Costa Rica, the well travelled land of green forests and extreme sports. What we didn't know before arriving was that it is actually a vastly unpopulated country. This was to be our last country as part of the tour.
Our first stop in the country was the mountain town of MonteVerde. During our time here we did a sunrise tour of the Curi-Cancha Cloud
Forest National Park and our guide was almost bitten by one of the most venomous snakes the Pit Viper. By this stage we had seen many
rain forests and weren't really sure what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised to see that a Cloud Forest actually was different. It
gets its name because the forest resides in dense moist clouds and as such there can be dense foliage and moss growing very high up as
there is enough moisture in the atmosphere. This gives a unique take where the bush is densest higher up and gives a very green take.
Thankfully the altitude and cool moisture meant we got a bit of relief from the heat and humidity we had experienced thus far. We also
got to see lots of different insects and animals including the difficult to find Quetzal.
Also during our time here we did zip-lining. We were strongly suggested to go with one company, but we instead decided to go with another.
Two other people joined us and as always we made the right choice. Less about the extreme speed from zip-lining and more about the
experience of seeing the Cloud forest at a close level. Still very exhilirating though screaming past dense bush with only your hand to
slow you down. The last run on the zip lines was very intense as well. At over 1km and very open to the elements we had to go in twos in
order to ensure that we didn't get stuck in the middle. This led to a very fast descent and I was at the back responsible for braking for
both myself and a female I had just met. For a while I wasn't sure we were going to stop in time and she would have gone face first into
the end. Using two hands helped though. Very thrilling at speeds of up to 80km/h.
Our next stop in Costa Rica was the town of La Fortuna. This was a very touristy place and we didn't want to partake in
any of the expensive and pointless activities that we could do anywhere in the world. As a result we joined the two swiss
girls on our tour and visited this place even the tour guide didn't know of dubbed "Little Switzerland". In essence it was
owned by a nuts swiss guy who married a local from costa rica. He had then built a small swiss railway including bridges
etc and a restaurants with an overview of the surroundings. We had hoped to try a swiss cheese fondue, but it was very large
and expensive. Mainly because the cheese was specially flown in from Switzerland. Nonetheless it was a strange and different
experience.
When we got back we went for a walk to a local bathing spot, the water here was very fast flowing and had a high risk of us
being swept away but we enjoyed a partial bathing near the edges though anyway. Lots of midges unfortunately.
From here we travelled to San Jose, the official end of our guided tour of central america. We said goodbye to several people.
We were supposed to have dinner with our group but after going to get some bus tickets we couldn't find them and so we decided
to just do our own thing and have several drinks and food elsewhere. We then turned up late for the meal and half cut we were
glad that we had ate elsewhere. The next day we got on the bus to Puerto Viejo and the Swiss girls and two of the Australians
joined us. It was like our own mini tour.
Upon arriving in Puerto Viejo we found that we were staying in the perfect place. Just far enough out of town to be nice and near the beaches etc, but at the same time close enough to town for food, shops and to be safe to walk home at night. During our time here we rented some bicycles and did our own tour of the beaches. This was a very special experience as the beaches were very nice, quaint and there was not a lot of traffic on the road. The routes were often quite well shaded as well leading to a cooler ride. We also had the benefit of seeing several sloths here. Some hanging out in a tree just next to where we were staying.
From here we let on a shared minivan and boat to the island of Boca Del Toro in the country of Panama. We had also managed to persuade several of the people travelling with us to follow us.
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