Monteverde, Costa Rica

Today would be another long day´s journey....4 Taxis.......3 buses........1 ferry. From the Island of Ometepe, back to the main land and then south, to Costa Rica. However, that said we had a very smooth journey. We had heard that the border crossing in to Costa Rica could be long and boring, but we were lucky and we sailed through, caught one bus and then another.

Our first stop in Costa Rica would be high in the hillside town of Santa Ellena, in the Monteverde Region. The main draw is a range of activities and wildlife. All in all Costa Rica is more developed and touristy, but conversely has lots more to do. 

So after our long journey, we settled in to a nice hostel in Santa Ellena. The next day we decided to bite the bullet and do a zip lining and canopy tour. Now those of you that know me, know that i have a slight aversion to heights, so this was going to be a challenge for me. So we set off for one of the newer and bigger canopy tours. There were a series of 12 zip lines, 1 rappell (abseil) and a tarzan swing......well here goes nothing. 

The place was like Go Ape on steroids, i mean seriously, the longest zip line is a kilometre long....and you do it "superman stylee". We arrived, got kitted out with more stuff than Sir Edmund Hillary ever used and set about getting our briefing. 

The briefing was short and before we knew it we were climbing the first platform and being hooked up to the zip lines. Unlike at Go Ape in the UK, the guides do all the technical stuff. This was good and bad, as before you knew it, you were hoiked up on to the zip line, legs up, ropes in hand and being pushed along the lines.

The first few zip lines were nice and easy. In the tree canopy and fairly short. You could see the end of the run about 40,50,60 metres away. Also as it was between the canopy, you couldn´t see the ground, so it didn´t really matter how high up you were.

Yep, spot the guy halfway down the line (bottom left)

Then came the next set of zip lines......chuffing hell ! The first long one; a 500+ metere run, stretching out of the valley floor. The line was about 300 metres from the ground and ran fast. It might be worth mentioning at this point that the braking mechanism is the age old "use your hand and grip as tight as you can to the steel rope above you" method. They gave you a special glove with a piece of leather sewn to it......gee thanks !

We survived the longer zip runs and it then came to a rappel. A 30m/100ft abseil straight down. However, as before you were just strapped in to the mechanism in the blink of an eye and pushed over the edge. The speed though was controlled by the guy on the ground......the screams of the people before me told me he wasn´t going to play nice. So after a gentle start the descent got very quick. We survived that, then went to the tarzan swing, a 30m swing where you are thrown off a platform and plunge down, before swinging aimlessly in to the forest. I have to say, we passed on this one..

"The Superman"

We got to the last zip line, the crowning piece, a 1Km zip line back to the start, done in the style of a "Superman". So where as the other zip lines are done by basically sitting down and letting the harness take you. You were strapped differently and in such a way that you were facing down and forward, legs starpped up and arms out, like superman. I had to dodge this option due to the harness arrangement on my shoulder (honest !), but Kip was a Superwoman, scremaing out across the valley below her.

With that survived we headed back to our hostel for a much needed cup of tea and sit down. 

The next day we were up at the crack of dawn to explore one the unique sights in the region. A Cloud Forest. This is slightly different to a Rain Forest and only exists in a few places in the world, due to the type of vegetation and nature it attracts. We took a guide and set about a 3 hour tour of the delicate eco system. We are pleased we had a guide and his scope, as he managed to pick out some amazing wildlife that was virtually hidden in the jungle. We spent the rest of the morning, after our tour, walking through the cloud forest at our own leisure. Needless to say, the sightings of wildlife were dramatically reduced without our guide, but none the less the walk was great. 

Whilst in Monteverde we had agonised over our next destination. We know that Costa Rica has a lot more to offer than the previous countries we have visited in Central America, but we also know that they are more expensive. We decided not to visit the nearby Volcano of Arenal, mainly becuase despite it being touted as active and being able to see the lava flows, it had not been flowing for a good 12 months. So with time on our hands, we headed to San Jose to resolve our Cuban visa situation. 

So in the words of Dionne Warwick.........Do you know the way to San Jose.....la la la la la 

We took an early bus and arrived in to San Jose, found our hostel and scoped out its proximity to the Cuban Embassy. All of it just perfect. We were only a stones throw from the Embassy and our hostel was a fantastic home hostel run by a great Colombian family. It was basically their house and welcomed us in with open arms. The next morning we were up and out, documents in hand and knocking on the door of the Cuban Embassy a few minutes after opening time. 

We thought that this part would go one of 2 ways, as we had heard some stories of it being very difficult to obtain a visa. What with the need for all the right documents, medical forms, insurance etc. But we were very fortunate and after a short wait we paid our money and got our visas....easy peasy ! So with Visas in hand, we rushed back to the hostel and raced across town to catch a noon bus to the Caribbean coast and a little place called Cahuita.

 Thanks San Jose, it was brief, but we will be back.