Travel Gods smiling upon me

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So I left Monteverde at 2PM and we gunned it down the mountain like a bat out of hell down the super sketchie roads at top speed. I made the mistakes of falling alseep and my head ended up hitting the roof of the car and almost knocked myself out back to sleep. Who needs Melatonin when you can whip down a mountain.

After an hour of being shell shocked and the occastionally stop to let cows cross, we reached the base of the mountain and I had to get off. I was so out of it I left my camera in the car so while I was waiting for further instructions, another travellor getting into the 4x4 found a camera and asked who it belonged to. I look at it and I was thinking gee that sure looks like mine and it then clicked in it was mine. I tell yah a trip can turn sour so fast in just a blink of an eye. I couldn´t believe I left my camera in the car. I blame it from the concussion The last time I did that was in Thailand and somehow it made it back to me. The travel Gods smile upon me. I was so happy I thought to myself how easily my trip could of gotten ruined and I was on a splurge mode to celebrate.

The transitional ride was on a fast boat and it was very scenic overlooking the volcano and you can see the sulphur and gas above the active giant.

After the fast boat ride I had to get on another car and then made my way into La Fatuna and into Arenal backpackers hostel which apparently is a 5 star hostel. This place is pretty swank and it only cost $15 for the dorm room. But staying in a dorm has it´s disadvantages I will explain later.

This place is fitted with a pool and the pool is attached to the bar. Also there are hammocks you can chill and the back drop is a full on view of Volcano Arenal. La Fatuna is an odd place because this use to be full of farmers and now it is a big time tourist place. Everywhere you look there is a tourist info hub and another giant resort being built. Having said that there are alot of great restuarants here but the prices are the same back home. Even though you do get more for your buck versus back home.

The first night wasn´t too good for me. I had a hard time getting money from the ATM so I was broke for the first night. And of course we had happy hours for $2 for all cocktails back at the hostel so my entire night was spent watching people drink while I had my water.

I stayed with a bunch of auzzie dudes and they were big time partiers so sleeping that first night was non existance. Plus the hostel decided to have a party that night so the music was booming up until midnight. I woke up this morning to one of the aussie guys moaning and humping his buddy just below my bunk bed and i was wondering what the hell was going on. Turns out he was messing with his friend pretending to be some drunk girl crawling into bed with his buddy. You gotta love the auzzies they have the same humour as me.

Zenning out - It is a good idea to have cash with you at all times. For some reason the ATMs are a hit and miss. There were so many times I waited until I got to the next town but do yourself a favour and carry an emergency money belt of $100.

So later in the evening I bump into Marianne while in an Internet Cafe. She was sick in SJ for 4 days and some how our path crossed again here in La Fantuna. Small world, I even bumped into the English girl up from Santa Elena this morning so we all decided to travel up to Nica tomorrow. This is what happens when everyone has a copy of the lonely planet book. The plan is to take a cab to the town close by and catch the bus to the border $14 for both cab and bus which is a good deal. By now I think Thomas is probably sick of CR and probably will be making his way up to Nica.

Tonight will be my last night here and I am armed with enough cash now to get a whole town drunk. Happy hours here I come.

I am still debating if I should go up to the hot springs or stay in the hostel and make up for lost time for the happy hour. Weather is pretty crappy today so I may just sit in the pool bar with a few beers to forget the bad weather.

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Photos

boats
The fast boat waiting for me down the mountain which takes you to La Fatuna

volcano
The view towards La Fatuna. This is the Arenal Volcano taking on the fast boat

hostel
hammock at the 5 star hostel overlooking the volcano

hostel2
poolside bar - you always have to have one of these

hostel4
reading in the morning and waking up to this.