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Published: November 21st 2015
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Friday
Took a taxi from the hotel to the Terminal San Carlos for the 8:40 am bus to La Fortuna. Our tickets didn't include a seat number, but the bus wasn't crowded. It took off exactly on time. The motor cyclists here are crazy, cutting right in front of the buses. The bus made several stops within San Jose to take on more passengers. As we left San Jose and headed toward the airport, the area became much more modern, many high-rise hotels, etc. We didn't see this part of San Jose coming in, because it was late at night. So much traffic, would not want to drive here. Took 40 minutes to get up by the airport this morning, less than 15 minutes by taxi coming in.
The area turned very lush and green, with the mountains in the background. We followed a small creek along the side of the road for many miles. Not sure if it was agave, but there were a lot of tall white feathery reeds blowing in the wind. They made a lovely picture against the blue sky and the mountains. As we got further out, the
road narrowed and there were a few small shacks among the greenery, a few trees with red berries (something like mountain ash). Most shacks were made of wood with tin roofs. Several venders were selling hand-carved deer by the side of the road.
We drove through the town of Naranja, a church with two spires appearing in the distance. The town was very clean, pretty modern, very colorful (some yellow, orange, and purple buildings). Outside of Naranja, more palm trees appeared, with a lush green valley to the left. More colorful flowers appeared, and houses were built right on the edge of the cliff.
As we headed toward Zarcero, the valley turned to crop land. Up, up, up. Went by a Christmas tree farm. The center of Zarcero contained a sculpted tree park. As we went up, started to get very foggy and we lost most of the view. Started to see horses and cattle close to the road. There were some very beautiful homes up in the mountains. The rains began.
Stopped at the San Carlos bus station to pick up more passengers. Heading out of San Carlos, the rains
let up and the sun came out. Now sheep appeared along the road.
Land became flatter as we hit the outskirts of La Fortuna. The town used to be very small, but tourism has expanded it outward. The bus pulled in and we were about three blocks from our hotel, Cabanas las Palmes. Very clean room with large bathroom, a balcony to the outdoors, a seat on the balcony for breakfast in the morning. And the best part, there was a kitty welcoming us there when we came. We have a private door. a straight-on view of some flowers, and a side view of the mountains. Very nice for $30 a night.
It was drizzling slightly, but we took off for a little tour of the area. Very convenient, grocery, bakery, and fruit stands nearby. Lovely little church with beautiful landscaping. A park sits in the middle of the town, with flower gardens and fountains. We will do some more exploring tomorrow, because the rain started to come down in buckets. We ducked into an excellent restaurant, La Parada. Very reasonable and quick service. Prices here seem to be less than San Jose, which
we found surprising.
Hoping for a sunny day tomorrow for some good views of the volcano.
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