La Fortuna, Arenal

 The next stop on the Costa Rica tour was La Fortuna, the small town at the base of the famous Arenal Volcano. Arenal Volcano was spewing up lava on a regular basis until about 5 years ago which is why La Fortuna is such a big tourist attraction. People still hike up and around it though, but we opted out of this - we've been up a few volcanoes now and it was kinda raining most of the time we were there. Instead we were happy we got this one brief glimpse of the very top of the volcano. Apparently it doesn't happen very often. One of the staff members at our hostel went running around asking everyone if they'd seen the top of the volcano yet, so everyone piled out into the street to see the top for a fleeting moment.

Our first full day here we visited the Ecocentro Danus, a little wildlife reserve where we could add a few extra critters to our "Seen That" list. We walked about 3km in some light rain to make it there. This was easier than trying to figure out some transport.

There were flowers that I'd never seen before

I enjoyed the butterfly garden way more than I thought I was going to. We actually got to see some butterflies coming out of their cocoons! This was fascinating and terrifying. I don't know why but a lot of them seemed to be sick, they were just dropping out of their cocoons into puddles of their own liquid, jerking around until they died. I hope to one day see a healthy butterfly emerge from a cocoon.

This guy was struggling, a guide too him from the cupboard of cocoon (where they are all stored until they "hatch") and into the garden. When we came back to check on him he was gone, hopefully this means he eventually got his wings pumped up. 

Some of them got nice and personal

It was like watching a horror movie

Feeding time!

We enjoyed meeting some new birds

Even though I've seen heaps of squirrels now I still find them exciting.

On our second day we opted for a nice relaxing day after the big walk the day before. There are heaps of hot springs around La Fortuna thanks to Arenal Volcano. They range from ridiculously pricey resorts to free swimming holes. We took a middle option - $12 for an all day pass to a park with hot springs, cold pools and water slides. We ended up spending about 5 hours there, surprising ourselves.

On the way back from the hot springs we shared a taxi with a lady who had had 3 different tours cancelled on her due to the weather. This confirmed that we had made the right decision to sit in hot water all day. 

This sign was all over the park as a friendly reminder to not get carried away

Pura Vida

Monteverde

Our first port of call in Costa Rica was Monteverde. Only minutes after being in the town of Santa Elena we felt the totally different vibe that would be through out the country compared to the previous Central American countries we had visited. Costa Rica can be pretty damn expensive compared to it's neighbouring countries which can be pretty tough on the backpacking circuit and seems to take a lot of people by surprise. But you know, I think we should all stop complaining about it as comparatively Costa Rica also has a generally higher standard of living, so lets stop wishing people were poorer so we could have cheaper holidays. There's also perks like a lot nicer public buses (none of those Chicken Buses down here) and you can drink the water. YOU CAN DRINK THE WATER!

View from the Bus

The day we got to Monteverde we signed up for a guided night tour to check out some of the local wildlife. Since we got to Mexico we were expecting to see animals everywhere, but the image in our heads didn't quite match what we were seeing. You go on a three day hike you think you're going to see more than some birds and a cow! Costa Rica is making up for that, the wildlife here really is amazing, just how everyone pictures it.

On our slightly intense night tour (guide was constantly telling us to run to keep up with him) we saw our very first sloth! He was sleeping (of course) and literally swinging in the breeze. We also saw a few kinkajous (like a cross between a cat and a monkey), a green eyed frog, two types of toucans, a green viper and an orange kneed tarantula.

Two Toed Sloth (I like to call them Piggy Sloths)

Emerald Toucanet asleep

Green Viper - this is the snakes attack position our guide tells us and he leads us closer to take some photos

Orange Kneed Tarantula 

Day 2 was the Extremo Canopy tour. I've done some zip-lining before but I think this might be the best. The views were awesome and there was some unexpected adrenaline rushes.

This guy was hanging out outside the Canopy Tour office

Some of the awesome views during the ziplines

This canopy tour included more than just some zip-lining, there was also repelling, the superman (where you're attached to the line so you can fly through the air like superman) and the Tarzan Swing. The Tarzan Swing may be one of the scariest things I've ever done and hearing everyone's screams while you're lining up for your turn definitely didn't help! I'll let this video explain what it is. 

Day 3 we headed to the Monteverde Cloud Forest to see if we could spot some more animals. Much to our disappointment we spent about 4 hours trudging around and didn't see much at all. But what can you expect when there's hundreds of visitors all walking around the same paths? About 2 minutes after we got into the park we saw a Coati (or nose bears as we've been calling them) running across the paved area in front of the restaurant. When we later came back to that area for a break we saw two of them running around. I have a theory they're trained to hang around the front to get you excited before 4 hours of seeing nothing. 

But on the bright side the forest itself was pretty awesome, although I can't say much for the views - being in a cloud and all. If you ever make it here I wish you good luck with your animal spotting, some people do get lucky. 

The Coati who greeted us at the gate

What it looks like to be in a Cloud! This is actually the look out!

The hostel that we stayed at advertised having their own sloth that visits regularly so every day we would walk a little down the street to search the trees where we were told he hung out. Eventually on our last day we spotted him (only because I saw a huge group of tourists taking photos of something from our room).

The Local Sloth

We left Monteverde looking forward to the many more animal encounters we would be having around the country. 

Pura Vida

Travel Tips - Getting from Liberia to Santa Elena/Monteverde

From Nicaragua we knew the first place we wanted to get to was Monteverde but we were having trouble finding any information about it. So to give a little back this is how we did it:

After crossing the border from Nicaragua to Costa Rica at Penas Blancas we caught a bus to Liberia. There are whole bunch of ticket offices at the border so it's very easy to find an ongoing bus. We picked Liberia as our destination because we knew it was a transport hub and were hoping to figure out our next move from there. We were lucky that the owner of the hostel we stayed in seemed to know his buses. 

From Liberia you take the 6am Pulmitan Bus to San Jose but you get off at La Irma. We ended up having to pay for the full fare to San Jose (about $8) because we didn't have enough Spanish to properly explain but if your Spanish is better than ours you might be able to pay the partial fare. La Irma is basically a Petrol Station at a T-Intersection. We got there about 7:30am. You just have to let the bus driver know and remember to remind him maybe an hour in. Our's knew what was up so it was easy. 

We had time to have a coffee before heading over to the red bus shelter where we waited until about 9:40am to catch the bus that comes from down south. It has Monteverde written on it so you can't miss it. We got into Santa Elena before noon and it cost about $3. 

You could probably take the 7am Pulmitan Bus to San Jose and still make it but we took the 6am bus on the hostel owner's advice to be safe, you never really know when these buses will show up. The shelter has a sign saying that the buses to Monteverde come at 10am and 3pm, although we were told the last bus is more like 2:30pm.

Happy Travels

And just in case my description wasn't clear enough have some pictures too!

The Intersection

The Red Bus Shelter

Red marks the spot of the bus shelter an blue marks the spot of the cafeteria

Isla de Ometepe

Isla de Ometepe is a pretty unique island made up of twin Volcanoes sitting in the middle of the largest lake in Central America, Lake Nicaragua, and was the final stop on our tour through Nicaragua.

To get here from the Surfing turtle was a bit of a mission. I honestly didn't think we were going to make it onto the Island within one day but we did it after 9 different modes of transport! It went something like this:

Horse and carriage to get off Surfing Turtle Island > Boat to the mainland > Chicken Bus to Leon > Chicken Bus to the Bus Terminal > Shuttle to Managua > Taxi to Bus Terminal > Chicken Bus to San Jorge > Ferry to Moyogapla, Ometepe > Chicken Bus to Merida

The view we had as we approached the Island on a pretty rough Ferry

 We ended up in Merida on the Southern half of the Island because that was the end of the line on the bus and it was dark so we couldn't actually tell if there was actually anywhere to stay out there.

Day 1 on Ometepe was spent hiking for about 2 hours or more to see a waterfall. The signs say it's only 3 km but it is definitely not 3 km, as everyone exclaims as they finally catch sight of the waterfall. We spend some time being refreshed in it's cool waters before heading back down the train for some well deserved lunch.

I had just made it to the waterfall and I was feeling pretty annoyed about the signs lying to me

Alex on the other hand was straight in there enjoying the rainbow

Island Life

On Day Two we decided to cycle around the southern half of the Island, definitely a good choice after a hike the previous day.  It turned out to be a 35km ride and took us about 6 hours (most people said it takes about 4). The roads in the middle start to get pretty bad, just lots of loose rocks that even the local buses refuse to take. I had lots of moments where I was pretty sure I was going to die of hunger because I couldn't bike back to civilization but it was worth it for the good moments. Like high fiving local kids as you ride past, getting momentum from a good down hill run, seeing all the pigs the inhabit the island and the views of the volcanoes.

Me taking a much needed rest - I don't know why I keep getting myself into these things

Volcan Concepcion

Day 3 we moved on to Playa Santo Domingo to a small taste of the beach and have a deserved day of relaxation. The day of relaxation included getting up early for a crowded Chicken Bus (that actually had some literal chickens on it!), finding a smelly room to sleep in that night, taking an easy 3km stroll to Ojo de Agua (some developed springs), easy 3km stroll back, stroll up the beach, food, destroy a giant cockroach who was trying to be the 3rd roommate and sleep. 

"Relaxing" in the cool springs

Local Wildlife - White-throated Magpie-Jay

For this week's Political Column a big thanks goes to guest writer Alex!

On Christmas Eve we stumbled upon an article about a possible new canal in Nicaragua which would dwarf Panama canal. At the time it sounded like a 'possibility' although it's starting to sound like the process is running at full steam. The shipping route will pass the southern side of Ometepe (where we spent most of our time) and will likely remove much of the natural attractions that make it a tourist magnet. 

The development is highly controversial as it could well be a wrecking ball to the local wildlife yet it provides hope to many in what is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere. On top of this, it's being run by a Chinese company who are shrouded in mystery and who officially have no connection with the Chinese government (which is considered highly unlikely by some). For one more layer of controversy, the last time a foreign company was allowed special privileges in Lake Nicaragua, a Japanese company wiped out the lake's bull sharks whilst making fin soup.

We only had the chance to speak to one local regarding the developments. Our previously happy tour guide took on a serious demeanor and said he was 'ready to fight' to save the Lake. He did acknowledge he may be biased due to his means of living relying on the waters. At the same time, there is substantial weight behind the fears of many Nicaraguans.

If you're interested, here is a link to one of many informed articles The Guardian has published on the matter. 

Leon

Compared to Granada we spent only a short time in Leon, maybe this is why we enjoyed it so much? It was a pretty packed few days. We had seen on the Quetzaltrekkers website that they would be hosting a full moon hike up Volcan Telica which worked out perfectly with when we were going to be there and I was keen to try out my new hiking boots. So the very first thing we do after getting into Leon is book onto the Full Moon hike, which turns out to be a day earlier than we had expected - so straight into the action!

We were due at the Quetzaltrekkers office at 9:30pm for dinner and a brief. We tried our best to nap during the day in preparation but it just wasn't happening. There was just a lot of coffee drunk instead. Telica is one of the many active volcanoes in this part of the world with an elevation of 1061m. Compared to the previous hiking we've done this felt like a nice night time stroll (Although I was still way at the back on the real uphill parts).

We left the Quetzaltrekkers office about 11pm, getting to the start point of the trek at 11:30pm. Not long after we started we found bubbling hot mud pits courtesy of Telica. The bulk of the hike was only a slight uphill so we powered through it, especially since we only had to carry day packs. Bonus! The second part of the trek is about 45 minutes of just straight up hill, after that it began to flatten off and we got our first view of the crater, back-lit by the full moon. About 3am we found ourselves walking through a camp of other hikers who had decided to spend the night at the volcano. After a quick quiet "Lunch" we headed up to the edge of the crater to see if we could spot some lava, and indeed we did. Although to our disappointment it was not a giant pit of bubbling lava like in the movies, as a friend eloquently described it was more like a bunch of people smoking in the dark. It was also pretty damn windy.

After everyone had had their fill of the volcano action we hiked over to a near-by ridge to find a good spot to watch the sun-rise. On one side of us there was the full moon behind Telica and on the other side we could see the rays of the sun start peaking out from behind neighbouring mountains. Then it was what left like a long walk back down into Leon. As we sat in the dirt waiting for the bus to take us back into town there was varying levels of exhaustion written across everyone's faces. In the open back truck everyone was head bobbing, we must have looked like a truck of drugged up gringos.

At the end of this hike my blister count was only 4 which I was pretty happy with!

Alex taking a quick nap

Sunrise

Me for Scale

After half a day of rest we were right back into the action - Volcano Boarding. The one thing you have to do when you visit Leon is Volcano Board down Cerro Negro. Volcano Boarding is just what it sounds like - you sit (or stand) on a board and slide down the face of a volcano. 

Cerro Negro

This is Cerro Negro from the base. It's a short climb at just under an hour but that doesn't mean it's easy. You have to carry your board up there with you and in the crazy winds it can act like a sail, so at all costs you have to keep your board horizontal. (A guy who did it the day before was smacked in the nose by his board before it flew away.) I fell over twice and there was a lot of stopping and bracing.

The Top of Cerro Negro

 Like I said, it was crazy windy up there. I think it might actually be the windiest place I've ever been. I was just a little bit scared of getting blown off.

But the views always make it worth it. You can see Volcan Telica off in the distance.

Now to the Volcano Boarding Part!

Alex Wiping out

Me pretty calmly coming down the hill

After all the action in Leon we decided to go chill out for a few days at a near-by beach. We stayed at the Surfing Turtle Lodge, which is on it's own little island making it a perfectly quiet spot (during the day). Although I was pretty over the food by the time we left, we were assaulted by bugs every night and we had to share the dorm room with a couple of bats we really enjoyed our time here. 

Taking the horse and cart to get off the Island.

Granada

We decided to settle down for Christmas and New Years. We picked Granada because it sounded nice and we wanted to make a decision quickly. In hind sight we spent too long there. after 10 days you get pretty sick of the same tourist drag. 

We arrived in Granada on Christmas Eve, we walked around trying to find something good to do the next day and didn't really come up with anything. No one was advertising any special Christmas Activities. I decided we could celebrate Christmas in the hostel with drink and snacks so we headed to the closest supermarket. It was heaving. I suffered a bought of claustrophobia (the heat and weird smells don't help) so all I ended up getting was a watermelon and a Gatorade because I was so thirsty. Christmas wasn't looking good. In the end we had a normal nice day, we walked around the town, had a nice lunch out and ate ice-cream. 

Boxing day was a more notable day. We took a day trip to Lago de Apoyo, which is advertised at the cleanest swim in Nicaragua. It's pretty much a lake in an old volcano crater and it was beautiful. We had a great day of swimming, kayaking and relaxing here. I think it has been one of my favourite spots in Nicaragua so far. 

Lago de Apoyo

We spent a lot of time just aimlessly wandering around Granada because we had so much time. There were a lot of beautiful churches there.

We took a boat tour to visit Las Isletas - a group of about 365 islands in Lake Nicaragua. You cruise around all these different islands, some are inhabited, some aren't. Some have multi-million mansions on them some have restaurants. Some of them are for sale if you are interested. We visited one Island with a restaurant where we had coconuts and fruit. Next on the tour was Monkey Island - this weird small island with five monkeys on it (one's a baby), they were brought there by a local scientist. Last on the trip is an island with an old Spanish fort on it.  

Monkey Island

The view of Volcan Mombacho from the Boat

We visited a museum where it depicted how the locals used to entertain themselves. I genuinely thought these were methods of torture until I read the plaque.

We took the night tour to the Masaya Volcano which I found distinctly average. I really wanted to see an active volcano and Volcan Masaya is super accessible - note the carpark in the picture below. I have a theory that the top of a volcano is much more impressive if you walk up to the summit yourself, however Granada is uncomfortably hot so if I didn't have to I didn't really want to. Parrots live just inside the crater, a bit of a phenomenon due to all the poisonous gases they are surrounded by constantly. The best part of the tour was when we climbed a little higher than the active crater and had a view of both Granada and Managua. Once it was dark we got to explore a "Bat Cave" - there were only two bats. In the end we went back to the active crater to see if we could spot some lava but there was too much gas so it was a no go. 

Volcan Masaya

This doesn't make you feel super safe

New Years was a fun night of running into old friends from the road, dancing in the street and lots of random fireworks.

On our last day in Granada we finally went up the bell tower of one of the churches which we'd been meaning to do since we got there. I'm glad we didn't miss it because it offered some amazing views. We followed this with a bit of a wander around the city, catching the little bits we missed (more churches, a fort, a graveyard... and more churches).

Granada is always described as a beautiful city and I guess I can see why, there are a lot of nice buildings and some nice streets, but that all feels a bit superficial. At times it felt like the “real” parts of Granada weren’t pretty at all. There were lots of creepy locals with creepy cat calls and I think it’s been the worst place I’ve seen child begging – one kid was trying to steal food out of our friend’s hands and was angry when Alex tried to stop him. So upon leaving, we have mixed emotions about the “beautiful city” that is Granada.