Costa Rica

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Arriving from the US in San Jose was punctuated by a lucky encounter with some fine Don Benigno cigars. Recommended. The city itself did little for me, so I started formulating a plan.

I booked transport to La Fortuna, a place known for its jungle treks, active volcano (Arenal), see http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Arenal+volcano&gbv=2 and some hot springs (Tabacon), see http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=tabacon+hot+springs+costa+rica

I went on both night and day jungle treks, seeing howler monkeys up close during the day, and at night (with a guide and flashlights) saw everything from racoons, anteaters, tarantulas lying in wait for a meal and birds sleeping on tree limbs. The night visit to the volcano delivered, with molten rock the size of buses spewing forth from the crater and rolling down the sides. We were a safe distance away. I enjoyed the hot springs, more like a 5 star resort really, complete with trance music and a disco ball above one of the 20 or so pools, several with swim-up bars, televisions and the like. Most of these volcanic heated pools were far too hot to handle.

I then headed into the mountainous cloud forests of Monte Verde. I ended up staying a week, mostly because it was a respite from the heat. The time here will be most remembered for my ill-conceived idea to take a ¨Zip Line¨Tour. This involved being strapped with nylon around the thighs, attaching a pulley system to a steel cable, and zipping across treetops and canyons. Some of the lines were half a mile long and 450 feet above the ground. It was my first and last time doing this type of thing. On the 18th, final, and longest cable I just closed my eyes as I flew through a misty rain and hoped to make it to the other side without getting stuck in the middle... See http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=zip+line+Monte+Verde+costa+rica

Settling on a less traumatic experience, I then opted to go on what turned out to be an informative tour of a coffee plantation. The guide was excellent in explaining the coffee making process, the group got to go into the rows of trees, pick the ripe red berries and then put them into a machine that removed the beans from the berry. For anyone paying a premium for ¨peaberry¨coffee, don´t, it is nothing more than a genetic mutation whereby there is one half of a bean inside rather than the two halves. No difference in quality or taste.

I then ventured off for a day of travel to Montezuma, a remote, hippie beach on a peninsula, see http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Montezuma+costa+rica It was nice to do some swimming, back in the heat again. The village is an eclectic combination of hippie types and locals, time slows down here. I enjoyed about 3 days of doing not much of anything, though I did have an encounter with an aged American hippie one night in the village square. He seemed to be one of those who arrived 20 years ago and never made it out, anyway, he mocked my beard, then proceeded to challenge me to a fight to the death, in front of everyone in the square. I told him I had no real interest (though I did have an urgent desire for a baseball bat) and he slowly backed off. I went over to a bar and asked a staff member about him, and was reassured he had some mental issues, doing such things regularly. Nonetheless, I watched my back as I returned to the hotel.

From there I took a small boat across the water (about 2 hours) to Jaco. We were fortunate along the way to come across two large whales undulating on the surface within 100 feet of our boat. The driver turned off the engines so we could observe for about 20 minutes. We were close enough to hear them breathing and it was without question one of the more interesting wildlife experiences I have had. The surfing mecca and tourist trap of Jaco offered me nothing but heat, see http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Jaco+costa+rica and after 2 nights I decided that my 2 plus weeks in Costa Rica were about done, and headed back to San Jose, to catch a plane to Quito, Ecuador.

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