Day 78, 79, 80?, Santa Elena, Monteverde

It was quite a long drive with the bus from puntarenas to santa elena. It took 3,5 hours up the mountains, but the views were stunning! We also could feel the temperature going down, the higher we got.
When we arrived in Santa Elena, the sun was shining and there was quite a lot of wind. It was very fresh compared to the warm and humid climate we came from.
We stay in the Monteverde Monkey Hostel, where we have two beds in a dorm room. The hostel has a large terrace where you can look over a piece of forest. The lady of the hostel said that breakfast was included, and it would be toast, with eggs the way you want, and some fruits. It would be between 07:00 and 09:00
After we put our stuff in the room, we went out and discovered that this is a very very touristic town. Very expensive too. When the sun was going down we went back to the hostel and put a sweater and jogging pants on, for the first time since the Uyuni desert in Bolivia! We sat on the terrace and heard the howling monkeys (brulapen) in the distance 😊
The next morning we woke up to go to breakfast. But there was nothing and nobody in the kitchen. There was a loaf of bread, 20 eggs, and some bananas on a table. It turned out that there was no breakfast, only stuff for breakfast that you had to prepare yourself between 07:00 and 09:00 😂 the lady really did make it sound like there was a prepared breakfast, so we were a bit dissapointed 😅 we went to the terrace to hopefully see some monkeys, but it was very windy and cold, so we decided to go back to bed.
Later we made ourselves some breakfast and take a walk. There must be a path we can take into a piece of forest, wouldn't it?
No. There was no way to walk in a piece of forest. The only way is to buy a ticket for the monteverde mystic forest, and walk a path that many other tourists walk. We walked around the town and were a bit bored. We still have a full day tomorrow, and hanging around like this for another day would not be so nice. So we bought tickets to the forest for tomorrow, and really really hope it is not as crowded as manuel antonio park. Since our vacation is coming to an end, we also booked our last night in alajuela already, and the last 4 days at Miguel surf camp again.
In the evening we got ourselves an empanada, which turned out to be so big, that it was a complete meal. It was only 3,5, and so the cheapest dinner we have found in this expensive country! That is including cooking for our selves, because groceries are more expensive here, than at home. Later we sat outside the hostel, at the forest side, and a nose bear came sniffing around!
The next morning it was very inclear where the bus to monteverde cloud forest was going, so we had to take a taxi to be able to make it on time to our time slot.
We arrived earlier than planned so we had some breakfast there, which was again really expensive. 39 euro for 2 coffees and two omelettes.
While waiting, we saw another nose bear walking around 😊
Then it was time to go into the forest. We took the longest route, because it was marked as 'intermediate to hard' so that would probably be the route with the least amount of people.
At the beginning we saw some big black turkey-like birds walking around, but we didn't see much more animals. We heard some birds that made sounds like a squeeking fence that opens and closes 😂
The forest itself was amazingly beautiful. So many different plants and trees, and all beautiful. The amount of tourists was definately not as much as in manuel antonio, but still quite a lot. We were walking quietly when we came to a woman who was quietly standing and whispering there were two quetzal birds flying around. So we also stood still and waited, but then a lot of people passed, talking loudly, and we just gave up. It is impossible to see animals here in costa rica during high season.
We walked futher and came to a mirador, a lookout post on top of the mountain, where you could see all over the forest. It was amazing!
When we came back to the entrance of the park, we went to the hummingbird gallery. A cafe right next to the park, where you can dring coffee, and sit in the garden where they have many hummingbird feeders hanging, and they attract different kinds of hummingbirds ❤️
Then we decided to find the bus back to santa elena, but we didn't find it. We had to walk the full 5 km, after we already walked 5 km in the forest 😅
After this, we earned ourselves some nice food. We did everything only on the omelette in the morning, and it was around 4/5 when we finally arrived.
In the evening we started talking with an older couple from Berlin at the hostel, who were supposed to go to vietnam, but because of all the chaos in the middle east, had to change their flights a week ago, to some place else, and ended up in costa rica.
We still did not decide where to go after monteverde, because everything is expensive and touristic. Then we looked at booking, and there was 1 room left for 3 nights at miguel's, so we decided to just go there, since we had a great time there before, it is cheap, and we can maybe take some surf lessons! So we booked the 3 nights and the bus back to quepos.
(There is now one night left, in between the nights at miguel's, where we don't have a sleeping place because on that one night miguel's was already fully booked)Read more