Monteverde

While my colleagues were in town a few weeks ago, we decided to brave the notoriously  bad roads to Monteverde to have the experience of seeing the cloud forest and hanging bridges.

Monteverde is high up in the mountains on the other side of Lake Arenal from Arenal volcano. The only way in and the only way out is a dirt road. A really, not so comfortable, dirt road. I've never been because I just didn't think Sally May (the Hyundai) could take it. So, it's always been the just out of my reach vacation destination. But, nothing makes you do the things you've been putting off more than company! So, a few weeks ago when my colleagues were in town for a team meeting, my friend Daniella borrowed the 4x4 we needed for the roads and we took off to Monteverde...for a little less than 24 hours!

It is hard to get there. Not only do the dirt roads slow you down considerably, but so does getting lost. And getting lost is probably the easiest part of the journey since most places in Costa Rica don't believe in signs for some reason. So we, like every other tourist that has never been there before, took about an hour and a half detour down the wrong dirt road. That was fun...

The area known as Monteverde is actually a couple of small towns outside of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. In the 1950's a group of Quakers and general pacifists from Alabama moved to the area to sustain themselves on dairy farming and get away from the Korean draft in the US. Even though the area is one of the big tourist attractions in the country, the Quakers and other locals have fought the paving of the roads into Monteverde in order to make it harder to reach and keep the tourism numbers low. However, as of last week, it looks like they have finally lost the battle. The roads to Monteverde are to be paved in the coming year(s). It is a beautiful area and town, so hopefully it can maintain some of it's mysterious charm, even with easier access to outsiders.

The big draw is the Cloud Forest Preserve, and the big "thing to do" is walk through the preserve on hanging bridges. And by hanging, I mean bafflingly long metal bridges that seem to just be suspended in the air. My brain can't even begin to figure out the engineering that went into these things. They are a marvel, and a little scary! My theory on things like high suspended bridges and zip lines in Costa Rica is that they are always going to be super safe - killing a tourist does not bring in the revenue quite as well as keeping them safe and happy, right?

I should be ashamed of myself. Scratch that. I am ashamed of myself. I left my good camera at home for this trip (on accident.) So, I apologize in the advance for the quality of my photos...taken with my phone...

Until the next adventure,
Amber

Montezuma

Immediately, and I do mean immediately as in about 26 hours after I returned to Costa Rica from the Christmas break, my neighbors and I took off to Montezuma - a small beach town at the bottom of the Nicoya Peninsula. I had been hearing about Montezuma for months - the waterfall, the endless beaches, the way it is kind of "out of the way," etc. So, off we went on a Friday night around 6:00 pm to catch the ferry at Puntarenas, across the Gulf of Nicoya, and to parts unknown to me and Sally May (the Hyundai.)


As I mentioned, we first had to catch the ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera. For a car and 4 people it costs about $30 USD. This is us on the ferry.

Once off the ferry, it took about 2 hours to get to the beach town of Montezuma. It's not a bad drive - mostly rural areas. But the last hour is on dirt roads, which are tricky to drive at night when you can't fully see the pot holes. So, it was slow going, but we eventually made it, checked into our hotel and went straight to bed. 

As I mentioned above, Montezuma is known for it's beautiful waterfall and beaches. So, after a nice breakfast with monkeys on Saturday morning, we took off to the waterfall first. 

A lazy monkey watching us eat breakfast. He was only about 5 feet from the table here. 

                       

There is a "trail" to the waterfall. But most of it looks like this. You basically walk along the rocks in the river to get to your destination. It's not easy going, but it is fun!

                                   

And, at the end of the 30 minute trek, is a waterfall oasis in the middle of the jungle that is absolutely stunning. We joined the other locals and tourists there in swimming under the waterfall, jumping off a rock next to it, and just relaxing and enjoying the surroundings. 

                        

After a quick lunch in town it was time to explore the beaches. The most interesting thing about the beaches in Montezuma is that there are many small beaches along a trail and they are all different. Some are covered in finely ground shells, while others are covered in beautiful multi-colored rocks.   

  

Whilst laying on my towel enjoying the sun, I ran across this little guy. I named him Herbert. 

And, you wouldn't be a respectable Gringo in Costa Rica if you weren't wildly amused by monkeys just hanging out around town. In some areas here, they really are just like squirrels back in NC. The locals are not phased by them anymore, but people who aren't from "around here" are always fascinated and taking pictures. So, because I'm not from "around here," here's a few more pictures. 

On Sunday we hung out on the beach for a little bit and then drove back to the ferry at Paquera and onward to San Jose. It was a really nice, relaxing, and just easy weekend. And, a place I would visit again and 100% recommend!

-Amber

Jolly Old England

Normally I reserve this blog for my Costa Rican experiences and travels through Latin America. But today, I have to give a little time for my recent trip to England. Much to my mother's dismay, I flew to the United Kingdom right before Christmas and made it home on Christmas Eve (luckily!)

As always, I had a wonderful time with my friend and mentor Graham! We spent most of the time working, but I was able to capture some really beautiful shots of London at night that I wanted to share. Enjoy!

 The "Dynamic Duo"

                                                                          Leicester Square

 Along the Thames...

       

Oh, and did I mention we saw The Beatles in concert? Ok, it was a show, but still pretty impressive!

-Amber