Monteverde, La Fortuna & Tortuguero!!

We made our way back over the boarder for our final section of Costa Rica. As we had learnt bus timetables are few and far between in Costa Rica so we went for the lucky option and just hoped for the best! It all worked out fine and with 3 easy bus transfers we made it to Monteverde early evening. We were treated to some fantastic scenery along the way and the views were looking very picturesque indeed.

As we had been so busy in Nicaragua we decided to recuperate for a day and slowed down our pace... not for too long though as there were adventures to be had! First up on our list was a hanging bridges tour, delving into the world of Indiana Jones. I booked us on a tour for the following day. It was a great experience being so high up in the cloud forest. I also had a little fun wobbling the bridges and watching Nic grasp on for dear life (I know i'm mean!)! It was difficult to appreciate how high we were because when looking down we could only see the cloud forest canopy.

Later that afternoon we booked ourselves on to a canopy tour. I was very excited and had been waiting a long time for the experience. A canopy tour is a series of zip wires that let you fly through the rainforest reaching speeds up to 40mph!

There was a choice of tours so naturally I picked us the highest, fastest and adrenaline inducing one I could find.

We started off on a selection of short but speedy cables which progressed on to longer ones throughout the tour. One girl in our group gave up after her first cable – she did look in a bad way.

Nic got stuck in the middle on one of the cables and had to be rescued by the guide! We also experienced a rapel and tarzan swing which were a little nerve racking but damn good fun!

I also have Nic's terror screams caught on camcorder which are well worth viewing when we return! The final cable was the one I had been waiting for … 'The Superman'! This was a 1km cable with a difference...

the harness was attached to our back so we were facing the ground flying through the air! How good is that?! The further along the line we went the lower the valley beneath us became and the views were spectacular.

Having completed our Monteverde missions we began our 8 hour journey to La Fortuna. It wasn't actually that far in terms of birds eye distance, however there are about 7 rivers in between the 2 towns. We went to La Fortuna to visit one of the country's most famous attractions... Volcan Arenal. It was a little surreal to see the volcano from where ever we were in town and we captured some great photos. We weren't lucky enough to see a glimpse of the lava as it was very cloudy for the majority of our stay.

The following day we took a visit to Baldi Hot Springs which was a resort situated on the base of Arenal. What a way to relax! There were a number of hot and cool springs (some as hot as 68 degrees!).

In the evening we were treated to a 5 course buffet dinner which we took full advantage of! Below you can see a photo of Nic before and after the buffet! We enjoyed it so much we were there from midday to 10pm, and the whole day only cost us £12 each!

The final day we spent exploring. We stumbled across this lush stream. On our travels Nic found yet another little friend! This one she suitably named 'Boo', short for Boomerang. Boo was indeed a friend for life and she followed us everywhere. She even waited for us outside when we went in to the supermarket!

Our final stop in Costa Rica was Tortuguero, we needed to catch an early bus from the city centre so we spent a night in San Jose. Tortuguero is a little village on the north Caribbean Coast. It was a magical place, you could only get there by boat or plane and there were no cars in the village which added to the tranquil vibe. You had to make a real effort to get there, it wasn't a place you just stumbled across like some of the other places we had visited, and I liked that. It had a certain charm.

From San Jose we had to catch 2 buses and a boat. The boat journey was about an hour long and we lucky enough to have a tour guide on board who was travelling back to the village so he was kindly pointing out all the wildlife, some of which were camouflaged very well although he made spotting them seem much easier than it actually was. We saw crocodiles basking in the sun, caimans, turtles, jesus christ lizard (a little lizard which runs on water.. what a legend!)

We checked in to a cheap place and went off to explore. We found a sweet little hostel on the coast and decided to check in there the following day both agreeing that the place we were in was a bit of a hole. It was so nice to have the wild crashing Caribbean Coast on one side of the village and then have the calm waters of the river less than a 5 minute walk on the other side of the village. We spent each evening watching the sunset over the river, it was so peaceful. Just as the sun went down these crazy big frogs would appear and start jumping all over the place, they were huge! Walking through the town we found a local restaurant serving a Nicaraguan barbeque and we couldn't refuse... spicy chicken, fried plantain, yucca and salad!

After a few chilled out days we signed up for paddle boat tour of Toruguero National Park. It required a 5am start to get out on the river in time for the waking wildlife,

so it was early to bed for us! We had a great guide who was able to spot so many animals, we were spoilt with choice.

We were lucky enough to see a red frog and it was real this time unlike the one we were shown in Panama! He also taught us about some of the drug problems Costa Rica is facing involving the Mexican and Columbian gangs.

The drug cartels want to use the country as a shipping route to transport cocaine up from South America, through Central America and into North America. Fisherman in the port town of Limon on the Caribbean Coast have now turned their attention to Cocaine. Many of the locals are aware of the drug problems, and it seems some have seen the money they can make from fishing for drug packages that have been deposited in the sea for later collection by other cartel members. He was a fascinating guy with a wealth of knowledge.

Later that afternoon we went on a hike along the local trail. Not long after setting off we came across Mr Evil. You can't really capture the size of him in the photo but he was approximtaely the size of my hand.

After grabbing a bite to eat we took a walk down by the coast and then spent the afternoon relaxing in the hammocks. Nic fed her little friend 'Crabby' who had kindly introduced himself on our first night. We spent the evening playing card games with Kingsley, a top guy we had previously met a few nights before from San Fran. Of course I won every game... although he might say different! We stayed up chatting until the early hours. It was a great night.

Stocking up with supplies for the journey back we came across this cat in the store! It kind of symbolises the whole Tortuguero vibe. He was relaxed. On our boat journey back to reality we spotted a Toucan which was an awesome animal to end our wildlife sight seeing on.

Costa Rica was amazing. We were so happy to start and end our trip on the Caribbean Coast as they happened to be our favourite places. Tortuguero was the one! Costa Rica was so much fun and I feel a great sense of achievement knowing we have travelled the country from corner to corner, seeing so much along the way and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone at times. I will miss the country but at the same I am ready to move on. This was no time to get sentimental anyhow, as Mexico was on the horizon... would we make it through alive?...

Monteverde, La Fortuna & Tortuguero!!

Tortuguero, Costa Rica