Vulcanoes and Cloud Forest

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Am in Costa Rica! It takes courage for me to pack up from the familiar, in this case Antigua, and head into the unknown, Costa Rica. But all went well, I was given an upgrade at the airport, and spent the flight with my head glued to the window, and my hand glued to a cocktail, oohing and aahing in amazement at the vulcanoes and massive lake of Nicaragua, thinking OMG I’m in Central America flying (low) over Nicaragua!
Decided that a good use of pension is to be met at a strange country and airport by taxi driver (or B&B owner) waving a sign with my name on it in the arrivals hall!


Am staying at great AirB&B just bus ride into the city and across from large park and new football stadium.
This city has a buzz about it (or will do when it is back to work tomorrow after the holidays). The country is getting geared up for election next month and one of my flat mates is a local (but very travelled) economist who is involved and passionate about her country so I am learning mucho!


Yesterday I went on a “combo tour” involving coffee plantation visit, up through the cloud forest to stare in amazement at (quiet) vulcanoe, then into national park to wonder at butterflies, toucans,humming birds, big cats (rescues). orchids, waterfalls. Re the vulcanoes, Costa Rica seems to have hundreds ranging from dead, dormant, quiet, and fully active and (disturbingly) uninvestigated! The earth is very alive here, change can be sudden and dramatic!
A constant theme is management of the biodiversity of the landscape, (sounds like a contradiction), conservation and tourism. The result is controlled, managed (safe) tours and that is how it is. So the richness of the environment is preserved and the tourist is presented with a ‘safe’ experience, they pay for. Interesting!
In Guatemala I felt very close to the earth, to the people, life was played out quite dangerously. Here, Costa Rica is more developed, with more efficient infrastructure, education, health, and so it seems more detached from the natural reserves set aside and mainly accessed through controlled tours.


Enjoy the photos, tomorrow I begin a house sit close to San Jose yet another experience!

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