La Fortuna

Costa Rica was supposed to be more refined than other places but if the roads in and out of Monteverde are anything to go by thats not the case. They are beyond atrocious even tho Monteverde is a major tourist resort. Gravel, potholes, narrow, windy, wash outs and at one stage goes through a stream. 

We have seen wind turbines dotted along the landscape but driving past we realise how massive they are when up close. 

Costa Rica does not have a defence force. The money saved instead has been spent on education. Its hard to compare it to the other countries we have been to as we really haven’t seen much of them but it is certainly more expensive with meals approaching NZ prices as some of the places I checked out. English is more widely spoken with most people knowing at least some. 

We pile out of the van to change to a basic ferry to cross the lake from where we load up again for a short bus ride to La Fortuna. Its a shame its so cloudy as the scenery on the way looks to have bern gorgeous. 

Unloading and loading bags on and off busses happens with great regularity as most of our bus rides are of short duration. Luckily we have some great guys on the tour that help every time. And then there’s always one that doesn’t. 

We arrive at La Fortuna and the Las Flores hotel, home to the next two nights. Very basic but clean. 

There was so much confusion and mucking around about what was happening next I gave up and stayed behind with some of the guys watching soccer. 

I eventually move and wander into the township. Another tourist town full of souvenir shops and a few selling excellent wooden items. Strato could go into business here. 

With nothing better to do I joined a group trip to a nature reserve where we the promise was that we would see sloths in their natural environment. And indeed we did. 

Hidden from our view high up in the trees we saw quite a few. The guides were great at pointing them all out and giving us the chance to get pics. through their telescope lens. Most were sleeping but one in particular gave us a great show swinging on the branches like a monkey. 

The cutest was a wee family of bats sitting in a tree. As much as I hate the little blighters I have to say they looked adorable up there clustered together. 


We also saw frogs, owls and  beautiful vegetation. 

Our tour finished after we made some tortillas and enjoyed esting them under the canopy of the trees. 
Back to the hotel in a cab after our uber decided at the last minute to turn back and not collect us I had a major panic when I thought I had left all my charging plugs etc behind. Relief when I found them. 

Dinner at a Peruvian restaurant over the road was both uninspiring and expensive. The thought of bed was my main concern and I was happy to crawl under the covers when I got back.