It’s Easter “week” here in Costa Rica. Much of the country shuts down for the entire week, kind of like spring break back home. School’s out and many of the businesses close their doors for the entire week. Having said that, it means destination vacation spots are booked up and highways are going to be busy all week.
So I started the week getting caught up on laundry, it was time. Was a little surprised to find out the washing machine didn’t work so I had to wash some by hand. Hopefully it’ll be a long time before I ever have to do it again. I didn’t know it at the time, but Donna had a new one coming soon.
As it turned out, the washer showed up the very next day. Oh well. If I hadn’t done my laundry it would have been another week.
Here’s some photos taken over the next few days.
La Fortuna is only seventy kilometers north of Angel Valley yet it took two hours to drive there. Roads so twisty that the speed limits ranged from 40 to 50 KPH only. On the way in there was a rear ender incident that I went by. The van driver looked pretty upset and was taking pictures of the two vehicles. No need for me to stop and gawk.
The driver of the van was still at the scene and another guy had stopped so did I. He told me that there were two young kids in the car and as soon as they plowed into the van they grabbed their beer and just took off on foot. On the way home it started to rain and I got soaked for a few miles. Then the rain stopped and in a few miles I was dry again. Also had a bit of fun riding with locals that came up on me along the way. Fun, fun, fun. Then it started raining again and they stopped. I was in “get home” mode now and just kept going.
Remember that “bit of bacon just for fun” that I picked up at the market several days ago? Well I must of eaten too much because waking up in pain on April 15th I knew immediately that gout had hit, big time. Of course this was something I was familiar with and knew I hadn’t packed my “special pills”. The good news is there are pharmacies everywhere and all I had to was get some help online with translations and find a pharmacy. They don’t close for holidays. You sure don’t need any prescriptions here and buying the drugs I needed was simple. Within six hours of popping my first pill I could feel an improvement. Thank goodness.
The oil change cost $7000 colons or less than $17.oo CDN. I’m okay with that and the motorcycle was much happier.
I’m on my way to the Monteverde cloud forest today and went through torrential downpours, hot sunshine, thunder and lightening along the way. Traveling along the Pan American highway there was a steady stream of trucks on this two lane highway. The main artery through Central America carries a lot of product. Along the way I found a nice little stop for some lunch.
With the clouds getting darker and rain close again I thought this would be a good time to stop and “refill my tank”. If I was going to be riding in more rain going into Monteverde I would be doing it on a full stomach. A delicious salad and a bowl of chicken soup and I was ready to roll. In the ninety minute stop over it went from sun to torrential downpour and back to sun again.
The last 15 miles were gravel and not too bad a shape until the last couple of miles which were a bit ugly. A very beautiful countryside.
The rain held off until the last five miles so all in all it’s been a wonderful day on the road. Once in Monteverde the roads in town are all paved and I popped into the Tourist info centre to find out exactly where the Hotel El Viandante was. It didn’t take too long to find it, but their sign was a little small and off the road a bit so I missed it the first time. I was able to park my motorcycle next door in the owners carport which was in a gated yard so it was very safe. I liked the set up and the people were friendly so I booked both nights here.
Breakfast included, it was ham and eggs this morning and a wonderful cup of coffee. Locally grown coffee and some of the best I’ve had on this trip. After breakfast I booked a tour to Aventura. They would be picking me up at 10:15 and taking me up to the longest zip line in Central America. Never done anything like that before.
Adrenalin will probably always be my favorite natural drug and after a trip through the Aventura Adventure Park it was pumping through every vein in my body. WOW! Never jumped out of a plane before, never bungee jumped before, and never had a chance to ride on a zip line before….
Until today. Not only did I get to ride some zip lines, but also got to fly like Superman on the longest zip line in Central America. It’s also, second longest in the world, way above the forest canopy, over 1500 meters long, and you get to do it Superman style, meaning you just hang there and ride. They also saved the best for last, the Tarzan swing. You start on a platform that’s very high in the air, they get you all strapped in and then you just step off of the platform. That feeling of free falling for the first little bit was so exhilarating and then you start swinging, big time. Then they slowly reel you in and lower to the ground. Back at the reception area everyone on the tour was able to buy all the pictures that were taken along the way and they’d put them either on a CD or a USB if preferred.
Heading off this morning to complete a loop. North to Tilaran, including 25 km. of gravel, and then around the Arenal Lake to go by the Arenal Volcano, then back to La Fortuna and then home to Angel Valley. What fun I’d say.
Pt.-2 is now complete.
It’s just different way of life. I’m glad you’re enjoying your adventure, to bad you’re by yourself.
You would have loved to be here, but trust me Gordy, it was great fun despite being alone!