Sleepy eyed but bubbly none the less, a tidy group of four set out on a 5 hour bus ride. I'm reading Cocori, a Costa Rican children's book, for Spanish class. When I brought it out on the bus, the girl next to me goes "Estamos al reves!" (we are backwards!) Turns out, she's reading "Little Women" and studying to be an English teacher. =)
Upon arrival we checked into our hostel, the total definition of a 'family place', as the adorable children of the owner were running all over the place and making friends with us. I maintain that kids in other countries are cuter (something about not being able to understand whining makes it mildly more tolerable)
We went to the Monteverde Reserve, paid the obligatory $9 entrance fee (more than the cost of any of our meals, or our lodging for the night). I've had this conversation with several people before, about how I don't mind paying a park entrance fee, even if it is a bit steep, because it goes to protect and beautify the park, right? Maybe the fact that you can get away with not paying is just too tempting.
Anyhow, we had a nice meander, seeing lots of plants and birds, but alas no sight of the infamous resplendent Quetzal. We did find lots of these funky larvae/spit looking entities... major props if you can correctly identify?
The next day the other girls went ziplining, and I set out to find Cerro Amigos, a free hike listed in my guidebook. Turns out its a pretty intense hike, and walking there and getting lost a couple times before finally arriving did nothing for my energy level. (thats the thing about Ticos being so nice. they want to help you so much that even if they have no idea what you're talking about, they'll still give you "directions" ) but the view from the top was totally worth it. Me and my trail buddy Nathaniel chilled on the roof of this stone structure just overlooking the entire valley. pretty sweet.
doesn't this last picture look like something from Jurasic Park?
ReplyDeleteThree cheers for onather safe and exciting jaunt
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