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.
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