Leaving La Fortuna for Tortoguero proved a very expensive, and at first, very uncomfortable ride. We spent $40 each on what we thought was a van to the river of torutguero. However, the swines only took us to a bus stop in a town called Caliari where we were bundled on a public bus with about a hundred local costa ricans. Local buses in costa rica are nothing like the ones in england. Mainly, people expect to dropped off at their door stops. This leads to a stop every 100ms or less and is incredibly annoying when cramped and hot. But [View Full Entry]

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We have been in Costa Rica for 13 days now and each day brings new reasons to be amazed by this country. The climate, for one, is excellent. We have found that going to bed early and waking up early is the best way to make the most of our days here as the sun rises at around 5am and sets at around 6pm. The sunsets here have been another reason to be amazed by the country as watching it set whilst sitting on the warm beaches of Manuel Antonio you can clearly see as it sinks into the sea. It [View Full Entry]

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It took us around a 10 hour of bus ride to get to the mountain town of santa elena - a tourist town really, primarily americans, - but it seems worth it. The mountains are covered in dense rain forest, and there is a nice breeze cooling us down. A big change from the relentless heat of manuel antonio. Ellie is still suffering from the sun burns inflicted upon her by the pacific coast sunshine... I am fine. Today we took a bus to the local national park, with the hope of seeing the constantly erupting Volcano Arenal after 3 hours [View Full Entry]

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We have been in Costa Rica for four days now, and i have to say... its amazing. The first night was spent in a brilliant little hostel in San Jose called Hostel Bekuo. It was much cheaper than the one in New York, but so much nicer. Double beds, nice shower, clean floors! It was brilliant. The following morning we chatted to some other backpackers over a breakfast of pineapple and pancakes and mused over where we should head off too. We were recommended a town called Manuel Antonio which is said to have great beaches and jungles so we headed [View Full Entry]

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Day 2: We've been in New York for two days now and overall... its cool! Its a massive city, and its alot dirtier than London or Paris, and everything is on such a big scale here. I was under the impression you could walk everywhere, but youve got to be prepared for a good trek (the subway here is shocking so i prefer to just go by foot anyhow). America seem to be obsessed with having everything as big and brash as possible, but it works in NY as it lacks the history to give it character. The hostel is overpriced [View Full Entry]

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Preparation! To give a quick overiew of the trip, my sister - Ellie, and myself - Chris, have planned a 6 week trip to South America, stopping off at New York on the way. Everything has been paid for and sorted out (aside from one small problem with the flight from San Jose to Caracas, but nothing I can't sort out), we're having the last of our jabs, and we can't wait to be on the plane and out of the country! The Itinerary is as follows: March 7th, London to New York March 10th, New York to San Jose March [View Full Entry]

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