Wednesday 12 December 2012

oh la fortuna!


Making my way north the next day, hopping on a shuttle bus outside Holiday Inn Express as the radio played  'i feel the earth move' by Carole King. We tourist zipped our way through...


Grecia - The place that has the cool metal church with the apparently once moveable walls and once voted cleanest town in Latin America.

Sarchi
With the world's largest ox cart- painted by the ox cart drivers to attract the ladies, despite the smell of rotting coffee beans. and the huge tourist warehouse co-op gift shop with sticker for each of the tourists!

 We stopped at La Iguana restaurant for lunch where I tried my first Gallo pinto and fried plantains- 'yeah quite nice' I thought, aware of how much of it I might end up eating during my stay, as I watched an enormous Iguana being fed fruit as it sat on a table outside the restaurant.

La Fortuna
The volcano was covered in clouds as I arrived with the group. They all got out to take pictures and then dropped me off outside the hostel, before they headed back to Alajuela.The hostel was almost outside of town and I'd decided to stay for 4 nights. It was up until that point the nicest hostel i'd stayed in. It had a pool, comfy beds,ensuite dorms, and generally chilled out atmosphere. ahhhhh!

Settling in over the next few days I met my roommates, as they came and went. moving on to places anew, enjoying sociable meals and bottles of rum together into the wee small hours, sharing stories of where we were going, where we had been and the people we met along the way. People from USA, Oz, Germany, Switzerland,Spain and Israel to name a few.

I quickly realised that i was being SO touristy, spending money on tours and trips to places near and far, but I was enjoying the chance to get used to my new surroundings with little pressure and some guiding hands.

I took wildlife river tours where I saw my first toucans and sloths from afar, caymans and many river birds, as well as my first leaf cutter ant line! A volcano hike to see old lava flows and rocks, a night time visit to a very relaxing hot spring and a long walk home from a local waterfall. Well, after cheating and getting a taxi there! My taxi driver was very friendly and asked me lots of questions in Spanish and was very patient with me as I tried to reply.

I tried my first Ceviche -yum!- and though i didn't realise it at the time I felt an aftershock of the earthquake while I was sitting in the restaurant eating my Ceviche!

My mum told me about it the day after...of course!

 'oh yeah...I thought it was just the light fitting being blown by the air conditioner' oops! :)

x




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