour can be cryptically hidden by a swirl of low cloud. It is a sight to behold.

The food here is great too. A wide selection of restaurants to serve a profusion of tourists that pass through the town. The local dish is Casado, an incongruous assorted of foods consisting of rice, black bean, plantain, and salad (excuse me, where's the plantain?).

There's a rather lovely waterfall here too - the La Fortuna waterfall deposits water from 200ft into a pool that allows visitors to see this wonderful natural feature from close quarters. Five hundred steps take you down to the viewpoint, a decent workout when climbing back up to the visitor centre.

Then there are the hot springs. The volcano provides the town with a number of thermal pools that are typically associated with hotel complexes.

The Mistico Hanging Bridges Park is a must visit. There are a total of six hanging bridges and 15 overall that provide tourists with a 3km rainforest walk with great views of the canopy.