Americas Paradise Wellness Park and Lodge La Fortuna

... male guides, where are the female guides???) Anyways, they
briefed us with a safety lesson, blah blah blah, let's get to the fun
stuff, right?! For some reason Farrah and I ...

... a welcome respite after the bouncy journey and our landlord suggested we settle in to our 3 bed cabin and then gather some veg for dinner from his garden. Cherry tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, beets, basil….boy was I in heaven.

Tuesday July 21st: tour of Monteverde Cloud Rainforest with Jairo, our guide. We learned so much about the vegetation and wildlife…..strangling trees, epiphytes, bromelias (did you know a pineapple was one?), orchids ...

... genauso wie zur Verabschiedung verwendet) und "con mucho gusto" (mit viel Vergnuegen) gebraucht, die wir ab jetzt staendig hoeren und die das froehliche und freundliche Wesen der Leute hier besonders schoen symbolisieren.

Wir verbringen 2 Naechte in einem netten kleinen Hotel in Alajuela, der naechsten Stadt am Flughafen, um mal wieder per Internet mit der Aussenwelt in Verbindung zu treten, bevor wir uns mit dem Bus auf den Weg in Richtung Norden ...

... and a crazy 60m "tarzan" swing which makes you squeal like a little girl and requires clean drawers afterwards. It certainly was loads of fun and definitely worth it.... highly recommended. It is a little colder up here compared to the beach, but makes a nice change and escape from the heat and is also a fair amount cheaper than the coast.

... the Nicaraguan border. La Fortuna is in the shadow of the great Arenal volcano, one of the most active in the world. The town itself isnīt much to speak of, rather noisy, a bit dusty and full of tour companies. Our hotel is conveniently located in town, with free Internet so we may be able to catch up on this blog and e-mail. We spent the afternoon getting our bearings and checking ...

... and put some in tinfoil for us to eat later. Diana kept on playing with the the dynamo flashlight making animals shadows. After many hugs and kisses, and zillions of thank yous from us, we hit the road again, hoping we would find the guy's place. We found it easily enough, and the guy was waiting for us. When we entered the room it felt so great, such a relief. And the place was lovely as well. We went outside to have a beer that we kept in the bag to relax ...

... as Iīm not the best at anything sporty, but I took to it really well and thoroughly enjoyed it! We had expected to see more wildlife through the trees, but the zip wires (there are 13 in total, lasting 3 hours) are high above the trees, so we didn't spot anything. It was great for adrenaline, especially the Tarzan swing at the end. This consisted of literally hurling ourselves off a massive drop, we swung backwards and ...

... other travellers crossing at the same time and all split a cab to Puerto Viejo. Puerto Viejo is a well known destination in the surfing world for its world class surf (specifically the world class reef break right in the middle of town "Salsa Brava"), liberal additude towards the law, and a raging night life. What I didn't know was just how HEAVY this place was. IF your not ready to commit yourself to heavy tubing, bone crunching ...

... the area. What I really found interesting were the curbs. There are places where if you step off the curb and you don't step far enough to reach the street, your foot will never hit bottom. It's just open. Or the sidewalk is so high up from the street level that if you happen not to be paying attention and step off, it will not be a stumble, it will be a major fall into the middle of traffic. In our group of starting ...

... my career in journalism at an end. As a volunteer, I have witnessed my creative spark lit anew. I regularly entertain and update friends and family with my misadventures as a PCV with a blog. (I claim the titles of creator, author, editor, publisher and publicist to my online musings and may apply this experience to The Cadena.) I'd say this is quite a feat: not to have allowed it to fall on the wayside, and thereby ...