"I've been travelling on a wing and a prayer
By the skin of my teeth by the breath of a hair
Travelling where the four winds blow
With the sun on my face - in the ice and the snow
But oh Lord we pay the price
With the spin of the wheel with the roll of the dice
Ah yeah, you pay your fare
And if you don't know where you're going
Any road will take you there."
George Harrison, Any Road
On Thursday February 9, 2005 I flew to San Jose, Costa Rica with my friend, Al Spurrell (for one week) and later, my brother Wayne (for three weeks), to start the first leg of a 2 1/2 month trip that would see me in four of the seven nations that comprise.......
Central America
The seven nations of Central America occupy a land area about the size of Mexico. Despite its diminutive size, this narrow isthmus is a remarkably varied part of the world, with an array of landscapes, diverse cultural influences and attractions ranging from the ruins of ancient Mayan cities to the Panama Canal, one of the engineering triumphs of the 20th century.
Confined within this compact region is an incredible array of ecosystems and habitats, including tropical rain forests, jungle river systems, volcanic lakes, coastal wetlands, hundreds of idyllic Caribbean islands, white sand beaches and the world's second largest barrier reef.
In addition, Central America's position is at the intersection of divergent cultural influences including the archaeological wonders of Tikal in Guatemala. The dynamic culture of the indigenous Maya still thrives in the region and is evident in the rich hues of intricately woven tapestries and the lively markets of Guatemala's highlands. The region's Spanish colonial cities are the best legacy of a different era; among the best-preserved of these are Antigua, Guatemala and Granada, Nicaragua.
Central America's flora and fauna are exceptionally rich and diversified, with hundreds of plant and animal species from the North and South American continents spilling into the isthmus that bridges the gap between them.
We flew from home to......
Costa Rica
Nearly 27% of Costa Rica is protected in the form of a national park system and this leads to many adventure opportunities such as paddling through rain forest, scuba diving, watching volcanic activity from the most active volcano in Central America and just hanging out in the quiet villages and towns.
Costa Rica has had democratic elections since the 19th century and is now one of the most peaceful nations in the world. Armed forces were abolished after the 1948 civil war, and Costa Rica has avoided the despotic dictatorships, frequent military coups, terrorism and internal strife that have torn other countries in the region. Costa Rica is also the safest country to visit in Latin America.
***Please note the image quality is limited as these pictures were not digitally captured but rather are prints that have been scanned.***
We landed in Costa Rica's capital city.......
San Jose
Compared with other Central American capitals, San Jose is more cosmopolitan, even North American in character. There are department stores and shopping malls, fast-food restaurants abound.
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| Let the games begin! Our first night in Costa Rica. |
We didn't waste anytime in San Jose and early the next day we were picked up at our hotel for a three hour drive up into the Costa Rican highlands where we started a two day whitewater rafting trip on the......
Rio Pacuare
The Pacuare River, whose headwaters begin on the Atlantic slope in the Talamanca mountain range runs about 108km until reaching the Caribbean Sea. With rapids ranging all the way up to class V, the Pacuare is easily Costa Rica's premier white water rafting river. National Geographic called it one of the world's top 10 river trips in the world, not just due to its challenging rapids, but also because of the stunning scenery that lines its shores.
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| High up in Costa Rica's Talamanca Mountains. |
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| They call it a rain forest for a good reason. We were soaked long before we ever got near the river! |
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| It was literally pouring out as we started off down the river on the first day. |
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| The Pacuare River Resort deep in the heart of the Costa Rican jungle. |
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| Our cabana for the night. |
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| Our sleeping quarters. |
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| After a hard day of paddling, a gourmet meal is in ordered! |
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| A view of the Pacuare River from the Resort grounds. |
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| Some of the friendly (or curious) wildlife flying around the resort. |
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| The Pacuare River Resort offered treetop cabana's situated about 20 feet off the ground...... |
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| People staying in these treetop cabana's can walk out their front door and walk along a suspended walkway up high in the tree canopy. |
We finish the whitewater rafting trip in a village called Sequirres and from there we grab a couple of buses to.........
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
A small village (known locally simply as Puerto Viejo) on the Caribbean side with long swaths of white sandy beaches, this area is a prime surfers' destination with the country's biggest and most powerful waves.
After a long and painful bus ride from Sequirres we arrived in Puerto Viejo at around sunset. The next day we went exploring on rented scooters.......
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| A 13km road heads southeast from Puerto Viejo along the coast pass sandy beaches and rocky points through the small communities of Punta Uva and Manzanillo. |
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| Beaches stretched for miles with no one on them! |
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| The beaches did have these turkey-like birds on them?? |
The next day we decide to go kayaking in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge.......
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| Our guide and his fast-talking boss. |
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| Mangroves growing at the mouth of the river we will be paddling on. |
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| Starting out with great expectations of seeing caymans, alligators, monkeys, quezales and snakes.... |
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| February 14, 2005 and no need for a wetsuit!! |
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| I've paddled in worst places!!! But still no caymans, alligators, monkeys, quezales and snakes.... |
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End of the navigational river. Never saw any caymans, alligators, monkeys, quezales and snakes....but at least the paddle back is all downhill!!!!
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| Al Spurrell, our guide and Captain Daly heading back to Manzanillo. |
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| It took a lot of beer to convince Al that he could get a better sunburn on the Pacific coast and that we should leave the quaint little Caribbean village of Puerto Viejo the next morning. He was reluctant to give up this little part of Paradise, but in the end he agreed! |
The next day we flew to the Pacific coastal town of.......
Playa Tamarindo
Playa Tamarindo is a small community residing on a sprawling and attractive beach. Both surfing and windsurfing is good here while non-surfers will find quiet stretches of ocean to play in.
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| Arriving in Playa Tamarindo. |
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| The Tropical Hotel (as seen from the pool). I would get Montezuma's Revenge after Al flew home and I'd end up spending a week in bed at this hotel. |
The day after we arrive we go scuba diving in the Pacific.......
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| Warming up for the big dive in the 24C Pacific Ocean.....yes bye! |
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| .....and our second dive around a huge rock. Saw a school of hundreds of Spotted-Eagle Manta Rays here....awesome. |
The next day, while Al was waiting to fly back home, we rented scooters and went exploring.....
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| Easy Rider. |
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| Now this is what I'm talking bout. |
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| The sun sets on a great week with my buddy Al. |
I fly back to San Jose just long enough to hook up with my brother, Wayne, who would travel with me for the next three weeks.....
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| Wayne and I planning the next leg at the Costa Rican Backpackers Hostel. |
The next day we head for.......
Monteverde
Monteverde is a small community founded in 1951 by North American Quakers who bought about 150 hectares and began dairy farming and cheese production. This cloud forest reserve attracts thousands of visitors a year, and small wonder, the area's elevation is 1200M to 1600M, and the cooler and cloudier climate here is a pleasant change from the tropical heat of the lowlands.
We arrive in Monteverde via the local chicken bus just as the great rains began so we took the first hotel that was offered with transportation.....
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| Home for the next few days....our own little cabana with a little kitchenette.....aaah fresh coffee. Some good! |
The next day we went for a walk in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. This reserve was created when the Quaker Settlers arrived, they preserve a third of their property to protect the watershed above Monteverde. In 1972, about 2000 hectares were added.
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| Wayne exploring the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. |
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| Thick jungle without the crushing humidity. |
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| The Contenental Divide was our hiking destination! |
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| Looking back at the side of the divide where all the water from the mountains drain into the Pacific Ocean..... |
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| ....and the side of the divide where all the water from the mountains drain into the Atlantic Ocean. |
The next day we go ziplining in the Monteverde area.....
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| Wayne flying through the air on one of the 16 cables (with an average lenght of 150 metres) with an average height above ground of 60 metres. |
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| Wayne coming in fast! |
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| The grand-daddy of them all.....600 metres long and at times, nearly 150 metres aloft. That's me at about 1/2 way!! |
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| Now that's what I'm talking about! |
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| The ultimate rush, the Tarzan Swing. Similar to bungee jumping.....you climb up onto the platform and jump..... |
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| ....the 22 foot jump sends you free falling before the swinging kicks in. |
The next day we head for.......
La Fortuna
La Fortuna is the nearest village to the spectacular Volcan Arenal (1633M), which looms 6km to the west which is the real reason we came here. "La Fortuna" is Spanish for "The Fortune", and it is aptly named due to it ample supply of tourist and its extremely fertile lands, however it got its name due to sparing from the Volcan Arenal's eruptions.
To get to La Fortuna we take a mini-van up the mountain to the Great Divide. From here we are paired up with horses and we proceed down the other side of the Great Divide until we reach Lake Arenal.....
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| I had never been horseback riding before so this should be quite the adventure!!! |
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| The Lake Arenal in the far distance is where we are headed on the horses. |
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| The trail chenged every minute or so....deep dense jungle one minute....open area the next...hard rock underneath and than knee deep mud. |
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| The horse portion of the trip took 3 1/2 hours. |
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| There were three river crossings, while not the Nile, they were at times deep (up to the horses belly). |
Upon reaching Lake Arenal we take a water taxi to the other side....
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| After three and half hours in the saddle, I think Wayne is ready to crash!! |
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| Volcan Arenal in the distance as we cruise along in the water taxi. |
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| The water taxi takes 25 minutes across the lake where we pick up a real taxi that takes us to La Fortuna. |
The next day we hike up to......
La Catarata de Fortuna
Approximately 6km from the town of La Fortuna is the La Catarata de Fortuna (or the La Fortuna waterfalls) that emerges from the dense jungle greenery plummeting some 70 metres into an emerald pool below....
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| The beginning of the 6km hike into the La Catarata de Fortuna. |
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| The ever present Volcan Arenal. |
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| It was very hot out and the waters at the base of the falls was chilly.....very chilly. |
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| At the base of the Fortuna waterfalls. |
The next day we rent scooters and set out to explore........
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| Wayne, Beth Doman (a girl from Victoria BC) and myself rent scooters and head for Volcan Arenal. |
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| A perfect view of the Volcan Arenal. The volcano was dormant until 1968; in that year huge explosions triggered lava flows that killed 80 people. |
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| The lads! Climbing Volcan Arenal is definitely not allowed as hikers have been killed by explosions but we did proceed pass this point for another 2 - 3 kms. |
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| Coatis (something between an anteater and racoon), we saw these critters many times but they were especially friendly near the Arenal slopes. |
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| End of the road for us.....Arenal's lava fields is as far as we can go. Arenal retains its almost perfect conical shape, and with its continuing volcanic activity, Arenal is everyone's image of a typical volcano. |
The next day we head for Liberia near the Nicaraguan border where we intend to cross. It is here that we hear on the daily news about a bank robbery that went bad in Monteverde. Nine people were killed and several were held as hostages for nearly 28 hours, including Dorothy (an American girl we had hung out with while in Monteverde). The newspaper clip below confirms that our friend, Dorothy, was OK (she's quoted in the clip).
Well that's it for our time in Costa Rica as we now continue onwards to Nicaragua (see the next post in this 2005 series)......Cheers!
DIARY ENTRY: Thursday February 10, 2005 7:50PM: Al and I arrived in San Jose at around 2:00PM. Got a taxi to our hotel, the Fleur de Lys. We decided to stay at this place for our first night, but it's expensive, so I don't plan on staying here afterwards.
San Jose is a different sort of place, quite cosmopolitan actually, lots of North American fast food places and English is widely spoken. I had forgotten my razor, so we went for a walk to try and find a place to buy one. I was surprised at the complete lack of cafes and bars. Thought we might find a place with an outdoor cafe but no such luck.
Tomorrow we go whitewater rafting and it's a two day trip. I don't think I'll spend much time here in San Jose after Al leaves. I'm not a big city type guy and this city doesn't hold a lot for me.
DIARY ENTRY: Saturday, February 12, 2005 9:32PM: Arrived in Puerto Viejo today. We finished the whitewater rafting on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica and decided to come here to save a day of bus travelling but I'm not sure if it's a place to go scuba diving so we may have to reconsider.
Friday morning (02/11/05) at 6:50AM the tour company picked us up at the Fleur de Lys Hotel and took us for a three hour bus ride up into the Costa Rican rain forest. Rain forest comes by its name honestly......it poured all day. Mine you, it's a warm rain, but after all day......
We started out from the launch site and paddled about 10km. Most of the rapids were relatively small and not real challenging. There was me, Al and three couples in two rafts. We reached the Pacuare River Lodge at around 3:00PM. What a spot!! We were assigned a cabana right next to the river. The lodge is very remote and has no electricity but they have an amazing garden and the food is wicked. Unfortunately, after a true gourmet meal and a few beers, I was ready to pass out, so I made my way back to the cabana and called it a night. Believe it or not, but the rain forest can get quite chilly in the night and I didn't have a good night because I was cold.
Next morning (Saturday 02/12/05) the sun was out full tilt and it was hot. Naturally I didn't apply enough sun block and now I'm paying a heavy price. Burnt to a crisp....damn.
We got on the river at about 11:00AM (everything moves on Tica time). The next part of the river was much more rapidity (is that a word?) with Class IV rapids, but I think it was the scenery that amazed me. Awesome waterfalls and jungle for the next 20kms.
After the trip we arrived at the take-out town of Siquirres. It was at this time that we decided to grab a bus to Puerto Limon and then on to our current destination of Puerto Viejo. We arrived here after a very rough bus ride at around 6:00PM, so the sun was just setting and we decided to grab the first hotel we came across. Not the greatest place in the world but it'll do until we can look for a better place tomorrow. In the meantime this place was recommended in the Lonely Planet book. Later we went out and had a fantastic supper for $15 per person. Had amazing squid and a couple of cold cold beers!!! After the meal I tried to check my e-mail but I couldn't sign on, hopeful I'll have more luck tomorrow.
DIARY ENTRY: Sunday February 13, 2005 2:49PM: Got up this morning with both of us convinced that we had to find other accommodations. There was a dog barking outside our window for a good part of the night. So after Al had his food fix (by can that fella eat) we started to look for alternative accommodations, which we found in the form of the Hotel Casa Verde. A beautiful hotel set among a great little garden and it even has a swimming pool. Not bad for $23US per person.
We decided to rent scooters and drive to Manzanillo, the last town on the coast and not far from the Panama border. We were gone for four hours and had a real hoot!!!
I went to take out money at the only bank ATM in town but it is not CIRRUS connected so now I'm without any cash. Hopefully I can cash some traveller cheques soon.
DIARY ENTRY: Monday February 14, 2005 2:37PM: Arrived back from a kayaking trip up a jungle river in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, although I'm not sure why they call it a wildlife refuge as the only wildlife we saw was a couple of lizards. The trip itself was a good paddle but an expensive one given the among of things we saw. We were up at 6:20AM to get ready and find some food. Al didn't eat his steak last night so I expect he was famished. The only place we could find was a coffee/soda place and we had a bowl of fruit and toast. Our taxi arrived at 7:40AM and we headed to Manzanillo. We had to get a boat out to the refuge and from there we launched our boats. The river was your typical slow moving mangrove style river. Really interesting to paddle and it felt good to get out.
So this is Valentine's Day!! Got back from Manzanillo today and went for a swim in the hotel's pool and also had a jacuzzi. Now sitting here sucking on a beer.
DIARY ENTRY: Tuesday February 15, 2005 10:35PM: Al went to bed at 9:20PM and I just couldn't force myself to go to bed that early for another night. Our diving isn't until 8:30AM and it's just to early now. My body clock has adjusted fairly well at this point in time.
Today we left Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side and got a bus (at 7:00AM) to San Jose. It took about four hours. From San Jose we flew (Al is on a time line) to Playa Tamarindo (cost $75US).
The countryside on this side of Costa Rica is completely different from the other side. No rain forest here....and hot.....maybe 4C or 5C higher. The vegetation is very different as well, whereas before we had heavy rain during the night, I'm told it won't rain here for weeks. this of course, causes the vegetation to be more arid tolerant.
We arrived here around 4:00PM and checked into the Hotel Zullyman but I think tomorrow we'll switch to the Tropical Hotel. Both have pools and are your typical "resort" style lodgings. I've noticed that the hotels here are much more expensive but as Al pointed out, the food is cheaper!!
DIARY ENTRY: Wednesday February 16, 2005 2:09PM: Just got back from diving off the Pacific side of Costa Rica. It was pretty awesome, especially the school of Spotted-Eagle Manta Rays. Must have been a couple hundred or more in the school and they swam right in front of us.
The water temperature was approximately 80F (according to my dive gauge) but you would hit cold areas where the temp would drop to nearly 70F. Unfortunately, for my second dive I lost my dive goggles....damn I hate that. I was cleaning them and they slipped right from my hand......$259 down the drain. Our second dive was around a rock but the fish (and current) was not near as good as the first dive.....actually I must get ready to go over and pay for the dive now as I forgot to do so before setting off.
DIARY ENTRY: Friday February 18, 2005 1:40PM: Just spent a good portion of today on email trying to key in addresses. I guess I had so many that it wouldn't let me send without checking to see if I was spamming people.
Today Al left and it hasn't hit me yet that I'm here now alone for the next 7 days.
Yesterday (Thursday 02/17/05) we were going to take it easy but instead ended up renting mopeds and going to Playa Flamingo. It was a hoot and we both agreed the meal we had at the small soda stand was the best we had since being here. Tonight I'm off to see the Downchild Blues Band at El Grille (wherever that's to).
DIARY ENTRY: Monday February 21, 2005 4:15PM: I didn't realize so much time had passed since my last entry. Guess I had nothing much to report. Well I didn't get to see the Downchild Blues Band after all. It turns out they were playing about 30 minutes from here and that would have meant an expense to get there and back plus the cost associated with being there.
Saturday (Feb. 19/05) I hooked up with 3 Americans and we decided to go to a concert. Big mistake. The band was a bad cover band and it cost $10US to get in. We didn't stay long enough to finish one beer. After that we headed out looking for a bar but couldn't find one with any amount of activity. Finally called it quits around 1:00AM and came home.
Sunday (Feb. 20/05) was a day of rest......good thing cause by 4 or 5PM I was starting to feel ill and last night if I was up 5 times I was up 50!! Montezuma's Revenge in a big way. So today, like it or not, I'm forced to lay around. I'm only now feeling a little better although I still have some diarrhoea.
DIARY ENTRY: Tuesday February 22, 2005 2:38PM: Still sick.....self diagnosis is dehydration in a big way from the diaherria I suffered yesterday. I am forcing liquids into me but again I'm forced to lay around. Thank God I have air-conditioning, otherwise I would probably be a lot worst than I currently am.
I just went to the grocery store and picked up a pastry with meat. I also need to start eating so I'll force this into me for now.
DIARY ENTRY: Friday February 25, 2005 1:27PM: Well again its been a while since my last entry. One of the main reasons for this is of course I've not really done anything real exciting to write about. Basically Wednesday (02/23/05) I was feeling much better but realized that my best line of defense was to take it easy.....so I did. I did take a stroll down to the beach but stuck close to the hotel and the coolness of my room.
Thursday (02/24/05) I was in top form and spent a good portion of the day down on the beach playing somewhat childlike in the surf. The water temp is about 28C and it was quite pleasant just to have the waves crash over me.
Today I plan on doing exactly the same thing and until the heat of the midday has passed, that's exactly where I'm headed.
DIARY ENTRY: Sunday February 27, 2005 9:59AM: I arrived in San Jose around 12:30 Saturday (02/26/05) and checked in to the Costa Rican Backpackers Hostel. Later that night Wayne arrived. It was surprising he got here as quickly as he did (10:54PM). I was sitting in the TV room when I heard him asking the front reception about me. He was pretty pumped after travelling for a day and half.
Now I'm waiting for him to climb out of bed and get the show on the road.
DIARY ENTRY: Tuesday March 1, 2005 6:23PM: Well we were unable to get a bus to Nicaraqua so we instead took a bus to Monteverde (Santa Elena) in northern Costa Rica. It was quite the journey (about 4 1/2 hours). The bus stopped and picked up whomever flagged it down. The last 35kms was over a dirt mountain road and it took about 1 1/2 hours.
We arrived and it was getting dark and starting to rain (Monteverde is in the cloud forest). There were many hoteliers trying to get our business but in the end, because it was starting to rain, we took the place that provided transportation. Good thing, the cabin turned out to be the best I've stayed in; 2 beds, kitchen, cable TV and all for $15pp.
We got back from a walk in the rain forest at around 3:30PM. It was quite the hike through the forest and the trails were in excellent shape. Never saw much wildlife....in fact never saw any. We actually walked up and stood on the continental divide. This is where water runs either to the Atlantic or the Pacific Oceans. After the walk we stopped at a hummingbird place and saw some awesome birds in action.
DIARY ENTRY: Wednesday March 2, 2005 2:41PM: Just got back from a couple hours doing a zipline. The course we did had 16 platforms with the longest cable being 600 metres (it was also the highest at 50 metres). The tour starts with a quick lesson and then the four of us (a couple from Spain) take to the sky.
The rides average about 150 metres....quite the adrenaline rush!! However the biggest rush comes from the Tarzan Swing. This thing is basically a rope (with all the appropriate safety features) that you attach to yourself after climbing up on a platform. Than you jump off and swing back and forth for a few minutes. I expect it is similar to bungee jumping but sine I've never done bungee jumping, I could be wrong. The BIG rush comes from the 20 foot free fall at the beginning.
Wayne and I discussed things and we've decided to stay in Monteverde for one more night (after tonight) and then take the horses to Volcano Arenal. From there we can grab a bus to the town of Liberia.
DIARY ENTRY: Saturday March 5, 2005 5:16PM: We ended up staying in Monteverde for an extra night. As Wayne pointed out it was climatically comfortable. We didn't do anything but last night we went out with Dorothy (American girl we had met). We went to the Bar Amigos where a live band was playing really good salsa.
Today we had to get up fairly early to catch out trip to La Fortuna. A mini-bus took us back up the mountain where we connected to the second phase of our journey.....horses. I had never been on a horse before so this was going to be an experience!! We were matched according to size and off we went.
The trail we took was back down the other side of the mountain, through jungle, pasture and three river crossings. It was very exhilarating and I cannot describe how the trail chenged every second minute or so....deep dense jungle one minute....open area the next...hard rock underneath and than knee deep mud. And the three river crossings, while not the Nile, they were at times deep (up to the horses belly). And speaking of horses, as I said earlier, this was my first time on a horse and my horse was obviously wild. The other horses obviously did not like mine horse becauseevery time he got close they would attempt to kick him. One was successful but it was my shin that took the hit....damn that hurt. Whenever we came to anything resembling openness he would gallop like something coming out of the gate. I couldn't slow him down. I was petrified...almost fell off....seriously.
After 3 1/2 hours we came to Lake Arenal where a water taxi picked us up for a 25 minute lake crossing. Now we are at the Cabinas Los Palmos, a $10pp room. The Volcano Arenal is sitting about 3km to my right. I have a perfect view.
DIARY ENTRY: Sunday March 6, 2005 6:22PM: Today Beth Doman (Wayne's friend from Victoria BC) awoke us at 7:30AM. We had agreed to walk to a waterfalls with her and an Isreali guy that she had met.
The walk to the waterfalls was all up hill and although the sun wasn't shining it was quite hot. The walk was about 2 hours and by the time we got to the falls I was wiped. However the waterfalls itself, was great. A cool clear pool at the bottom was quite the reward. Wayne and I stripped down andmade for the water....cool and refreshing, it lowered my core temperature back down to normal.
On the way back down our friends from the horseback ride passed us in a truck that they had hitched a ride in and they got the driver to pick us up. They told us about a baseball tournament taking place in town and of the fiesta after. We decided to check it out and basically spent the rest of the day watching local baseball and drinking beer. We're getting ready now to go for supper and after we will check out the fiesta!!
DIARY ENTRY: Tuesday March 8, 2005 4:00PM: Here I am in Liberia sweltering in the heat (38C). We rented scooters yesterday (Monday 03/08/05) in La Fortuna for 5 hours. It was great!! We went to the lava fields of Volcano Arenal and saw the active side of the volcano.....very neat! Since Wayne and I were parting company with Beth Doman (Victoria girl), we decided to get Mexican food for supper.
Today we were up early to catch the first of an extensive journey via local buses to Liberia. Got a bus from La Fortuna to Tiliriania (3 hours). Got an old school bus to Canas (1 hour). Finally got another bus to Liberia (1 hour). Total travel time plus topp-overs.....8 hours. Total distance.....120kms. Gotta love these third world transportation systems.
DIARY ENTRY: Wednesday March 9, 2005 5:48PM: Last night (Tuesday 03/08/05) we stayed at the Hotel Liberia in Costa Rica. A real furnace of a place with the temperature so intense that sleep was limited. We had gone to a really fancy restaurant earlier (decided to treat ourselves). Well at $15 each we had 4 beer and one of the best fish suppers I ever had....totally awesome.
Woke up this morning to a sad event. The News was reporting that several armed robbers had entered the only bank in Monteverde and that 5 people were dead and there were several hostages. They showed the names of the hostages and one of them was Dorothy (an American girl we had hung out with). This hit home hard as it was the only bank in town and both Wayne and I had done our banking there, plus of course, the fact that Dorothy is among the hostages.....very sad.
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