La Fortuna - Monteverde
The last couple of days we´ve been in La Fortuna, staying at a place called Gringo Pete´s. It has a good feel to it, safe but still really open. Plus Pete arranges tours for less than anyone else in town because he doesn´t take as much commission. The Arenal volcano tour we went on yesterday was really good: six hours of guided hiking in the rainforest, seeing spider monkeys, wild turkeys and a coral snake (sadly the highly venomous coral snake didn´t bite the highly irritating North American man who insisted on taking a close-up shot of the snake´s face with a flash. The guide :”Sir? Sir? That snake is venomous. Sir? Please move away from the snake.”); watching the top of the volcano spit and bubble lava down its sides; and finally, relaxing in the volcanic hot springs. For only $26 USD, it was a good deal. This morning we checked out and headed to Monteverde of the famous cloud forest. The trip was ”jeep - boat - jeep,” which really means ”minibus - ferry - minibus,” but that´s definitely not as cool. Because the people of this area don´t want it to be built up, the roads are unpaved and cavernous, especially this time of year because it´s still transitioning from the rainy season. Jen and I have been soaked to the underpants more than once walking to or from our hostel, even with raincoats. This rain doesn´t joke around. So the trip between La Fortuna and Monteverde is only like 27 km, but it took about as long to minibus - ferry - minibus it as it probably would have to walk… slowly… on nubs. But the ferry ride across Laguna de Arenal was nice, and I took some blurry pictures during the five minutes I wasn´t asleep.
We are staying at the Pension Santa Elena, which is ”the place to be in Monteverde” according to Lonely Planet; I mean, it is now that we´re here (insert canned laughter). Tonight I think we´re going to a bat cave thing and tomorrow we´ll do a canopy/hanging bridges tour. There is also a cheese factory here in town and they give tours!! You know me: I love me some cheese, so we´re planning on it for Monday bright and early. If necessary, I will sleep outside in line.
Tags: Costa Rica, La Fortuna, Monteverde, Travel
November 20th, 2006 at 9:33 am
HI THERE TALL BIONEER GIRL:nrnrWhat an adventure so far. You will love this. On your web page when you pull up the Dentist story, the WEB AD brings up some: Get your dental checkups now with Dr. Gary …. So even the ads are following your adventures. nrI hope you are doing better, there is nothing worse that teeth that hurt or feet that hurt. nrnrHave a most wonderful time, and I will say a prayer that the rain only comes at night so your underwear stays dry.nrHugs, Sally S. nr