First Few Days in Costa Rica

Wow, the last few days have been amazing. I started out in San Jose, but only stayed there for the night. It was a nice enough city, but didn't really hold any appeal for me. From the hostel we booked a rafting on the Rio Pacuare.

So, early next morning, we boarded the bus for the river. Once there we got the usual instructions on rafting and the requisite gear. The river itself was amazing. It was everything I imagined a rain forest to be with green everywhere and calls of tropical birds filling me ears. It even rained a little during the trip which was an amazingly refreshing experience. My favorite part of the trip was a certain section that went through a canyon with waterfalls and giant trees covered in vines. At a slow section we were able to jump off the boat and float down the river. An amazing experience and my favorite so far.

After the rafting trip we took a bus to La Fortuna, a small village on the non-lava flowing side of Volcan Arenal. There we took a hike to the base of the volcano at sunset and were able to few red hot rocks tumbling down the side of the volcano. The trek back through the jungle in complete darkness was certainly interesting. We saw a gigantic spider, a poisonous frog, and a three-toed sloth (although that was during the daytime). After a day there we took a tour labeled jeep-boat-jeep. The path between La Fortuna and Monteverde is very rough so the public busses have to go a long way around. For a small price some companies arrange transfer through using vans (not jeeps unfortunately) and a boat for Lake Arenal. The trip was pleasant if a little rough on the dirt roads.

So I arrive in Monteverde, where I am right now. This area is famous because of the cloud forest here. So the first day I took a zipline canopy tour which was very fun but didn't give the best opportunities for observing the forest. So today I went on a hanging bridges hike which allowed me to truly appreciate the forest. It was incredible looking over the abundant vegetation through the everpresent mist which gives the forests their name.

Next up in Manuel Antonio. A place know for its pristine beaches and tropical rain forest.