Catamaran Sailing and Snorkeling Trip

June 1, 2008 

The catamaran sailing and snorkeling trip was fun but unfortunately the total amount of sailing involved was very little. I think the cruise was geared more for drinking. Only on the way back did we even raise the sails. The captain did catch a Puffer fish which I got a few pictures.

COSTA RICA, Santa Elena and Monteverde Cloud Forest

Tuesday June 3rd 

 Today is a great day, I am back in the mountains which always makes my happy. I love the beach but after about 3 days I am bored. Tomorrow I plan on doing an extreme canopy tour which has zip lines from 19 towers through the jungle, 1.5 miles of cable, canopy walkways and a tarzan swing. This will be another one of those änticipated¨splurges. Hopefully I will upload more pictures in a day or two and have more to say once I see everything there is to do. A couple of days here and then to the Arenal Volcano.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

Wednesday June 4, 2008

 I just got back from hiking in the Monteverde Cloud Forest. I did not get there until 12:00 and was scared that it would start raining because it usually does every afternoon here. But the sun was shining and the weather was great. The trails are well paved and most of the time you are just immersed in the jungle. There was one place where you could see out over the mountains and valleys in the surrounding areas which was spectacular. Will upload pictures when the internet is faster. The entire hike only lasted about 2 hrs. I finished just in time to catch the 2pm ¨chicken¨bus from the Reserve to Santa Elena which is only about 3 miles but very steep and bad. A ¨chicken¨ bus is former U.S school bus which is now being used to transport people in Central and South America. Nice to know that I am riding on a bus that is no longer considered safe in the U.S. lol Unfortunately for us the bus had a flat just 3 minutes into our trip and 16 people climbed into a minivan. I was the last one to get in and secured my seat on the floor, which is not a good thing on a bumpy road. Tomorrow at 8 am I go on the canopy zip line tour. Will update hopefully after the tour. Note: I rode 4 local buses on Monday and I was the only ¨gringo¨on the bus. I see lots of minivans with tourists go by but I thought at least some backpackers would be riding the local buses. I guess that Costa Rica has gotten so touristy that people come prepared to spend $40 a person to ride in the air conditioned minivan without having to stop every 5 minutes. Personally , I enjoy paying $2, stopping every 5 minutes (maybe not so much) and seeing all the locals interact. To me that is as much a part of the experience as seeing the beach or rainforest or volcanoes.

COSTA RICA, Monteverde, Canopy Zipline Tour

Thursday June 5th The zipline tour lasted about 2 hrs and that is the most fun that I have had since I entered Costa Rica. That alone is reason enough to come here. I am not sure how high we were sometimes but a couple of times it had to be 200 ft. above the ground . It is hard to calculate because you are going tree to tree but when you go over the valley below who knows. Hopefully the pictures will give some idea. It wasn´t scary, just exciting. You control the brakes by your hand but if you slow down too much it is a long way to pull yourself to the other end. Sometimes they tell you no braking all the way to the end. After the canopy and suspension bridge tour I went to the Butterfly Garden which is billed as the 3rd largest in the world.

COSTA RICA, Santa Elena to La Fortuna (Jeep-boat-jeep)

Friday June 6, 2008

 Today I make the journey to La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcan. There are 2 options getting there. 1. Jeep Boat Jeep which is highly recommended by all the hotels and tour companies as it is only 2.5 hrs long and a mere $25. Essentially you taxi to the Lake Arenal, take a boat for 30 minutes across the lake and then a taxi picks you up on the other side to take you to La Fortuna. 2. Bus up the mountain on bumpy, teeth rattling gravel road for only 24 miles but it takes 2 hrs to arrive at Tilaran. Then wait 2 hrs to catch the connecting bus for another 3.5 hrs. This option is $4. I choose option 2 for several reasons. Saving $21 is always a high priority when backpacking but riding a bus along narrow, high mountain roads seemed to exciting to pass on. I was well rewarded with incredible mountain views, milk cows grazing on the mountain sides, coffee plantations and teenagers flirting with classmates on their way to school. Some of the best sights are the simplest.

VOSTA RICA, Monteverde Butterfly Garden

If you look closely at the owl butterfly you will notice when it is upright its wing looks like a snake. The guide said that the wing only recently adapted to looking like a snake when the bird predators became more aware that it was not actually an owl.