Great rain forest hike with friendly knowledgeable guides. - Maybe my favorite thing about our visit to CRParaíso is that we were greeted by a black lab named Negro who guided us into the property to the parking lot. The owner and tour guide, Brett, took over from there and led us to a waiting area and chatted with us about the local flora and fauna until co-guide Treici joined us and our hike into the rain forest began. We were wary of snakes and kept a lookout amongst all the foliage on the ground, but didn't encounter very much wildlife. It was an unseasonably hot day, and I imagine the animals were smarter than us and were staying quite still and cool elsewhere. Brett did point out several tapir trails and bromeliads growing on the larger trees in the forest. We also saw several large anthills with leafcutter ant trails leading up to them. It was quite hot, so when Brett led us to a dipping pool full of clear mountain spring water, I didn't hesitate to get in and cool off. No leeches, no crocs, just crystal clear refreshment. In the orchard on his land, we saw several types of banana and citrus trees, and got to sample cacao fruit fresh off the tree. If you look closely, you can see a baby banana spider on one of the bananas. At the end of the hike, Treici cut down two sugar canes and chopped them into snack size pieces for a sweet treat before we left. Our guides were very friendly and knowledgeable, and the hike was not strenuous at all. It was a gentle two hour tour of the mostly wild property, and a great way to spend the morning.

Lovely accessible hike in the Nuevo Arenal area - We enjoyed a lovely, low-impact hike on the grounds of CR Paraíso, an extensive and well-maintained property that includes a pond, river, forest, agricultural fields, and an orchard. Bret and Casey were friendly and warm hosts and went at our group's pace. We are birders who live in a nearby area and expected to have a more experienced naturist guide to help point out and identify species; we ended up doing most bird identification through sight and sound on our own. Overall, we observed 28 species during the 2-hour hike, and we enjoyed experiencing the beauty of the grounds and the friendly conversation we had with our hosts. We recommend asking about who your guide will be before choosing this experience if you are interested specifically in birding while in the area.