First Sighting of Sloth's & Green Vipers

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Our journey to Costa Rica was long. Leana, Dan & I met up with a British couple we had become acquainted with on the island and took a boat back to Rivas in the morning. We then met a couple girls from Germany and so we all shared two taxis to the border because it was pretty cheap since we had a group and obviously quicker than taking the bus. I believe the drive only took about half an hour. On the way we saw tons of wind turbines and I was impressed that Nicaragua had so many here. When we inquired about them to the driver he told us some of them had been there a few years and some were just a year old.



We got to the border and went thru several lines to exit Nicaragua. We actually had to walk a bit to get to the Costa Rica building, thankfully one of the Germans knew where to go because it really wasn't clear and I think we would have had difficulty finding it without her.



Before we even entered the building we knew that we were in a richer country. The building was much nicer than any border buildings we had been in. When we stepped in there was air conditioning! Wow! They also had an ex ray machine for bags which was a first on this trip.



By law you are supposed to present the border agent with your ticket to exit Costa Rica and we didn't have one since we didn't know how long we would stay so I was really hoping they would let us slide like Belize did and much to my delight they did! It really doesn't make sense for them to enforce it because if we have to buy a ticket we are likely to stay in a country for less time thus spending less money in their country. I think when you have people coming from the UK or the US for example than they aren't likely to try and just stay illegally so they did the right thing =)



The Germans were not heading to the same place as us but we were going to try and get on their bus because they would drop us off on the way at our next stop but it wasn't leaving for quite a while so Leana Dan & I decided to take another bus and therefore another route entirely. Almost immediately it was apparent that our journey was going to take longer because the bus was stopping so much. After driving a bit the bus stopped and police got on checking passports. They were obviously more worried about Nicaraguans sneaking in than anything. I had been told that the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica is similar to the situation we have in the states with illegal Mexican immigrants. It was the first time we had seen such a check done near the border so it was interesting.



We had to catch another bus, none of us were sitting near each other and after a while I started to get concerned that we wouldn't get off when we were supposed to because the bus was just going to drop us off on the highway where we would catch a smaller bus to Monteverde. We asked some people on the bus and they told us how long till we would be there and let us know when to get off. The people were quite friendly.



When the bus stopped I could see Paul & Kirsty the British couple outside the bus. I started laughing and waving and caught Paul's eye, he started laughing too. We had taken two completely different routes and ended up at the stop within 10 minutes of each other!



We got some snacks at the gas station, used the facilities and the bus/van was there to pick us up right after that. Much to my amazement the ride was quite long. We were close but it was all mountain driving and therefore really slow. The bus was crowded, Dan didn't get a seat. The drive was just beautiful though, we climbed so high in the mountains and it was heavenly!



We stayed in dorm rooms at Pension in Santa Elena. I didn't have any complaints with the place other than issues with the internet but that is typical. We had dinner at the Treehouse Restaurant & Cafe. It was pricy but since we had spent the day on a boat, in a cab and on 3 buses we had barely eaten and figured we could spend a little extra money on dinner. Unfortunately this place was a total disappointment, the portions were small, the prices expensive and the service was horrible. It was difficult to get him to take our orders, our waters sat empty the entire time and they didn't even ask Leana if she wanted another beer when she finished hers. At the end we get our bill and see that there was a 10% tip included. I was so angry, this place was clearly trying to market themselves as an American restaurant but falling short in just about every way. Then when we went to pay there was a tip jar for the cooks on the counter. What!? With those prices you can't pay your cooks decently. I was appalled and as we traveled more in Costa Rica we found that it was normal for them to include a 10% tip. The service was nearly always terrible and why shouldn't it be, they have no incentive to earn a tip. Oh how I miss American service! To those of you back home in the service industry, you are wonderful!



The next morning Leana and I caught a bus to the Monteverde Cloud forest to go hiking. Dan was going zip lining and neither of us had interest in the activity. The hike was beautiful, there were gorgeous trees, flowers & birds. It was the best cloud forest I have seen, very cloudy. At the view points it was super windy and pretty intense. On a clear day you can apparently see the Pacific ocean but it's a cloud forest so who knows when it's a clear day! I didn't care I preferred to see it in that condition. There was also a very cool suspension bridge. It felt awesome to walk on and to look down. We hiked to a waterfall as well which was not amazing but pretty =)



After Dan got back from zip lining we agreed to do the Jeep Boat Jeep excursion which was expensive but I really wanted to do it and everything in Costa Rica is expensive. They didn't except credit card so we had to get cash out and when Dan used an ATM at a bank it gave him money and then ate his card. The bank was closed and when we called the number on the ATM they said we would have to wait till the bank opened the next day to get the card. This was a huge problem since we wanted to leave before the bank opened. We were pretty distraught not knowing if it shredded his card or what but there was nothing we could do about it until morning.



That night we did a guided walk in the dark to see animals. Our guide was pretty annoying but by the end we were just laughing to ourselves at his rediculousness. We saw two green viper snakes which you can apparently die pretty quickly from if they bite you. They were smaller than I imagined them to be and they were coiled up in trees, pretty low to the ground. It freaked me out thinking of all the times I grab branches and stuff while hiking. Could be a fatal mistake putting your hand in the wrong place!



We saw lots of raccoons and it was funny cause people were all excited. We are used to them in America and they are a nuisance but the tourists were really happy to get a look. I will say they were thinner than the raccoons back home. We also saw coatimundies which are slightly cooler 😉



There was a taranchala in it's hole, eeewww! Different than the one's I have seen in the states, it had orange stripes on it. But by far the coolest thing we saw were two-toed sloth's! They are so slow! Hanging upside down on their trees and barely moving. We also got to see a mama and baby which was really sweet, the baby just attached to Mom's stomach. My flash had broke or burned out on my camera so I couldn't take any photos since it was dark.



We ended the evening by eating dinner at Bar Amigos and it was wonderful! I had the best tortilla soup I have ever had in my life, so incredibly delicious! Not a place that looks super inviting but it really was a great find! Other than the ATM incident it was a great day =)

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