Yesterday, a Swiss German friend of mine, Christoph, and I went on a tour of a trail on the far side of volcano Arenal and got to see some spectacular vistas of the volcano, including a small eruption. Fortunately for us, the air was clear and visibility was high. After that, we headed to the hot springs that are produced by the thermals of Arenal. It was pleasant, although I didn't have anything to drink, as drinks ran about three times the going rate. In all, I shelled out $25 for the tour and the hot springs. It was my one big Costa Rican splurge.

The tour through the jungle was a little bit uninspiring. The nature was nice, of course, but I felt like I was in a theme park as opposed to a natural situation. There's a saying that has really proven to be true: "In Nicaragua, there are twenty monkies and two tourists watching them; in Costa Rica, there are two monkies and twenty tourists watching them." This was definitely - literally - the situation yesterday on the tour. There were so many tourists within fifty meters of me (probably at least 30), with three or four different guides yapping away, that I often couldn't even hear the birds singing. It was not the situation I had hoped for.

I just hope that the commodification of nature that I have observed in Costa Rica does not prevail region or worldwide. But I think it will. Capitalism has a way of making any money-producing process more efficient. And, in this case, I think that efficiency is contrary to what I as a traveler want to experience.

I arrived in San José today and am planning on heading to the airport to confirm my tickets for Tuesday. I fly out Tuesday, very early in the morning, and I don't want to have any issues with my flight then. It seems a good investment of time to check on everything at the airport and feel secure about my situation.

I've just got a couple more days here in Costa Rica, and I'm very excited. I can't wait to get back to Mexico!