Crossing the border from Nicaragua to Costa Rica was muddy on the Nicaraguan side (because of recent rain) and sunny and dry on the Costa Rican side. Right away I noticed more birds chirping, more trees, and the road to Monteverde had amazing scenery of green fields and hills as far as my eyes could see, also cooler temp. It was a fresh change from the heat and humidity of Nicaragua. The town of Monteverde quickly became one of my favorites, with lots of hippie cafes and rolling hills and forests to spot wildlife. I saw a sloth, though it was very high up on a tree that all I could make out was a ball of light brown fur, a tarantula crawling out of its hole, a green poisonous viper in an attack position, a highway of ants carrying food, several species of birds and a cellphone frog. Pretty awesome. Ziplining through the forest canopy was an amazing experience, more so because of the scenery below me. We were so high up, higher than the tallest tree in the Monteverde forest. While walking through several hanging bridges in the forest, a howler monkey dropped by the bridge railing and hang out for a while as we furiosly took pictures of it.
The town of La Fortuna is very touristy, and I didn’t like it much. It’s claim to fame is the Arenal Volcano, and canyoneering and white water rafting activities. I found that these were too expensive for my budget, so I contented myself with just looking at the volcano, visible all over town. I’m glad I chose a route through C.Amer with a “volcano theme”, much like my route through Mexico had a “Ruins” theme. The volcanoes here are all beautiful, and so different from each other. I cannot take my eyes off them.
Tomorrow I leave for the capital, San Jose.
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