In a bid to keep this blog on track I amwriting up the weekends I havent yet blogged on. The last weekend in March was a fab weekend, but was unfortunatley marred by me losing my debit card and left me a little diisgruntled, and thus less willing to reflect!
However since I did have a lovely trip I want to write about it. So on Friday, as per usual I head off after work to the bus station. There I headed on the La Fortuna and the hostel I had booked into for two nights. The hostel is one of the nicer ones I have stayed in here and has a swimming pool, which was very welcome as it was so hot that day. After arriving and sitting for the pool for a while I left to go on a ´Lava Tour´. This is an oppertunity to view the volcano Arenal at night and get a glimpse of the lava rocks flowing out at night. The reserve itself is closed at night so I needed to sign up for a bus ride which takes you to designated viewing points after dark. When the bus arrived we trooped out and before we knew it the sky exploded with orange and amber embers. The slow rumbling and crackling sound grew and layers of sparks flowed down. The top of the volcano couldnt be seen in the dark so I had to start at the darkness until a rumble was heard and orange sparks, like sparklers appeared in front of me. It was so odd to be standing watching a volcano erupt, me watching a volcano erupt! This country is so extreme, I just keep becoming more and more complacement with the beauty and natural wonders. I have become too used to seeing these things every week.
I had arranged to travel up to the wetland reserve of Cano Negro on the Saturday, which is about an hour from the Nicaraguan boarder. The journey took 2 hours so we left at 7 am. The landscape up through Costa Rica change dramatically through the journey and become much flatter and more agricultural. There were fields and fields of sugarcane and pinapples, with big processing plant dotte about. This area is full of immigrants from other parts of costa rica, both legal and illegal, so there are many police checks along the roads.
I had chosen to visit Cano Negro as it is one of the best reserves for wildlife spotting. It has a large river running through the reserve which attracts a huge variety of migatory birds, the biggest variety of birds in the whole of costa rica. It is also a relatively small reserve which means the rainforrest isn´t so dense and the animals are easier to spot. I had signe up for a 3 hour boat trip down the river with guides to help spot all the wildlife. I was not disappointed and within 5 minutes I was snapping away like a crazy person!. There were hundreds of caimans (small crocodiles), river turtles, igaunas, big lizards, hundreds of types of birds such as amazon kingfishers, hummingbirds, egrets, storks, I cant even remember the rest!
The best thing was one guide spotted a three toed sloth high in a tree, but not only that it was MOVING!!!! I have seen quite a few slots now since being here but I have only ever seen them curled up and sleeping. This sloth was actually coming down the tree, it was the funniest thing. They are so so ugly and it litrally took 15 mins to move down 4 branches. The guide said it was coming down to poo, they only do this once a week so this was a rare sight! Not only this but we came accross a family of squirrel monkeys playing in the trees, over 10 of them with babies. Later we only saw white faced monkeys and howler monkeys. It was such an amazing day, I had plucked up the courage to talk a bit in spanish with the guide who had no English and I managed to hold some kind of conversation. It was so hot further up north and by the end of three hours on the boat I was well and truly fried. At the end of the trip the guide asked the people on the boat to sit for 2 mins in silence to show respect to the rainforrest and listen to all its sounds. It was just breathtaking, so loud but calming. I felt a million miles away from Scotland, yet really at home and happy. Nature is just overpowering in Costa Rica, and the people here are so protective of it. I really respect Costa Rican´s love for their country and its landscape and animals. For a country which struggles economically, everyone still feels passionate about the environment.
The trip took the whole day and I arrived back at La Fortuna in the early evening. I had arranged to meet a friend from the programme and go to some hot springs called Tabacon, which are expensive but the most natural and nearest to the volcano. However once we arrived at the hot springs I realised I had lost my debit card and I deducted I had left it in the ATM machine!!!! Oh I was not happy and ran to make a collect call to mum and dad for help. I just felt like such an idiot- me! Do something as stupid as that! It definatley knocked my confidence for the last few days, and is partly to blame for my lack of blogging. Coming out here alone and then beginning to get the hang of things, speaking the odd bit of spanish, talking to guides, travelling alone, I just felt like I had reversed all that. I felt like a kid, who had made a stupid mistake.
I am feeling better now but it definately knocked my confidence.
That was all two weeks ago so things have been better over the last week. When I returned to ciudad quesada that weekend, I instantly felt better, it feels like I am coming home here. The staff are so friendly and I knew Jocelyn would be home so I felt welcomed and not at all lonely. It is really comforting to think that in 2 months, somewhere accross the world can become a little corner of home.
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