Here I am sitting outside our Hostel, Pension Santa Elena in Monteverde. It's a bit chilly and gloomy out but otherwise, quite nice. We just got back from our Adventura Canopy Tour where we went zip lining across 16 different lines, did the "superman" zip line in which you are hands free and glide across a long line with crazy views of the cloud forest. If you are having trouble visualing, I suggest you picture Superman flying through the air. That's what we looked like. Okay, maybe a little less heroic-like and without a cape. But still, you catch my drift. We got photos taken and at the end of the line and both Kristin and I look like retarded baby dinosaurs because we were afraid that we weren't going to get stopped before crashing into the tree in front of us and therefore brought our arms in. It was fast and exhilarating! Such a cool experience. Next up was the Tarzan swing. Once again, the experience was similar to what it sounded like. (Without the banging of the chest BUT with the "Ahhhhhhhhhh!") We grabbed hold of a rope and dropped 120 feet before swinging across the forest (yes, we had the proper equipment... No need to worry Mom). I would like to say I looked cool doing them both but truth be known, I screamed my guts out like a little girl. Overall, Monteverde has been an amazing experience. We arrived yesterday from Montezuma (2 hour Costa Rican bus ride to the ferry, 2 hour ferry and then upon arrival to the next bus by taxi.. We decided to just sack it up and pay the extra money for a private and much more comfortable ride to Monteverde.) It was a pricey $100 for the 3 hour ride but boy-oh-boy was it worth it. Our taxi driver was awesome! When we got off the ferry in Puntarenas, he greeted us with such impressive English and when we decided to venture on with him, he asked if we minded if he picked up his daughter to take her to school. (Cue the "aww's") Of course we said that was fine so we joined them in dropping her off at the bus stop. Let me begin by saying, this was probably the best decision we could have made. He was so helpful. He called and booked both our hostel and excursions for us, took us to stop for food -- truth be told, we were both suffering from a combination of both lack of sleep and a hangover from the night before. We talked about Costa Rica and the fact that he had been to California -- Sacramento (Pollack Pines to be exact).. Or as he said "Pollacks Pine". Gotta love the latin accents! The ride up to Monteverde was a rather steep and bumpy one. Most of the roads we unpaved so I can't imagine how uncomfortable the bus ride might have been. (Guess we'll find out on the way back...) He let us stop and take multiple pictures along the scenic drive and once we arrived, made sure that all of our reservations were in order. All in all, he was such a great man and we were incredibly grateful for him and his assistance. Next up? For now, probably a cerveza and a burrito from the "Taco Taco" place next door. Tomorrow we venture on to Puerto Viejo on the southern Caribbean side. A 12 hour journey in all. Wish us luck! Until next time...
Pura Vida, y'all!
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