Putting the Verde in Monteverde.

So I'm sitting on top of the observation tower in Santa Elena Cloud Forrest Reserve in Monteverde, Costa Rica watching the clouds roll into said forrest. I can see Volcano Arenal looming in the distance. I haven't encountered another human being the entire morning as I hiked through the dense forrest with vines and epiphytes hanging over the path and cicadas and strange birds chirping through the thick undergrowth. Me and the tower are the only sign of human life as far as the eye could. And I thought: Well, fuck. How did this happen?

Let me tell you. Mmmhmmm, nothing like en medias re. (spelling?)

MONDAY, It wasn't easy.
To get to Monteverde from San Jose involves getting to a bus at 6:30 in the morning in a rather unsavory part of the city. I got there early to ensure that I could get a seat for the 5 hour bus ride through windy and poorly preserved mountain roads. But unfortunately, the early con artist bird catchs the gringo worm. Waiting for the bus, I got scamed. Got scamed bad. I won't go into it now, because it's a little too embarrasing to broadcast over the internet (that says a lot) and I'm trying to put it out of my head to preserve the illusion that I'm a semi-competent person... Long story short, I got on the bus I needed (at a different terminal then I expected) and ended up paying a lot more for it than I had planned. Loyal readers (namely, Eddie and Rachel) will have to tune in for more juicy details later on. Basically, I'm an ediot, but a little bit wiser after this experience.

After the long bus ride, I arrived in Santa Elena in Monteverde Province. It's bizarre that Santa Elena even exists given how remote its location. But in the heart of the mountains (situated between two National Parks) is this tiny village bustling with travel agencies, restaurants, hotels, and lots and lots of gringos. It kind of feels like a tacky ski village in Vermont, just replace skiing with nature and snobby people from Connecticut and niosy people from New York with snobby from Germany and noisy people from the United States. Being here has made me feel all sorts of complex feelings and thoughts about the ethics of ecotourism. I'm saving that for next entry, so get ready. Who likes white, liberal guilt!? I sure do.

I checked in to this absolute shithole called Sleepers Sleep Cheaper Hostel, that costs $6 for the night. The sheets (under the thin fleece Pooh Bear blankets) were a little less than clean in my tiny hole of a room. But it turned out to be a really great place for less tangible reasons, mostly having to do with the proprietor Ronny and his family... More on them next entry too.

On Ronny's urging, that night I went on a guided night tour of one of the private reserves near Santa Elena. It was terrific. Because it was raining, I was the only loser to show. So it turned out to be a private tour. Me and my guide Maurice, tromped through the forrest in the dark and the rain searching for nocturnal animals. Maurice was incredibly friendly and knowlegeable and with his keen eye we saw (among other things): a praying mantis, shoulder spotted rain frogs, two rainbow beak toucans, and a side striped pit viper (one of the most venomous in Costa Rica). My day had vastly improved since the mystery incident at the San Jose bus terminal.

TUESDAY
I woke up early to go to the Santa Elena reserve. After yet another bumpy ride. I got to the reserve around 9:00 and spent until 1:00 hiking through the forrest and hanging out on the observation tower. The forrest is so thick with so many plants growing on other plants and hanging down over the trail, I could imagine that if I stood still for long enough the forrest would colonize me and suck me into the undergrowth.

At one point in the walk I saw an agouti, basically a big jungle rodent. Pretty exciting.

I had basically walked all the trails by 1pm, and my ride back to the hostel wasn't coming until 4. So I spent 3 hours on the porch of the Reserve cafe reading about Pinochet and watching the rain fall in the jungle. I've become a big fan of watching the rain fall, I do it basically every day.

WEDNESDAY (today)
I'm writing this email from an internet place in the town of Fortuna. It's to the north of Snta Elena and the base of Arenal. This morning involved taking a van through the rolling cow dotted green hills of Monteverde region to Laguna Arenal. I boarded a boat to cross the the lake. As the boat approched the other shore, Volcano Arenal shot smoke into the air above us. I got in another van that took me to Fortuna where I'm staying in Cabinas Arsol, and I think I'm paying too much for the wrong room. Later today, I'm hiking up to Arenal. Should be exciting.

So for next time, I promise thoughts on:
- Ethics of ecotourism
- La Familia Sleepers Sleep Cheaper
- Updates on Arenal
- The Gingo Blues

All the best, hope you all are well, keep the comments coming, they're fun to read,
Danny