1. 21 Bosque de Paz

We had plans to go to Palmares, a fantastic two week long festival of rodeo and debauchery, but after talking to some Ticos, were advised that by the end of it, it was more debauchery than culture.  After subjecting my mother to a dorm room hostel of smelly twenty-somethings, we decided a festival of this sort was probably not the way to end so fantastic of a trip.
It was clear when we arrived that the lodge at Bosque de Paz was a bit different than what we had been accustomed to in our other hosteling adventures, when we were the only people under the age of 70.

We had coffee and sat in the hummingbird lounge,  and as we sat watching seven different species of hummingbirds flit before out eyes, the "Forest of Peace" seemed aptly named. The vibe was definately slow, tranquil, and geared towards sitting for hours with nothing to do but find and admire birds and other wildlife. We made friends with this little old English woman who told us, "I can never really seem to capture the whole bird. I just have pictures of their heads. But mostly their behinds!"  But she seemed cheerful nonetheless.

The next day we walked along every trail there was ... before noon.  Our mountain climbing training had certainly overprepared us for these elderly-acessible  trails.  But we tried  hard to shift our thinking and pointed out to each other glimpses of wings and made up our own names for the birds we were failing to see. =)

To be honest, bird watching is pretty boring. But  as we all gathered for dinner, everyone was excitedly chattering about what they had seen as if it were the most phenomenal occurance.  They reveled in each others' sights and stories, and, over a glass of wine, it was nice to just listen.  We had talked to one woman on the trail who told us all about orchids.  Apparently, her husband was a preeminant botanist for the study and cataloging of the amazing quantity of different orchids in the forest.  She kept jovially refering to it as an "Orchid disease," as if this passion had gripped him (and, apparently her) and wouldnt cease to amaze them ever.

Of course I loved the forest and the waterfall and the hikes, but mostly I loved talking to these other travelers, each with a completely diffferent reason than my own for traveling, and hearing their own passion. Seeing that sparkle in someone's eyes, even if to you its just a flower, is incredibly humbling, and incredibly beautiful.