10/12/2016 Monteverde, Costa Rica
In Monteverde Backpackers’ now, quite a strange vibe. It feels like a school ski trip in the ’90s. Wooden cabinlike interiors and gangs of newly pubescent American youths. I think there are a lot of Americans, both young and old, who descend on Costa Rica. It’s definitely more developed for tourists and shopowners speak English.
It’s so cold here.
I went to Santa Elena Cloud Forest today (a nature reserve) and it was pouring down with freezing rain. Somehow I didn’t get the memo that cloud forests = moisture. I didn’t see any animals either because of the rain, which was 90% my reason for going to the nature reserve in the first place. I was going to do a night walk to see some nocturnal wildlife but I was just still too cold (ok I’m not usually this wimpy but I hadn’t prepared warm layers for my SUNtral America trail – very underprepared).
Yesterday was my 23rd birthday. Within an hour of arriving in Monteverde, after a very long and complicated journey, I went out with some people from the hostel to find a bar. This we did not find. We did, however, stumble across a sloth trying to cross the road. I can honestly say this was the best birthday present I’ve ever had. There’s just something wonderful about that feeling of coming across wild animals in nature when you least expect it. We stood there around it to make sure a car wouldn’t hurt it in the dark. It was so much bigger than I’d imagined and its movements were so incredibly slow it seemed unreal, as if we were all suddenly living in slow motion.
After climbing to the top of the observation tower…
12/12/2016 Grecia, Costa Rica
Sitting in Masqsabor about to have some lunch. This is a cute little town, very rural. Apparently most of the local people are farmers. The hostel I stayed in was great because I was the only guest so I had a room to myself. (If you’re looking for a place to stay it’s not difficult to find it again, I think it was the only option on Hostelworld.) It was nice to change/moisturise without worrying about flashing some unwitting person. My flight to Panama City isn’t until 6.45pm and apparently it only takes 45 minutes to get there so I’ll leave after lunch. Little did I know this would be the last time I would use my passport again…
Last night there was a massive parade for Festival de la Luz/Christmas. I watched that for a bit. It seemed like every school in the area was taking part in the festivities. Music, fireworks, dancing… the works. I’d gotten into Grecia at 11am (left Monteverde a day earlier than planned – I guess nothing could top seeing a wild sloth at such close range on my first night) which wasn’t bad at all. The bus from Monteverde dropped me on the motorway when I realised I’d passed the turning point to go to Grecia. I waited on the side of the motorway for about 15-20 minutes in the direction of Grecia. Flagged down a bus going the right way and all went smoothly from there.
