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Me Tarzan.
Thats me en route to somewhere very high upEVERYBODY WANTS TO GO TO COSTA RICA...!
After an early start to catch the 7.30 ferry (it's very punctual and waits for no man) from Ometepe Island we made are way by taxi to the Costa Rica border. As we came to within 3-4 miles of the border crossing we began to notice a few trucks parked on the side of the road. After a short time a few became a solid line of trucks and we were starting to wonder if we would ever reach the border line! The road we were on wasn't a huge road and the conga line of trucks pretty much blocked one whole side of the road so our taxi would rocket up the wrong side of the road until we encountered another vehicle coming from the border. When this occurred the taxi driver would take some form of extreme evasive maneuver that Captain James T. Kirk would be proud of! We were later informed that it could take up to 3 days for a truck to get through customs and eventually into Costa Rica, luckily it was alot easier for people on foot like us.
The Nicaragua/Costa Rica border crossing is not
Been there. Done that
One truck driver knows he's in for a long wait a pleasant or stress-free experience and I would recommend not to attempt it alone as it is a huge and confusing place. Feels like you're stuck in Limbo while your there until you finally get on your bus at the other side. Lucky for us we had our tour guide to sort it all out so we were on our bus to Monteverde within half an hour!
It was a fantastic scenic drive; gradually winding our way up and around the small and twisty road to the mountain top town of Monteverde. Once you break through the hanging cloud cover as your near the summit you our greeted with an eerie view across the mountain valley as you look across to see the dark green peaks poke out through the clouds.
Monteverde is a much bigger place than the dirt track that leads to it would have you believe. Maybe it has grown exponentially in the last few years due to the tourism boom but it was much more than i expected. Plenty of the essentials can be found in and around the town; banks, super markets, wide variety of restaurants and a plethora of tour guides. As
Super Gary to the rescue
Me on the superman zip line well as being cooler than the low lands, there are lots of activities in the surrounding area to keep you interested for 2-3 days. We opted for the zip-lining through the cloud forest and would recommend everyone to part with the $40 and do it!
From memory the times for the canopy tours were 7.30,10.30 & 12.30. As we would later find out to our peril it is best to go on the earliest one as there is less chance of rain. We went on the half 10 slot and arrived at the start point in glorious sunshine. However just when we had gotten all suited up in harnesses and helmets etc the heavens opened with some ferocity! Sufficed to say being absolutely soaking wet (as I was later told with some irony; 'it is a rain-forest') did not spoil the day for us. As you speed through the jungle hooked to a bit of steel cable over-head it really is an incomparable thrill. Braking was the hardest thing to get to grips with, a problem exacerbated by the torrential rain, but once you master that you can just lie back and enjoy the scenery. The day consists of
about 10 zip-lines, tarzan swing and the optional super-man line. My favourite was the tarzan swing. You climb up to the top of a platform about 30 meters high where you can see a gap in the jungle directly opposite. I'm a relatively big guy (6 foot 5, 17.5 stone) but the 2 local guys at the top of the platform who hook you onto the swing rope had a great laugh at me (for a reason i would soon discover!). The bigger you are, the higher you swing as they say. Once you're hooked onto the rope you have to jump of the platform then free-fall until the rope tightens and rockets you upwards into the jungle! I went so high up on the first swing i was hitting the canopy with my feet. It took me an extra 2 swings more than everyone else before the guys on the ground could get hold of me to bring me in, great laugh though! I would tell everyone to do the superman too; its just like a normal zip line except you're hung from your back so you get the sensation of flying for 1km over the top of the
Long wait
Queue of trucks at the border jungle. Great day out.
There is a very nice, but slightly expensive, restaurant down the hill from one of the banks. It is very plush inside and out so if you fancy treating yourself then id advice going for this place. The cream of corn soup and any of the pizzas are supposed to be delicious.
Apart from the canopy adventure tour there are options for a guided tour of the cloud forest where you can spot sloths among other animals / birds. Monteverde is a lovely town and really reminded me of a typical alpine village you might amble through in Switzerland somewhere, except there’s no skiing available…!
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