The next morning after being in San Jose, we headed out to Monteverde. We took a cab from Hotel Aranjuez to the San Carlos Terminal. While sitting in the waiting area (the ticket booth hadn't opened yet) I realized something... we didn't pack the computer cord. I flipped through my camera since I had taken a picture of the room before we left and sure enough, the cord was there! It was at the top corner of the bed, nestled between the pillow and sheets. Yeesh! Dave called the hotel and asked if they could put it aside since we'd be returning to San Jose shortly.
Once the ticket booth opened, we purchased our tickets, but the bag under the bus, and boarded. It was a gorgeous drive to Monteverde. Lush hills that weren't too windy. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Not to say the Panamanian countryside isn't beautiful, because it is... There's just less deforestation in Costa Rica so it has a richer, fuller vibe.
After arriving in Monteverde, we went to our hotel, Pension Santa Elena. I guess they call the town Santa Elena but it's surrounded by Monteverde which doesn't have its own town - its just forests. It's a very toursity town. We were surrounded by gringos - nothing like the places we had visited in Panama. We watched an episode of Dexter which ended up draining the computer's battery and then headed out for our canopy tour.
Ziplining was amazing! I highly recommend it to everyone. I was so nervous before hand because I didn't know what to fully expect. I thought we'd be zipping through the canopy at high speeds and I'd feel my stomach drop with each woosh. Nope! It was so relaxing. You just sit in your harness and go. I loved looking around and seeing the beauty of the canopy. At one point, I even saw cows!
In our group, there were two guides, a couple from Israel, Dave and myself. The first step was to get strapped into our harnesses, put helmets on, and get our gloves. Then they took us outside and explained the process including how to properly ride and brake. Then it was time to hit the first line.
I went first which I think helped with my nerves. If I had waited for others to go before me, I think I would've gotten too nervous and psyched myself out. It was so much fun! The first two lines weren't long or steep to give us practice before hitting the big lines. I don't remember how many lines there were, but none were super fast. There was one that they warned us would be faster than the others, but it still wasn't too fast. No stomach dropping! The downside... it started to rain and it got pretty heavy after a while, affecting our ability to break properly. Instead of breaking with one hand, it was sometimes necessary to break with both.
We also got to do a few other really cool things. The first thing was rappelling. After doing a few lines, we crossed a platform which we had to then rappel to get to go on. We had the option of having the guide at the bottom control our line and speed for rappelling or do it ourselves. Dave and I both chose to do it ourselves. Dave did it just fine, though he was unable to keep himself locked in one spot for the guide to take a picture. When it came to my turn, I got nervous because I didn't feel like I had an actual grip on the line. I felt like once the guy let go of the line, I'd fall straight down (our gloves are basically gardening gloves with a piece of leather for breaking and I did not feel like I was holding the line at all). As soon as he let go, my fears alleviated. I didn't move a lick. From then on I was perfect with the rappel.
Next step was head to more lines. Then came my favorite part - the Tarzan swing! We climbed up this big platform and then one by one got strapped in and then went to the edge of the platform and jumped. I definitely lost my stomach on this one but it was so cool! After jumping, you swing back and forth through the canopy. To stop you, they held up this rubber contraption and after you swing past them, they lift it up and it stops you. Your stomach stays in one place because of the stopper but the rest of your body flies forward because of the momentum. Definitely hurt a little, but not too badly.
After a few more lines came Dave's favorite part - the Superman. It required a special harness that goes across your chest. They hook you up and then you lie horizontally, face down. Once you go, you can see everything from a different perspective. It was also the longest of the lines, lasting over a minute. I didn't enjoy it very much. The harness hurt a bit and my neck was sore from holding my head up (I couldn't just look down, I had to look forward). The cool part though was that you didn't have to break for yourself. There was a guy at the end who did that.
Once back at the hotel, we went grocery shopping, made dinner, played cards and talked to other travelers. It was a nice, relaxing evening. We called it a night kinda early since we had to wake up the next morning to catch the 6:30 bus back to San Jose.
That next morning, we woke up, caught the bus and were back in San Jose. We caught a cab back to Hotel Aranjuez where I picked up the computer charger and then took the same cab to the Caribe Terminal. At the terminal, we bought our tickets to Cahuita and then purchased the best fried chicken! It was soooo good.
The ride to Cahuita was about 4 hours long and went by pretty quickly. Once in Cahuita, the owner of our hotel, Cabinas Algebra, came to pick us up. He gave us a little tour of Cahuita and then brought us to the hotel. Once there, his wife offered us drinks. Dave got a beer and I got fresh iced tea - delicious!
The owners had two dogs, Charlie Brown and Fido (pronounced Fee-doe). Dave and I walked to the beach which was just down the road and Fido came with us. It got dark pretty quickly, so we played fetch with Fido and then headed back to the hotel for dinner. Dinner was yummy. Dave had spaghetti and I had a tuna salad. After dinner we went to bed because we had sat at dinner for so long that it had actually gotten pretty late.
The next morning, we went to the beach again. This time, Charlie Brown came with us. As were were walking, he ran back onto the property so we kept walking thinking he decided not to come anymore and then out pops Charlie Brown with Fido! I thought it was really cute that he ran back to get him. We played at the beach for a bit, ate some breakfast back at the hotel and then packed up and got a ride to the entrance to Cahuita National park.
It had started raining on the way to the park, but we were assured that even if it were pouring we'd be ok thanks to the trees covering the trails. The rain actually let up so it was a beautiful little hike. We walked on the trail which runs parallel to the beach letting you go back and forth pretty easily. Eventually, we turned around and headed back because we wanted to get to the sloth sanctuary with enough time to get back to San Jose to catch our bus back to Panama.
At the Sloth Sanctuary, we took a canoe tour that lasted about an hour. We got to see tons of wildlife but no wild sloths. We did see baby sloths that were taken out for exercise, but they were with people who were caring for them. After the canoe tour, we watched a film about sloths and the sanctuary and then we got to meet some sloths. They actually move much faster than I expected. We also got to see baby sloths! They're so cute and little. Lastly, we met Buttercup. She is the sloth who started the whole thing when she arrived 17 years ago as an orphaned sloth.
From the sanctuary, we headed out to Limon and caught a bus to San Jose. Then it was off to Panama. This bus was tons nicer than the Tica Bus from Panama to Costa Rica. The seats were nicer, they gave us pillows and blankets, they played movies (17 Again and The Proposal) and gave us meals. I was a very happy camper.
The bus dropped us off in Rio Grande and we caught a busito to Cope and then headed back to Dave's house. It was good to be home. We spent the rest of the day enjoying his community.
The next day was my last day in Loma Bonita. We visited the school, where Dave made an abono organico with the older students. Then we visited Anna's family and another family just past Dave's house. Then in was back to Anna's house to take pictures with her family and... I rode my first horse!
A fun but kinda scary experience. I had no clue what to do and the horse started walking around and I had Panamanians walking with me but not Dave. I didn't know where I was supposed to go but obviously I'm still here so it's all good.
After Anna's, we went to Maria's house where we had dinner. Mabe's daughter has gotten so big now. It had been a few weeks and she definitely grew. Samuel was a crack up, telling jokes and riddles. By the end of the dinner, it had started to get really dark and the chivas had stopped running so we had to walk back. We spent the rest of the night playing board and card games with Milciades and then went to bed.
The next day, I said good bye to LB and we headed to Nuevo Emperador. We made a stop to get lunch (an amazing medium sized veggie pizza for $4) and Dave went to the ATM. Then it was off to NE. To get to the house, we had to ride the dreaded Diablo Rojo. It's an old school bus, painted to the max, and completely packed - not good and worse when you have luggage.
I was very happy to get off the bus and to the house. I met way too may people at once but everyone was incredibly nice. Dave's host mom (the abuela of the clan) made us lunch. I was full from the pizza so I didn't eat very much. After eating, we dropped our stuff off at another house and then got a tour of the town from some of the kids. We spent the rest of the evening playing games with Marjorie (11) and Okido (5), the kids of the house we were staying at. That night, their mom came home and we got a few drinks at some local bars before going to bed.
The next morning, we ate breakfast (twice... once at the house we were staying at and again at the abuela's house) and then headed to Panama City and then to Clayton where we stayed at the Hostal de Clayton. We rested a bit and then headed to the Canal.
The Canal was pretty cool. We watched two ships go through and then viewed the museum which has a lot of really cool artifacts. Then we watched a quick film. Afterward, it started to get late and we were getting hungry. There are no restaurants or grocery stores near our hotel so we decided to eat at the restaurant at the Canal. It was really cool because were able to eat and watch ships go by at night.
Back at the hotel, we watched some shows online and talked a bunch. It was the last night of my trip and I was extremely sad. I knew it was gonna be tough and I'm terrible with "lasts" so that night was hard. We eventually fell asleep and woke up the next morning to watch Dexter before heading back to Albrook.
When we got to Albrook, we went into the mall and did a little house shopping for Dave (I bought him some pot holders, a garlic press, can opener and air freshener) and then we bought souvenirs inside the mall. After shopping, we got on the bus to the airport.
At the airport, we ate lunch and said our goodbyes. Dave hung out with me at the airport for a few hours which made the whole thing a lot easier. I did better than I expected, but I still cried a lot.
The plane ride home was nice though the layover was terrible. I only had an hour to get my bag and go through customs. It wouldn't have been that bad since everything went through pretty quickly but then we had to go through security all over again and that took a while! I don't get why we had to go through security since we never left the secure area... I also don't get why Continental would have scheduled it that way. The flight itinerary I took was a daily thing for them... you'd think they'd figure out its too short.
I made it to my plane with about 20 minutes to spare. Everyone had already boarded. I only got to the plane when I did because I caught a ride on one of those carts that they drive through the airport. I was so worried that my luggage wouldn't make it because I rechecked it with only 30 minutes till departure. Luckily, it found me in SF!
When we landed, I walked off the plane and felt the cold. I missed it but I also missed the warmth and humidity. I walked through the gates and there were my parents ready to greet me. I definitely missed them! After hugs and kisses, I was greeted with Taco Bell. Mmmm. We grabbed my bag, headed home and then it was bed time for me.
It's great to be back but now I've gotta face the real world and nursing school. Wish me luck!
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