Central America - Costa Rica

Today we felt we deserved a lie-in after being on the road non-stop for 27 hours (funny thing is I didn't cover that much distance but shit, it took ages. I had the option of taking the easy route across the border in the south which would have taken a third of the time but yesterday was an unforgettable experience and the river boat to the border was worth it..even if I fell asleep sometimes and was woken up only when there was a scream of 'Monkeys' from fellow passengers.).

Avoided breakfast (its really expensive here in Costa..most meals are $4-5 each) and so had a combined breakfast/ lunch at a whopping $4.50. After lunch did some email checking and had a walk around town. Fortuna's a very commercial town..everywhere there are tourists making use of the activities around here and quite a big American presence. The main attraction nearby is Volcan Arenal (the most active volcano in Central America). Rather than do a hike up there during the day when you hardly see anything we opted for the night trip which is more dramatic ($25 including a visit to a hot water spring...well actually a hot water waterfall).

At 5pm, armed with a litre of beer the organised tour set off (including Seungmi and our new mates Antoine and Anne-Marie). After a 1 hour drive we reached the start point (pitch black) and armed with my new gadget (the lighter/ torch...which I might add everyone laughed at) we set off for the 45 minute hike up to see some volcano action. We were warned about deadly snakes, spiders and frogs along the way. The guide showed us a termite mound and then suddenly had a hand full of small termites. I stupidly dared Antoine to eat some and if he did I'd do the same. Without hesitation he licked the guides hand and must have eaten 50 ants...so, true to my word I wet my finger (not too keen on licking people's hands) filled it with ants and then ate them. They actually tasted ok..slightly perfumy (memories of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here came back to me).

By the time we all reached the place to watch the volcano it was pretty hidden with clouds but after a patient 30 minute wait the clouds made way and the full glory of the volcano's cone could be seen. The lava looked really beautiful with a bright orange glow and the sound was amazing. I could clearly hear the sound of cracking and crunching of rocks as the orange balls of fire crashed down the slopes (Great Balls of Fire). I could even see the bright orange crater at the top of the cone. The whole spectacle was like a natural fireworks display. An American and her daughter and the guide had died here quite recently when the mother forced the guide to go passed the safety line and they got caught in the lava. The guide had miraculously survived but died in hospital.

After the hike back (and many photos with the guys) we drove to the hot springs. Changing into swimming stuff was done in the car park (quite embarrassing when I nearly fell over with my shorts stuck on my toes). Then a short walk into a misty river and after clambering down a few rocks I was standing in steaming warm water. It was really nice to be in a natural hot spring rather than a man made one. The water flow was so powerful that we could lie down and get pushed downstream. At the end there a was a small waterfall and a pool where everyone soaked (everyone was going ooooh...aaaaah they were so relaxed). The waterfall proved to be a great massager which I sorely needed after the mammoth travel 2 days ago. The litre of beer was gone pretty quickly by this time and me, Seungmi and Antoine and Anne-Marie could have quite easily stayed for longer but the others in the group were getting restless.

Arrived back at the hotel just before 11 and was too shattered to go for dinner so after a hot shower (first one in a month) we crashed. The plan for the next week is half a day more in Fortuna to catch the impressive waterfall (never can resist the lure of water) then bus it to Monteverde and Santa Elena where I'll enjoy the delights of the cloud forests and its nature and if I'm feeling brave enough do the wire slide down through the trees. Then a few days travel to San Jose and beyond. I should be across the border and into Panama by the end of November (Costa Rica's is beyond my budget so need to make tracks).

Super early rise today and a quick free breakfast at the hotel and then we headed into town to hire a bike. The mission today was to cycle part-way up the volcano Arenal to the Fortuna Falls. Managed to get a cheap bike at $9 for 6 hours. Just as we started cycling back to the hotel to pick up our swimming gear it started pissing down. Unperturbed by this (I'm getting used to these regular rainy season downpours) I got a black bin liner from the hostel staff and after cutting 3 holes in it slipped it over my head. Everyone at the hostel had a good giggle at the expense of my fashionable attire (admittedly I did look like a mobile phone).

The ride up to the falls is notoriously tough but because the scenery was so beautiful it was ok to just walk for the killer uphill stretches. After 2 hours of rain and sweat we finally made it up and after paying the $7.50 entrance fee there was a 20 minute hike down to the falls. I could hear the rumbling and see the mist as I got closer and was well impressed when I got close to it. There was a swimming area which I readily hopped into (freeeeezing) and splashed around for a while. After that it was time to challenge the might of the falls to see how close I could swim to its gushing power (not close at all...I kept getting pushed back by it). Seungmi thought I was daft doing this for ages. Exhausted after quite a few valiant attempts I dried off and bombed it back down the volcano slopes (I may need a bum cheek replacement op after todays cycling..the roads were well bumpy).

Got back just in time for our 2.30 bus to Monteverde. After an hour of bussing it it was all change to a small motor boat across the Lake Arenal (2 hours and beautiful views) and then another bus to Monteverde (1.5 hours) driving over more terrible roads (God help my bum cheeks). Arriving in Monteverde after dark and after more than a handful of failed attempts at finding a bed for the night we finally struck gold. Dave, the Casa Tranquila owner had just finished painting out one of his rooms a few days ago (the only room available) and offered it to me for half price ($5 a night...cheap as chips). Windows wide open and extractor left on I prepared myself for a night of fume-enduced sleep.

Groggy and still think thinking about last nights weird dreams (no more chickens thankfully but some kind of weird Lord of the Rings and Donnie Darko mix) I scoffed as much of the free breakfast as possible and we went into town to go to the Santa Elena Could Forest. Most travel agents in town offer $2 shuttle services there so at 10.30am we arrived at the entrance to Santa Elena and paid the required $7.50.

Had a long walk through the beautiful rainforest, not seeing much in the way of animals but loads and loads of beautiful plants and trees. Walking into higher altitude areas there was a mist everywhere which added to the beauty. The reserve closed at 4pm so caught the last bus back and met up with a German couple we'd chatted to in La Fortuna for dinner (Fabien and Paula..on a student exchange program in the US..but hating it for some reason).

Today was the day of madness and scaring myself to bits. We were booked for the 8am Canopy Tour ($55 including a bridge walk through the forest). The Canopy tour is a system of hanging wires running above and between the trees of the cloud forest and my job was to hang from harnesses and slide down 15 of these (Sweet Jesus...forgot I'm scared of heights when I booked it).

So at 8am we were picked up by the bus. Everyone on board was a tad nervous (lots of exaggerated jokes going on) with the impending jungle madness. From the bus I saw a lone sloth slotherly walking in a tree..amazing creatures. On arriving at the reserve we were kitted out with safety helmet, harness and special gloves and then went through a 10 minute crash course and safety speech (apparently the worst thing you can do is put your hand in front of the harness wheel attached to the wire...for obvious reasons).

Luckily the first few wire runs were low and short, just to get adjusted. Both me and Seungmi were well nervous but in the end absolutely loved the feeling of flying through the forest at high speed. The runs then became higher and longer and just simply amazing. Obviously there was no time to spot any animals but instead feel the speed sensation and see amazing views.

After getting quite handy with the wire it was time for the 'Tarzan Swing' which involves climbing up a high platform, getting attached to a rope, hanging on for dear life and then hopping off and swinging from a 70 metre height. About half the people in the group refused to do it. I was close to bottling it but overcame my fear of heights got attached to the rope and jumped. Hate to say it but I screamed like a girl (well..not a high pitched girly scream..but a manly kind of scream). Honestly thought I was going to have a heart-attack but loved every second of it. Seungmi had a go and her screams scared all form of wildlife from the reserve. Sadly we were only allowed one go at it (I could have done it all day).

After all that excitement it was time for a relaxing stroll over the walkways which stretch above the cloud forest trees. Very beautiful views of the tree tops, plants and birds but sadly saw no minkeys. Then we bought a ticket to the humming bird garden. Really beautiful birds of all kinds of sizes (saw one as small as a little finger). All the days amazing activities were over at 1.30 and we had a 2.30 bus to catch to Costa Rica's capital, San Jose.

After checking out of the fabulous Casa Tranquila we got to the bus and found out it was sold out. Bought a 6.30am ticket for tomorrow ($4) and headed back to Dave's hotel and he kindly gave us the same room at the same price. The afternoon was spent chilling and doing laundry chores. Also (for the first time in 4 months) gave my pack a good clean. The night before I'd found another cockroach clambering around in my stuff (can't afford to be carrying the extra load). A few days ago during my morning ablutions I found a cockroach licking my toothbrush as if it was a lollipop (I think all this cockroach activity is some kind of revenge for my years as a pest controller for Rentokil).

Arrived at the bus stop at 6am and caught the 6.30 to San Jose. Thankfully didn't feel the bumpy roads on this big bus. Most of the journey was spent sleeping (as well as cursing my MP3 player which decided to stop working just when I needed it). Reached San Jose at 11.30 and after a swift cup of Costa Rican coffee at a nearby cafe set off to find my budget hotel of choice. After walking around lost for nearly an hour and asking half the San Jose populace for directions we gave up and made a bee-line for the nearest hotel.

Looked like a nice enough place and at $14 a night it was a bit pricey. After paying for the room and settling in me and Seungmi realised this wasn't your average hotel. The subtle signs I failed to notice during the check in were there; the TV remote had a button marked XXX, the ceiling was mirrored, the key-ring for the room key was a bottle opener and there was a sign on the door in Spanish that said 'Refreshments and Condoms for sale at reception' (doh). Still, the room was decent and it was pretty central.

Went for a stroll around town and quite liked the place. It's not pretty but going by the central area there is a lot of stuff you can buy here that you can't in other Central American cities and everyone looks busier here. Had lunch at a famous, and as it says in the guidebook 'seriously cheap chicken' place ($4..not cheap but indeed serious). During my walk around in the afternoon I noticed that the Costa Rican girls are seriously cute and are in the habit of wearing mini skirts (very tricky walking around with so many distractions all around).

Was shattered by 7 (paint fume syndrome) so after yet another chicken meal we went back to the boudoir and house of sin and just chilled out and watched 'Momento' and '21 Grammes' on TV. Decided to do a spot of blog writing which was almost impossible to do because the occupants of neighbouring rooms had quite obviously found the button marked XXX on their remotes (dear God...what a racket!!).

Checked out of the 'hotel Condom' and picked a hotel from the guidebook that was fairly easy to find (a real exaggeration). What the hotel Baruka has going for it is it's cheap ($6 a night), its near the main bus terminals and the owner is a really friendly old dude. What it hasn't got going for it are the rooms well shabby and skanky, nobody's heard of it (I found it by chance..and as I was to find out later on finding it twice in a day is a miracle) and a name that sounds like a foot disease you pick up at the public swimming pool.

Had some bad news today reading an email from my fellow travelers and all round great people Antoine and Anne-Marie; they had their day-pack nicked while they were checking into the Hostel Pangea (they were checking the room and when they came back to reception it was gone. They sadly lost her passport, camera and other stuff). As they were in town until a new passport was sorted I went to see them on my way to the Jade Museum (they weren't there in the end).

The Jade Museum was pretty impressive with a huge collection of pre-Columbian Jade carvings. There was allot of info on the daily lives of the people back then and what their function in society was. Shamans had a good time of it it seems; regularly taking hallucigenics to bring them closer to the spirits and presiding over major events like weddings, funerals and births. The place is well worth a visit at $2.

It was time to bid a sad...sad bon voyage to the beautiful Seungmi (She's off to London for a few weeks and then home to Korea) so we got the airport bus (cheap as chips at 75c..the tourist bus is $15) and after a 45 minute ride said my farewells (very sad occasion).

I caught the bus back and arrived at a different bus terminal than before. This is where my problems of the night really started. It was night and nobody seemed to know my hotel (even a couple of coppers I asked) so after walking around a bit and ending up in a dodgy looking side of town (dark and quiet) I flagged down a cab in desperation. I gave the driver the hotel name and the location (Avenida 1 and Calle 14) and he still couldn't find it.

At the time I didn't think it too odd that he stopped at a brothel and asked the pimp (big lump with scars and tattoos all over) outside where it was. But when the pimp jumped in the car next to me and promised to help find the hotel in person I got worried. The cab sped off and the two were talking really quickly in a language I couldn't understand (didn't hear any Spanish..they did it possibly to test me if I understood anything). He then turned to me and said in perfect English 'you tourists should be more careful here!'. I was ready to jump out the car but there weren't any lights where he would have had to slow down and he was going too fast. After passing a square I recognised from my walk during the day and noticing we were driving in the opposite direction to my hotel I told them it was back there. They ignored this and carried on driving into a dark and dingy area.

Was well nervous at this point. I didn't have any major money on me but the pimp had already shown me his stab wounds and kept going on about how tourists should be careful here in friendly San Jose. As I had hoped for, my chance came in the form of a traffic light on a dark and desolate road. As soon as he slowed down to a reasonable speed I quickly opened the car door on my side and hopped out running (lucky I didn't fall over). Both driver and pimp opened their doors and just before I started legging it back the way we came I dug into my pocket and flung all my loose change at them and the car (not really sure why I did that but I flung them so hard it made them hesitate for a second).

I ran like a greyhound on steroids and reached the relative safety of the square I'd seen earlier. I was surprised they didn't follow me. Again spent hours looking for the stupid hotel and again ended up in a dodgy part of town. I even asked cab drivers but they didn't have a clue. In the end I was so desperate I asked a homeless fellah who was looking for dinner in a pile of rubbish in a dark and manky street and he told me it was round the corner.

As I cautiously turned the corner the sanctuary that was the hotel Baruka was there with a blinking sign. I went back to the homeless fellah and gave him some money for being the only person in this city who seems to know the damned Baruka. Too exhausted from excitement and running I abandoned any attempt to find food and instead settled for a bag of peanuts I'd stashed away for emergencies rather than proper grub. I'd heard stories of cab robberies (and kidnappings) in Mexico city and Guatemala city where the driver drives the wrong way then picks up a sidekick to help out..but I stupidly thought San Jose was ok'ish. Lesson learned tonight?...stay at the Holiday Inn, which everyone knows or carry a compass at all times.

Early night tonight as tomorrow I'm bussing it to Panama.