Costa Rica - La Fortuna to San Jose

Costa Rica- La Fortuna to San Jose

I thought I was spending this morning alone, but it rained so much last night that Sage and Daniel's rafting trip was cancelled. My only goal today was to see a sloth - almost everyone has! So Sage and Daniel went sloth hunting with me. Daniel had seen one the other day and sloths are slow so we thought we'd find the same one - it had a baby!  We go to the spot and see iguanas in the trees which are cool, but not sloth cool. A local guy sees us staring in the trees and asks what we see - Daniel tells him we are looking for the sloth. The guy says it moved during the hard rain last night and told us where to look. Sage's eagle eyes saw it!! I may have jumped up and down and clapped my hands. All I have is an iphone so I can't take good pictures.  Martina sent me these - so beautiful.

The problem was that it was only 9:30 and we had completed our only task for the day. We decided to go to the local swimming hole that is run off from the La Fortuna falls.  My legs were working better but I was careful and Sage and Daniel were very helpful getting me down the slippery, root filled path.  The swimming hole was peaceful.

We went back into town to eat at Lava Lounge. Sage has been talking about the nachos and brownie she had yesterday.

We ran into James and Ryan and sat down with them. I hadn't seen James or Ryan for over 24 hours so I was in withdrawal. We were all talking and laughing and I felt how blessed I was. I'm not sure the 5 of us would have become friends in the "real world" .  Except for me and Daniel - we would have become friends no matter how we met- we are similar old souls. I'm 20 years older than Sage and 11 years older than Ryan who is the next oldest after me. 3 of them drink a lot and stay up really late and go out often. We are all just really different people but we laugh a lot together and they get me to try new things.

The hotel was nice and I had a warm shower and some cleanish clothes. James and I were discussing how we both have been wearing the same clothes for three days. Dinner was nice and Marilyn cut my meat for me and no one laughed at me using two forks for my food. Swallowing your pride is necessary when you are sick!

All of us but Grumpy guy gathered downstairs and we ate and said goodbye to our guide Mario. He was totally different than Adrian. He gave almost too much info! He would tell us stuff on the bus so we didn't  have to meet every evening which was great. He was very hyper and talked in circles which frustrated me at first but I got used to it. He would make rooster noises when we stopped for a bathroom break. He meant well and was usually around during the day so we could ask questions. I am so glad I decided to do this trip even though I was a little nervous about it - I had sooooo much fun!

Sage, Daniel, me, Diane, Brayden, Carone, Melanie, Martina, Clara, Top, Luming, Michelle, Mario

Daniel and I 

Sage and I 

Costa Rica - La Fortuna

Costa Rica- la fortuna

Last boat ride today!!! Yea! We were also in the van for awhile. We stopped at a place to get hot chocolate and coffee and it had great views.

We arrived in the evening and went to the Defino tour company to see the options. Lots to do here- zip lining, canyoneering, nature walks, boat nature trips, ATVs, etc. Sage, Daniel and I decided to go on a nature walk around the Arenal Volcano then go to the hot springs at Ecotermales. There were tons of hot springs to go to, but many were big and had water slides etc. we picked one that only lets in 100 at a time and there were few children. I have been to hot springs in Ecuador, but have never actually got IN them. Dan is addicted to hot springs almost as much as he is to massages so he convinced me to go. He and Sage planned to go white water rafting the day after that (down to San Jose and just meet us there) I have been class 4 rafting before in Alaska and I was exited that they were going to get to go. 

I got food at the grocery store and turned in early to my cabin. It's really cute - this place is accurately called Cabinitas- it would be perfect if it had hot water.

I'm reflecting on my trip since I'm going home in a few days. A month was a good travel time for me. I'm still enjoying it, but a little excited to go home and have hot showers and clean clothes. I have only been in São Paulo a few months and I have aquaintences but only one actual friend that I talk to a lot. Here I have a good group of friends that share common interests with me. I have been traveling with Marilyn, Ryan, James, Martina, Sage, and Daniel (Tim too, but I am not close to him - no one is - he's kind of grumpy) for a month now and I've had more conversations with them than people at my new job. It is honestly going to be very difficult to say goodbye to Daniel and Martina. And I am going to miss the others a lot too. I have also made friends with the people that joined us in Antigua, but I haven't had as much time with them. I have hope that I will see some of them again. I met Bill, Joyce, and Arron on my trip to Israel and actually spent New Years with them a few years later in Puerto Rico and Aaron stayed with me in Mumbai one night when he had a huge layover. So I have hope I will see some of these new friends again too. 

The next day we went on the hike with Michelle and Melanie and saw iguanas and eyelash vipers. The guide knew where to find them because they stay in one place for a long time. They curl up on the tree and look like a flower to attract prey. The babies are the most dangerous because when they bite, they unload all their venom. The adults conserve their venom- their first bite is usually a warning bite with no venom. The second bite has venom but they don't unload all of it.

stigmata plant

eyelash viper

walking tree!  they "move" to get more light

big wasp? nest

The hot springs were good and I enjoyed them. Daniel made me read about all the healing properties they have (because I was still a little wary). We met Luming and Carone there and we soaked for about 2 hours. They springs did something to me - I could barely move my legs when I got out. I thought maybe it had sucked the Lupus out of me!! My hands were shaking really badly and my legs wouldn't move right so Sage and Daniel got my dinner for me at the buffet. We've been together long enough for them to know what to get me. Sage told me to not get any potato hash because it tasted like Indian spices. When my hands are shaking I use two forks- the one in my left hand helps balance the one in my right which tends to shake more. They were sweet and didn't laugh at me as I was shoveling my food in my mouth with two forks. Dinner was good, you never know at these places where it is included. 

They got me out of my chair and walked me to the lobby so I could catch the 8:30 bus with Carone and Luming while Sage and Daniel cooked some more in the springs. Brayden and Tom were on the bus coming back from their springs at Los Lagos (where we dropped Melanie and Michelle off after the hike) it is nice running into people you know - feels like a small town and we can catch up with each other during the day.

Costa Rica - Monte Verde

Costa Rica - Monte Verde

Last border crossing!  We took the ferry from omepete back to the Nicaraguan mainland, drove for an hour to the border. You have to show proof of leaving Costa Rica - I just showed my flight. People leaving overland had a lot of trouble. We got held up for awhile before we all got through.  We had another 5 hour drive to our hotel. We stopped for lunch and Martina and I got mc Donald's. We stopped at a lookout point and people got hot chocolate and coffee. We finally made it to out hotel Historias in Monteverde.  I got put in the "honeymoon" room. There wasn't much special about it except for it was far away from everyone else.  It had a tub but so did other people and it had kind of luke warm water so that was a plus. 

In the morning I walked down to the bakery and met James and Daniel for breakfast. We may or may not have each had a slice of carrot cake. 😃

I went walking through the Monteverde cloud forest with Marilyn, Ryan, James, and Clara while the others went zip lining.

James and Ryan

humming bird

Later I went on the hanging bridges with Clara and Marilyn. They were pretty cool.  During both walks, the forest was calm and peaceful. We didn't see many animals except a centipede, squirrel, and coatis. And we saw the humming birds at the hummingbird gallery.

Marilyn and Clara

I messaged my sister today to tell her that I hiked in a cloud forest today. Her reply was "Natalie shit her pants today - we live very different lives" hahaha!  Yes we do! I am so blessed that I have a job I love and that I get to travel. 

The others went out drinking and dancing at 10. I go to bed before that because otherwise my lupus gives way to neurological symptoms. They are actually really understanding of the fact that I don't drink and that I turn into a pumpkin at 9:30. It is surprising how many adults make rude comments about me not drinking or that I'm pathetic for going to bed so early. I need to do it though or my body won't function! It is cooler here so I sleep better. It was really windy last night- sounded like a blizzard back home so I woke up a few times, but was cosy in my honeymoon cabin. I was feeling pretty great today and they were all looking pretty rough this morning. I've read about how fast the clouds move here and I got to see it first hand today- they just sail by. 

I went with Tim, Tom, Diane, and Melanie on a coffee, chocolate, and sugar cane tour. Really fascinating. The farm itself was beautiful.

baby pineapple

We ate a coffee  bean off the bush. Doesn't taste at all like coffee.

We saw sugar cane growing, how they Peres the juice out, then boil it. They can make white sugar, brown sugar, and molasses out of it.  We got to stir some to thicken it into a suave blob. It was hot and gooey and frankly looked like poo when the guy picked it up in a plastic bag (just like you would dog poo on the street). I held onto the bag and gave the others an update every few minutes about how hot it was, it was getting hard, and how poop like it looked. 

Sugar cane stalks

sugar cane juice

sugar cane cast offs 

sugar cane boiling

stirring the boiled sugar cane

stirred sugar cane solidifying

sugar cane in a "poop bag" 

molds they use for the sugar

Chocolate

cocao beans

cocao beans drying 

starting to taste like chocolate

grinding up the beans

We had a bakery in Mumbai called Theobroma.  It means food of the gods

We have spent a lot of time on vans and boats on this trip and these are our very happy faces for our LAST boat ride!!!  and it was actually a decent boat.

Dan and I - last boat ride