Nidia Lodge Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

... paid for that part. Finally at 10 o’clock they turned up, just to let us know that they had decided to walk back to town.

Worried that there would be no – at least working – ATM in Montezuma, I asked if we could stop by the ATM in Santa Elena on the way back, and instead I could persuaded into walking back to my hotel – as it was only a couple of km. Something I should bitterly regret later. Santa Elena is really small and not interesting. There ...

Saturday we woke up early for breakfast at our hotel because we were being picked up for ziplines at 7am.  It took about 15 minutes of driving on a windy/bumpy dirt road to get there.  

We were put into harnesses, given some instructions, then immediately attached to a short zip line and we zipped down to the next platform.  There were 14 zip lines in all, 2 of which were extremely long (1/3 to 1/2 mile long maybe?) and went ...

... cool. The first stop on the night walk was the hummingbird garden. At night there about as many bats at the hummingbird garden as there are hummingbirds during the day. The bats are nectar eating bats and they were coming in to eat at the hummingbird feeders. It was neat to see all the bats (maybe not so great if you are afraid of bats). As we were walking towards the park we saw a tarantula!! It was pretty large, but our guide said it was a medium sized ...

... so I slept at Lindsey's. It's been a great experience seeing what everyone else's home stays are like. Last weekend we decided to stay in Monteverde. After school on Friday we all went to a Professional Development session on bubbles. Fun! After, hanging out at the school for a bit the majority of us met up at Tramonti's for what we've been told is the best pizza in town (only pizza I've had but I really liked it)! From there we headed to Moon Shiva to watch the ...

So off to Costa Rica.... Quote from Charlotte- ´first day at Peace Lodge was better than my wedding day´. http://www.waterfallgardens.com/ was the first honeymoon treat and the first of many frog hunts. We did a night tour of the Ranarium (Frog sanctuary) and they were very active, two simultaneously 'attacked' Charlotte in a combined arial manouver... it was like a dream come true for her. Monkeys, exotic birds etc were ...

... enjoy cheaper prices and lovely beaches. Oli and Natscha are staying behind in Costa Rica for a week to do a Spanish language course in San Jose. Fingers crossed, the border crossing will be painless, I've heard that the queues can take 5hrs!! It's 1km of no-mans's land to cross, but you can hire golf buggies to make the journey, which I think we'll do, as our backpacks seem to be getting heavier every time we put them on! xxxxx

... The friendly owner David, helped us arrange a canopy tour right away so off we went. Becca conquered her fears while I just enjoyed the ride and the beautiful aerial views that were afforded to us from the 14 zip lines (including one over 2250 meters), one rappel and a tarzan swing. That night we decided to take advantage of the kitchen and I made a nice italian meal using the fresh ingredients from the market and we enjoyed ...

... springs, well all I can say is heaven must be similar to this place, picture the perfect paradise and this is it. 21 Thermal baths all at different temperatures with waterfalls and beautiful tropical gardens and a swim up bar to top it off. I can not remember when I was last so relaxed .Then it was back to the hotel for a well deserved sleep , I can not believe what an amazing time I am having, I wouldn't change it for the world.

... the top looking down, only hanging by a rope and harness, its slightly nerve racking. It was awesome though, being in the middle of the rainforst, with so much greenery and tree roots as big as a car size, waterfalls, monkeys etc-feels so unreal. Better be off for our fun evening group supper with all the girls and Ellis. Oh and it only just clicked today Costa Rica=costa=coast=rica=beautiful/rich. durr. lots of love to everyone, G