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| From an overlook on the road to Monteverde |
The getting there part of traveling isn't always glamorous. There's security, long flights, weather delays, cancellations, crowded conditions and language barriers just to name a few of the less glamorous parts. We try to always view it as part of the adventure. Maybe it helps us keep our sanity sometimes. That assumes we have our sanity in the first place, so who knows.
Today we moved from La Fortuna to Monteverde. It was short on miles, probably around 80 miles total but somewhat big on adventure. It was described as a jeep, boat, jeep transfer. If you consider a van a jeep then technically it was correct.
We were picked up at our hotel around 8:30. One thing we have learned from our experiences so far in Costa Rica is that the pick ups have all been around 10-15 minutes early. This is very commendable and not a problem since we tend to always be early. The vehicle picking us up was a 20-25 passenger van. Not what I would consider a jeep, but comfortable nonetheless. We were driven a short distance to Arenal Lake where several other vans loaded with people who were going to Monteverde were gathering.
We got on boats that seated around 50 people for what turned out to be a very pleasant ride across the lake. As we were leaving we had a final peak at the Arenal Volcano off the rear of the boat. The top of the volcano, as it had been for all but about 3 seconds of our stay in La Fortuna, was still covered in clouds.
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| The boat landing where we got on board |
Once we reached the shore we were assigned small vans depending on our final destination.
We had a friendly driver from Monteverde, another young man from a small village near Monteverde and three couples. It was about an hour and a half ride on an unpaved, bumpy and winding road to our hotel. The scenery was great, as was the conversation along the way.
Monteverde is famous for it's cloud forest reserve. Not being wise in the ways of cloud forests I had to do a little research to find out what the term actually means. A cloud forest is an area that is at a high enough elevation that the forest canopy is usually covered by clouds. So when we arrived...……...not a cloud in the sky! We're not asking for our money back. We've got a great view from high up looking westward. We just witnessed a spectacular sunset while being serenaded by a symphony of different types of birds.
It was a great ending to an adventurous days journey.
