Santa Elena y Monteverde

The trip to come to Santa Elena from Puerto Viejo was very long - a five hour bus ride to San José and another 4.5 hours to Santa Elena from San José.  But the journey was worth it.  It is a gorgeous small town high in the mountains -- the weather is much cooler but also a bit wetter given we are technically in the jungle.

We are staying at "Cabanas Eddy" which is a bit pricey, but has hot water for showers and free coffee all day!  Also, the balcony views are unbeatable and the staff is friendly and helpful.

The first day here we enjoyed a hike through the surrounding area which took us to a large fig tree and you can actually climb up the inside!  It was pretty unique.  In the afternoon we went zip lining through the canopy, which included an 800m "Superman" cable that pits you belly down over a traverse (maybe 300 feet off the ground) and also a "Tarzan Swing".  This swing -- haha wow -- to get to this swing you had to walk out over a rope bridge high above the canopy (250 ft) to a small platform.  Instead of a "swing" it was more of a 200 foot free fall which then extended into a swing.  It was crazy!  When I reached the platform I told the guides, "hook me up fast and push me off before I look down".  They were all to eager to oblige...and I'm so glad they did!  Scared no doubt, but as most things usually are, so worth it in the end!

The next day we visited a humming bird feeder in the morning with ten or twelve species just flying all around you.  In the afternoon we took a tour of a coffee farm, Café Monteverde, where my cousin Alexis interned one summer.  As the small world would have it, the guide (a young woman in her 20s) had a mother from Wisconsin and grandparents in Cannon Falls (right next to Northfield, MN where I went to St Olaf).  Crazy!  Oh, and yes of course, the coffee was truly delicious!

Tomorrow we are getting up early to head to Montezuma on the Peninsula Nicoya -- the journey will include a bus-ferry-bus combination which shouldn't take too long, and we've heard wonderful things about the area so it should be worth the trip.