By Layla
On our last morning in La Fortuna we waved goodbye to the volcano and hopped on a minibus with a group of US college kids on spring break, for one of the loveliest three hour transfers ever. After a short bus ride, we hopped off at Lake Arenal and boarded a little boat. Our luggage stacked at the front, we cruised across the ridiculously picturesque lake, the volcano looming beautifully on the horizon, the water sparkling in the sun. It is such a delight to be on holiday.
Sad when the boat hit the sand at the other side of the lake, we climbed out onto the beach to find the minibus that drove us down bumpy roads to our next destination: Santa Elena and Monteverde. Our hotel is slap bang in the centre of Santa Elena and within 20 minutes of arriving, we'd checked in, booked a hanging bridges 'sky walk', booked a jungle night hike, and climbed up into a restaurant set around a giant tree (the aptly named Treehouse Restaurant) where we were enjoying exceptionally delicious soup and salad and feeling very fond of Santa Elena.
The sky walk was a lot of fun. We drove up into the jungle and embarked on a really cool hike that was punctuated by six hanging bridges suspended over the treetops far below. Not one for those without a head for heights, but it was beautiful. The forest looked almost fake, its greenery so brilliant it might have been invented for a Disney film. Very lovely. We went round the whole circuit twice before catching the shuttle back to town for tour number 2: the jungle night hike.
The point of hiking in the jungle in pitch blackness is to spot animals, birds and insects that aren't usually visible during the day. In view of the majority of these creatures being spiders and snakes and scorpions and the like, I was unsure of my enthusiasm levels and rather hoped these animals wouldn't make an appearance. Alas I was foiled and we hiked up and down, through black foliage and across black streams as our guide shone his torch and exclaimed "Look! Big shiny eyes!" We saw a few mammals I've frankly never heard of (a bit like a stoat in appearance), two frogs ("very beautiful. Big red eyes!"), two snakes ("only a little bit venomous"), a tarantula, a scorpion, and some butterflies and birds. Apparently not a bad haul. As my small torch scanned the ground near my feet for creepy crawlies, I wasn't too sad when it was time to return to civilization - which in our case took the form of dinner, drinks and live music in the Treehouse...
It turns out that travelling to a cloud forest in the mountains is not a guarantee of balmy weather. As we tried to sleep last night, a vigorous wind whipped its way through our windows and teeth chattering, I wished for a giant duvet. Morning came with the wind still whipping, which wasn't encouraging for two girls planning to take the 7:30am public bus to go hiking in the Monteverde Cloud Forest...
We shivered as we bought our tickets into the National Park but luckily the trees provided a bit of cover and we ended up hiking around pretty much the entire park. The trees and scenery were very cool, and the trails sprawled around the perimeter, up and down, past waterfalls, bridges, and views of the continental divide. We popped back halfway through for coffee and cake... Then continued til four hours later we'd conquered Monteverde Cloud Forest. Fab.
After some carrot soup in the adjacent restaurant, we walked down the road a couple of kilometres to the Monteverde Cheese Factory, just in time for their 2pm tour. I've been on wine, coffee and chocolate tours aplenty - but this was my first cheese experience! The place was opened by Quakers fleeing US army conscription in 1954 and collects milk from the local area to make a wide variety of cheeses. The tour was brilliant in a slightly rubbish/kitsch way. We saw photos of the original Quakers learning to make the cheese. Photos of cows. Views of the cheese making equipment. And the best bit - cheese tasting. What fun!
We were eyeing the pavementless 4k walk home with some lack of enthusiasm when quite improbably on the deserted road, a taxi appeared and conveyed us back to the hotel and a sunny veranda with beer, then a fancy restaurant. Today: transfer to Manuel Antonio National Park area!
On our last morning in La Fortuna we waved goodbye to the volcano and hopped on a minibus with a group of US college kids on spring break, for one of the loveliest three hour transfers ever. After a short bus ride, we hopped off at Lake Arenal and boarded a little boat. Our luggage stacked at the front, we cruised across the ridiculously picturesque lake, the volcano looming beautifully on the horizon, the water sparkling in the sun. It is such a delight to be on holiday.
Sad when the boat hit the sand at the other side of the lake, we climbed out onto the beach to find the minibus that drove us down bumpy roads to our next destination: Santa Elena and Monteverde. Our hotel is slap bang in the centre of Santa Elena and within 20 minutes of arriving, we'd checked in, booked a hanging bridges 'sky walk', booked a jungle night hike, and climbed up into a restaurant set around a giant tree (the aptly named Treehouse Restaurant) where we were enjoying exceptionally delicious soup and salad and feeling very fond of Santa Elena.
The sky walk was a lot of fun. We drove up into the jungle and embarked on a really cool hike that was punctuated by six hanging bridges suspended over the treetops far below. Not one for those without a head for heights, but it was beautiful. The forest looked almost fake, its greenery so brilliant it might have been invented for a Disney film. Very lovely. We went round the whole circuit twice before catching the shuttle back to town for tour number 2: the jungle night hike.
The point of hiking in the jungle in pitch blackness is to spot animals, birds and insects that aren't usually visible during the day. In view of the majority of these creatures being spiders and snakes and scorpions and the like, I was unsure of my enthusiasm levels and rather hoped these animals wouldn't make an appearance. Alas I was foiled and we hiked up and down, through black foliage and across black streams as our guide shone his torch and exclaimed "Look! Big shiny eyes!" We saw a few mammals I've frankly never heard of (a bit like a stoat in appearance), two frogs ("very beautiful. Big red eyes!"), two snakes ("only a little bit venomous"), a tarantula, a scorpion, and some butterflies and birds. Apparently not a bad haul. As my small torch scanned the ground near my feet for creepy crawlies, I wasn't too sad when it was time to return to civilization - which in our case took the form of dinner, drinks and live music in the Treehouse...
It turns out that travelling to a cloud forest in the mountains is not a guarantee of balmy weather. As we tried to sleep last night, a vigorous wind whipped its way through our windows and teeth chattering, I wished for a giant duvet. Morning came with the wind still whipping, which wasn't encouraging for two girls planning to take the 7:30am public bus to go hiking in the Monteverde Cloud Forest...
We shivered as we bought our tickets into the National Park but luckily the trees provided a bit of cover and we ended up hiking around pretty much the entire park. The trees and scenery were very cool, and the trails sprawled around the perimeter, up and down, past waterfalls, bridges, and views of the continental divide. We popped back halfway through for coffee and cake... Then continued til four hours later we'd conquered Monteverde Cloud Forest. Fab.
After some carrot soup in the adjacent restaurant, we walked down the road a couple of kilometres to the Monteverde Cheese Factory, just in time for their 2pm tour. I've been on wine, coffee and chocolate tours aplenty - but this was my first cheese experience! The place was opened by Quakers fleeing US army conscription in 1954 and collects milk from the local area to make a wide variety of cheeses. The tour was brilliant in a slightly rubbish/kitsch way. We saw photos of the original Quakers learning to make the cheese. Photos of cows. Views of the cheese making equipment. And the best bit - cheese tasting. What fun!
We were eyeing the pavementless 4k walk home with some lack of enthusiasm when quite improbably on the deserted road, a taxi appeared and conveyed us back to the hotel and a sunny veranda with beer, then a fancy restaurant. Today: transfer to Manuel Antonio National Park area!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.