The reason it all began...

I am now in Monteverde, Costa Rica, which (ironically) was the original place i had in mind before it quickly expanded into an all Central America trip! I had first thought that I would come here and volunteer in the Quaker school. Now, being here, I kind of wish I had done that. Ok I don't wish I had done it, but I wish I could still do it. My track coach from Westtown is here teaching and he told me they are looking to hire a social studies teacher and would I be interested! I thought about it for two seconds before remembering how excited I am about going back to school in September. However, this is a really awesome place and I would love to stay if circumstances were different.

Costa Rica is more expensive than the rest of Central America so I had a bit of sticker shock when I first got here. $2 for a beer instead of $1. Ugh.  But I feel like its getting me ready to be back in Canada so I guess its ok. Costa Rica is a lot more developed than anywhere else in Central America. It deffinitely doesn't feel as "third-world". 

Anyway. Monteverde. Where ecotourism all began. They definitely have the tourist game down. So many hotels and offices selling tours for the cloud forest, coffee farms, canopy tours.. Its a bit overwhelming in such a tiny town. I have been busy trying to make the most of my few days here. First I did the zipline canopy tour, and that was pretty awesome. 14 cables with a total distance of 4 km! It was so fun. The best part was the Tarzan swing where they clip you into a rope and you just drop and swing back and forth over 40 meters or so of jungle. Then the Superman zipline was pretty great. You fly facing down over the valley on one of the longest cables. It was great.

Last night I went for a guided night tour and I saw a couple of snakes, a porcupine, and a sloth! That was really cool. I have no idea how the guide knows where to look for stuff because hes just swinging his flashlight around and suddenly hes like "Everyone over here!" and then we all scramble over to look at something in the light of his flashlight. The sloth was definitely the highlight.

Today I went for a hike through the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. I didnt see any animals but the vegetation was incredible. And being in the clouds was really cool. After that I hiked down to the village of Monteverde to meet my old track coach Jonathan. He showed my the Friends' school and told me a bit about the history of the area and the quaker community here. We had a nice lunch.

Now I am sitting drinking delicious coffee and writing this while looking out over the valley and the slightly larger town of Santa Elena. Not bad.

Oh and I nearly forgot, one of the best things about being here was my sleeping situation. The last two nights I have been in a "dorm" that is supposed to sleep 4 people but I was the only one! I forgot how nice to have privacy like that. And the temperature here is perfect for sleeping, its so fresh and cool and also quiet. I am having the best sleeps. Especially after being active in the day. Today there are more people in the dorm but I don't mind. I am very well-rested.

One more day here then back to the beach!