SO there I was under the palm tree....

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So there I was, in the dark, in a bathing suit, trying to keep my towel dry, standing under some large palm fronds.... let me back up here.
Last weekend I took a trip with some others from school to La Fortuna. It was billed as the jeep-boat-jeep tour. And that is exactly what I got. I was picked up, close to my family's house, at 7:30 a.m.. After gathering a few more students we were off on another one of 'Mr. Toad's Wild Rides'. Oh, maybe I haven't told you in detail about the roads in Monteverde. This is truly one of the few places on earth where having an SUV is essential. Everyroad is a up a steep hill ( or down). The roads are not paved. The ruts and potholes could hide small children. There are deep ditches on the sides of the roads ( for rain run off) so driving is, um, precarious, to be kind. Added to the SUV's are motorscooters that have their own rules of the road and All Terrain vehicles that are driven at high speeds by kids as young as 10. They weave in and out of the SUV's and tourist vans like tenacles of a jelly fish.The ony time helmets are worn are when the police are in town- about 3 or 4 days a year.
I was headed to Lake Aranal to see the volcano that is still quite active. Not so fast there sister. What good is a trip without a flat tire? Oh, you heard that one before? Well, it was de ja vu all over again. I crossed a wooden semi- planked bridge and about 50 feet later popped the tire. This time I got out and looked over the situation. The driver could not get the jack to work. Thankfully, another tour van stopped and that driver changed the tire. Meanwhile, some of us strolled back to check out the bridge. This was definitely NOT a good idea( since we had to return on the same route). There were 2 solid planks where the driver had to be absolutely certain that he rolled onto them. The other planks were rotted, spongy or, yep, none existent.
Back in the van I was soon at the lake. The boat, amazingly, had life preservers! The scenery was spectacular with volcanic hills and then the rain started. Bummer. The boat landed and I lugged my backpack up a steep ramp to yet another waiting van. Wonder of wonder the road was paved! The ride to teh hotel was smooth as silk. Lesson: learn to appreciate the little things in life that we take for granted.
So the hotel was lovely. Since I was still nusing a sore knee, I opted not to go an the 3 hourhike. By now it was seriously raining. Around 5 pm, I took a taxi to the Baldi Hot Springs where the group was going to come after their hike. They arrived looking like survivors from Katrina.
Baldi was gorgeous. All tropical plantings, steaming hot springs, swim up bar, bodies that should not ever be in a bathing suit in public, and later the promise of a lovely dinner. I changed with the rest of my friends and, well that is about where this started. By the time I was walking to the hot spring the skies opened up. It was raining not just cats and dogs but cows and horses. Rain, well, tropical rains, monsoon rains, mudslide rains, hell, rain forest rains. I asked myself- do I need this? Answer..no. I turned around, changed back and waited for the dinner hour.
La Fortuna has a lovely square. It is definitely a tourist town. By the way, I never did get to see the volcano spitting fire. The next day was very hot and clearer but the top of the volcano was shrouded in clouds. Like so many other things when traveling, I just took it on faith that it was there.
My time in Costa Rica is almost over. I leave for Nicaragua on Tuesday. More adventures ahead...
Love, Carolyn

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