Monteverde

Fri 20 Oct: Wonderful hostel we are staying in at Monteverde. Nice room with own bathroom, and breakfast of pancakes and fruit or eggs and toast included all for US$18/night - we like these sort of prices. We were told the weather is generally fine in the morning and then rain in the afternoon in Costa Rica at the moment, so we headed out to have a look at Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve. It was raining when we started but in the forest it wasn't very heavy. Beautiful forest, but we didn't see any animals or views due to the weather. Did get some quite loud thunder halfway around. Took it quite slowly, covering about 5 kms in 2 hrs 15. We then headed into the small town centre to find some lunch. Prices were quite expensive, but finally found some chicken and chips and I tried a Enyacuado de Pollo (like a Costa Rican coquette made with yuca) for a reasonable price. After that we went for a walk to see a ficus tree that has formed a bridge. Wow what an amazing root system they have. On the way, we stopped in at a local artist shop, and his wife has put alot of his paintings onto texiles - cushion covers, chairs, umbrellas, exercise leggings and crop tops, and t-shirts. I really liked the t-shirts and on the way back decided to get one, something a bit unique, and also support his art as he was very passionate about it. It was then back into town and looking around the souvenir shops. Both found shirts we really liked but not in our sizes - drats. Got some crackers cheese, salami, tomato and pate to take back for a little snacky dinner.Read more