As I mentioned before, we get 4 days off a month, so what is usually a long weekend to most, I like to call a vacation, and after working 11 hour days for 26 days straight, I am good and ready for a little time off.
We decided to spend our first vaca in Monte Verde and La Fortuna. Monte Verde is a little mountain town in central Costa Rica, right smack in the middle of a cloud forest, while La fortuna if famous for its views of an active volcano. With only 2 days in each, we decided it best to rent a car, not to mention the fact that the buses down here are less than desirable mode of transportation.
Upon our arrival in Monte Verde, we found a nice little hotel to stay in just outside the town for only $30 a night. Our logic behind this was that it would be quieter than staying right in the heart of things and so it was……until about 9pm, it was around then that the dog choir started their nightly performance. But it gets better! Besides being able to enjoy the soothing sound of hounds howling each night, for free I might add, we were also treated to a solo performance by the confused rooster, beginning at about 4 am and going straight through until early evening the next day. Needless to say, I have made it my life mission to punch the guy in the face who coined the term “the rooster crows in the morning”.
Besides the unwanted entertainment however, our accommodations were quite lovely, and despite the nightly noise, we still thoroughly enjoyed our stay. After wandering around town the first night, we hit the hay early so we’d be well rested for our adventures the next day. We started our day with a zip-line canopy tour, something which Monte Verde has become quite well known for. The tour consists of a series of about 15 platforms set up about 150m off the ground, in the canopy of the cloud forest. You then zip-line from platform to platform on cables, with some hiking in between. There was also a tarzan swing which is exactly as it sounds, a massive swing that begins with an ~30 ft free fall, before catapulting you up 30 ft in the opposite direction. The whole tour took about 3 hours and it ended with the “Superman” a 2 km long cable harnesses to your back, giving you the sensation of flying through the air.
The canopy tour was unbelievable but our day wasn’t over yet! We then went to a reptile center (I know you’re thinking we visited some of my exes here but it literally was a center for reptiles), where after some subtle flirting, I got up close and personal with a massive toad, a jigsaw turtle and a snapping turtle! We also arrived just in time for dinner and were treated to buffet of live mice, it was actually only the snakes that were eating but we got to watch it in all its abhorrent glory.
After the reptile center, Bhavisha and I went back to the hotel to get dolled up for our first date. I know, usually you do the dating thing before you actually go on vacation with someone, but I’ve always liked to do things a little different. There was a great little restaurant in town we’d heard tons about which was built around a large tree, swiss family Robinson-style, and after checking out the interior earlier that day, we knew we had to check it out! Dinner was fabulous and although we had big plans of going out, between the wine, and the adventures earlier in the day, we were beyond tired (could it be that I’m getting old???.......Naaaaaah!) Besides, we had a long day of driving ahead of is the next day as it was off to La Fortuna!
Had the roads been paved, it would have probably only taken us about 45 mins to travel from Monte Verde to La Fortuna, but for those of you who’ve spent any time in Central America, you know that what’s 45 mins in Canada means 4 hours down here! The scenery was breathtaking however so we enjoyed every moment (although I’m positive that Bhavisha enjoyed it slightly more than I did because she had the joy of getting to listen to my much anticipated rendition of several well-known artists. LUCKY!)
We stayed at a beautiful hotel in La Fortuna and decided to begin the recreational activities early, but if our room number was a sign of things to come (ahem…..#69), recreational activities were inevitable. After settling into our room, we set out to visit the infamous La Fortuna volcanic heated hot springs. For only $20, I let Bhavisha watch me prance around in a bikini for the better part of the night AND we got dinner too! The hot springs were incredible!!! There were over 20 pools, ranging in temperature from really hot to pretty effin cold. Although we had plans of heading out afterward and getting jiggy, we were so exhausted after our dip, we quite literally went back to the hotel and crashed. The next day was spent just wandering around town and browsing through the local shops. We enjoyed a nice dinner and again hit the hay early because we were on the road again early the next day to head back to the park.
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