I finally made it to La Fortuna!
For those of you keeping track, my original plan was to go to Montezuma and Mal Pais after the stint with my family; however, I was talking to my dad and he recommended Monteverde and Santa Elena as well. That will be where I spend the bulk of my week, but I´ve heard so much about Volcán Arenal that I had to see it for myself.
The thing is, Arenal is an active volcano and at night you can see lava dripping down the thing - that is if the clouds don´t obscure the view. And let´s face it, we´re in the rain forest, during rainy season so...we´ll see.
I had a pretty stupid day that began with my transpo pick-up arriving 15 minutes late making me miss my first bus at 8:40 this morning. Grrrrrrrr.
I was in the transpo minivan on the way to the terminal - I decided I didn´t want to have to hassle with bus connections on a Sunday morning because who knows how often they would run, and what if I missed my bus (i know, isn´t it ironic, don´tcha think?), plus my bag is the size and weight of a Jr. High linebacker - when it dawned on me, that I would in fact NOT be catching the 8:40am bus to La Fortuna. My hyperventilation, hatred, and anxiety gave way to totally zen acceptance. Okay, not COMPLETELY Zen, since I am, well, me, but as close to enlightenment as I could get, as the mantra "Que puedo hacer...(Eh, what can I do)" repeated itself in my head. The truth was I had no agenda other than the one I had carved into my head, so whatever. The fact that we arrived to the bus station 5 minutes after my bus was scheduled to take off, and had the driver not been FIFTEEN minutes late, I would have made it with time to spare, only occured to me a very small number of times as I sat for 2 and a half hours in the shadiest, most run-down bus station in San Jose. Seriously, I think my saving grace was that it was a Sunday morning, and its probably bad juju to rob tourists while the rest of the city is in church. I mean, I would have robbed me. Thank God for church.
AND SO, I caught the 11:30 bus to La Fortuna instead. I lined up obnoxiously early to get on because from my last bus experience, I know that if you score the very last row of seats you have a ton more room the stretch out and nap. I got the seat I wanted, there were all of 15 of us on the bus, and off we went. And then we stopped. And then, off we went. And then we stopped again. And again and again. So it turns out the reason the bus from San Jose to La Fortuna is almost 5 hours long isn´t because La Fortuna is terribly far away, its because the damn bus isn´t a direct bus. It picks up every blessed person on the street, every block or so, just like a normal city bus. Which meant, of course, the the bus was soon bursting with people, and the space I had schemed for was filled with a cranky 3-year old, her mother, and an old guy, riding thigh to thigh with me for over 2 hours. Boooooooooooooo...
2 ups: It wasn´t too hot and the scenery was very, very pretty. Deep breath.
When I FINALLY got to La Fortuna, my relief was immeasurable. I walked my linebacker to the hostel where I´d made a reservation, and Black Eyed Peas were blasting as I walked into the compound filled with hammocks and a big swimming pool. Things were looking up...
I´m in a hostel for the first time in 6 years or so, and I can´t tell if its making me feel young or old. The room holds 8 people - from what I can tell it´s 6 guys, one girl and me. The room smells like travelling boy which was charming for 5 seconds - its only for 2 nights. When I get to Santa Elena, I´ve booked a single so whew!
There is hot water in the morning and evenings, so I took an awesome shower where I got to shave my legs for the first time since I left LA (!!!!!!). The place is actually really cool (except when Black Eyed Peas phases into Shaggy and then Akon) and I booked a tour for the morning where I get to horseback ride to La Catarata de la Fortuna (read: BIG PRETTY waterfall) with a guide. Internet is free, but all Big Brother where I can´t download any pictures. I took some great ones with la familia last night, that I´ll post as soon as I can.
Think good thoughts for me, like minimal snoring, air ventilation, and NO MORE SHAGGY.
For those of you keeping track, my original plan was to go to Montezuma and Mal Pais after the stint with my family; however, I was talking to my dad and he recommended Monteverde and Santa Elena as well. That will be where I spend the bulk of my week, but I´ve heard so much about Volcán Arenal that I had to see it for myself.
The thing is, Arenal is an active volcano and at night you can see lava dripping down the thing - that is if the clouds don´t obscure the view. And let´s face it, we´re in the rain forest, during rainy season so...we´ll see.
I had a pretty stupid day that began with my transpo pick-up arriving 15 minutes late making me miss my first bus at 8:40 this morning. Grrrrrrrr.
I was in the transpo minivan on the way to the terminal - I decided I didn´t want to have to hassle with bus connections on a Sunday morning because who knows how often they would run, and what if I missed my bus (i know, isn´t it ironic, don´tcha think?), plus my bag is the size and weight of a Jr. High linebacker - when it dawned on me, that I would in fact NOT be catching the 8:40am bus to La Fortuna. My hyperventilation, hatred, and anxiety gave way to totally zen acceptance. Okay, not COMPLETELY Zen, since I am, well, me, but as close to enlightenment as I could get, as the mantra "Que puedo hacer...(Eh, what can I do)" repeated itself in my head. The truth was I had no agenda other than the one I had carved into my head, so whatever. The fact that we arrived to the bus station 5 minutes after my bus was scheduled to take off, and had the driver not been FIFTEEN minutes late, I would have made it with time to spare, only occured to me a very small number of times as I sat for 2 and a half hours in the shadiest, most run-down bus station in San Jose. Seriously, I think my saving grace was that it was a Sunday morning, and its probably bad juju to rob tourists while the rest of the city is in church. I mean, I would have robbed me. Thank God for church.
AND SO, I caught the 11:30 bus to La Fortuna instead. I lined up obnoxiously early to get on because from my last bus experience, I know that if you score the very last row of seats you have a ton more room the stretch out and nap. I got the seat I wanted, there were all of 15 of us on the bus, and off we went. And then we stopped. And then, off we went. And then we stopped again. And again and again. So it turns out the reason the bus from San Jose to La Fortuna is almost 5 hours long isn´t because La Fortuna is terribly far away, its because the damn bus isn´t a direct bus. It picks up every blessed person on the street, every block or so, just like a normal city bus. Which meant, of course, the the bus was soon bursting with people, and the space I had schemed for was filled with a cranky 3-year old, her mother, and an old guy, riding thigh to thigh with me for over 2 hours. Boooooooooooooo...
2 ups: It wasn´t too hot and the scenery was very, very pretty. Deep breath.
When I FINALLY got to La Fortuna, my relief was immeasurable. I walked my linebacker to the hostel where I´d made a reservation, and Black Eyed Peas were blasting as I walked into the compound filled with hammocks and a big swimming pool. Things were looking up...
I´m in a hostel for the first time in 6 years or so, and I can´t tell if its making me feel young or old. The room holds 8 people - from what I can tell it´s 6 guys, one girl and me. The room smells like travelling boy which was charming for 5 seconds - its only for 2 nights. When I get to Santa Elena, I´ve booked a single so whew!
There is hot water in the morning and evenings, so I took an awesome shower where I got to shave my legs for the first time since I left LA (!!!!!!). The place is actually really cool (except when Black Eyed Peas phases into Shaggy and then Akon) and I booked a tour for the morning where I get to horseback ride to La Catarata de la Fortuna (read: BIG PRETTY waterfall) with a guide. Internet is free, but all Big Brother where I can´t download any pictures. I took some great ones with la familia last night, that I´ll post as soon as I can.
Think good thoughts for me, like minimal snoring, air ventilation, and NO MORE SHAGGY.
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