Beautiful Birds and Marvelous Mountains

April 3rd

Our host, Peter, is a professional online poker player!  We spend the day watching him work his 16 tables at a time; taking advantage of his full-feature kitchen to make cookies, bread, and pizza from scratch; and going for a nice evening walk in the lush countryside.

Sunset, Lake Arenal

April 4th

Today we're biking to Monteverde with Peter! All of us are excited for an adventure. We wake up at 5:30 and manage to leave by 6:30. At first we have to ride a stretch of rough gravel, but then the road turns into pavement. The pavement continues longer than we expect. We are all grateful for the smooth riding but it is still tough going with extremely steep uphills and intense winds. We bike up to a set of windmills, and then go up past them. The rolling countryside and Lake Arenal stretch out below us, slowly getting smaller and smaller.

After 17 km or so the road turns to rough gravel. The huge rock pieces, and howling winds that throw us off balance and swirl dust into our faces make riding next to impossible on our bikes. We want to continue but realize that the smarter decision is to turn back. Peter continues with his far more suitable mountain bike. 

Back we go to Peter's house. Once there we repack our things into backpacks and head into town to catch a bus. We need to go to the next town (Tilaran) to catch a bus to Monteverde, but we find out that the bus that leaves from here (Tronadora) won't get there in time. Instead we take a cheap taxi. Once in Tilaran we have some time to kill waiting for the bus, so we decide to see if we can hitchhike. We stand on the side of the road for a while and no one stops. Just as we're about to head back to get the bus, a friendly guy named Jorge stops to give us a ride. Jorge has lived in Monteverde his whole life and is super friendly. He tells us all about his family, business, and a bit of Monteverde history. Apparently the roads are unpaved because, a while back, a coalition of hotels got together to block any paving initiatives because they wanted people to be so tired from driving that they had to stay the night. Now however, with the increase in tourism, many locals support paving the roads because it would lead to an increase in business. Looking at the current road conditions, we are both very glad we didn't ride our bikes, and feel a bit sorry for Peter.  Even with a mountain bike, riding on coarse, loose, potholed gravel is no fun.

We arrive in Santa Elena, the town next to the Monteverde Reserve, and find Peter just having arrived as well. Great timing! We take advantage of the afternoon to hike around and explore town. We walk a short trail past huge strangler fig trees, visit a beautiful art gallery, and look unsuccessfully for sloths. 

Strangler figs develop using another tree as a host, then they slowly take over and kill the host tree, which decomposes and leaves the huge fig standing but hollow.

April 5th

The reserve officially opens at 7AM, but we know that the birds wake up much earlier than that! We get up at 5 and are in the parking lot of the reserve, an open dirt expanse, by 5:30. The morning is frigid and rainy; we're in the clouds.  But in one hour of bird watching we see 8 new species and not a single other human! We are able to see all the birds very clearly because they are out and about and very active at this hour. Some are sitting on the wires and signs, others wandering along the ground. At one point a dog sized animal runs out across the parking lot. But wait, it's not a dog! We think it may have been a white-nosed coati. 

Cloud forest parking lot

Once the reserve opens we each pay $14 to go hike the trails. It is magical listening to all the birds singing. The forest is thick with greenery and song. Unfortunately, it's so thick that we can't see many of the birds; the parking lot was actually a much better place for birdwatching.

One of the lenses has permanently broken off our binoculars, making things extra challenging. We do see a few huge hummingbirds and a grosbeak chowing down on a big orange fruit. Check out the bird list for details!

But there are more than just birds to discover. We see huge scaly millipedes, a big black beetle with three-pronged yellow antennae, and a swarm of army ants. The plant life is a bit overwhelming.  Even "dead" logs can hardly be called that; they are teeming with life: ferns, mosses, bromeliads. Any shape you can imagine, there is a leaf with that shape in this forest. I especially like the tree ferns, which are essentially 30ft high ferns. 

Trees growing from a dead log

Danny found a bib

We walk almost every trail, reaching a viewpoint where we can see Volcan Arenal and miles of untouched, preserved cloud forest. Simply amazing! Later on, we climb a metal tower which rewards us with an even better view. From the top we can see Lake Arenal and both volcanos, Arenal and Cerro Chato. 

We've been at the reserve for more than 7 hours when we return to the visitors center to take the shuttle to town. 

Back at our hostel we have some lunch then get our stuff ready to go. Peter starts biking and we go stand out by the side of the road to see if we can hitchhike. The only bus going where we want to go leaves tomorrow morning, and we would rather stay at Peter's house tonight than pay for another expensive room in this touristy town. After an hour or so of waiting, things aren't looking good. We hop on a passing bus going in the direction that we want to go. Unfortunately, the bus takes a road different than the one we thought it would! We are now going completely in the wrong direction. Checking our map frequently, we're able to get off at an intersection close to where we had wanted to go. 

We still have almost 30 km to go to Tilaran, so we start to hike. Hopefully someone will pick us up even though there is little  to no traffic on this road. We hike, and hike, and hike some more. We are starting to think that we're going to need to ask to camp at one of the farms along the road, when a car stops. Meet Romain and Ouidad, an amazing couple from France on their honeymoon! They bring us all the way back to Tronadora, even though it's a little off the route they are taking. We can't thank you guys enough! 

As we walk into the main square, we meet Peter, who has just arrived. What timing! We head back to his house and make some delicious dinner. What a day!

April 6th

It takes a while to get going in the morning, because our stuff is everywhere. Around 10, we say our goodbyes and roll out. It's a beautiful day, windy (as always) but sunny and fresh after the morning rain. Our road takes us up and down steep hills that border Lake Arenal. The topography is challenging, but we're rewarded with spectacular views.

We're not really looking for birds, but we still see lots of toucans and some aracaris (similar to toucans)! Later in the day we run across a big group of white-nosed coatis right on the side of the road. There is little traffic, and as we head away from the lake we both agree that it was one of our favorite rides. 

We continue straight towards Volcan Arenal, the top of which only peeks out from the clouds for a brief moment. The traffic picks up as we head into La Fortuna, passing thermal hot springs spas and fancy hotels. My legs are very grateful that the end of our ride today is mostly downhill. 

We spend the night in a little town just past La Fortuna. Our Warmshowers host, Esteban, gets home late, but we are still able to spend some time with him and his friend Jose. We are up long past our bedtime eating pasta and sharing stories.

Esteban

April 7th

Today is exactly 10 months from when we first started our trip!  I can still remember exactly how I felt on that plane ride up to northern Alaska. We end up leaving late in the morning since we're tired from last night. 

Before we go, I do a drawing on Esteban's wall. Everyone who has stayed with him has left a note, and it's pretty neat to look at all of them. Thanks again, Esteban, for your hospitality. 

Our road takes off through the mountains, and although there isn't much traffic, the endless steep hills make for challenging riding. Even though there's a breeze, it's still hot.  We stop at a little fruit stand and each enjoy half a watermelon to cool down. As we start to eat, some loud squawking attracts our attention. Two large scarlet macaws have landed on a tree just down the street. How amazing to see these beautiful birds in the wild! 

Even after our break, we're feeling tired and sore. When a guy we meet informs us that it's all uphill to San Ramon we decide to stop early and have a relaxing afternoon to recharge a bit. Right now we're stopped at an inexpensive little hotel with wood cabins in the woods. It's quiet and peaceful. Back on the road tomorrow. 

Stat Sheet: 10 Months

Miles biked: 9,605 (15,458 km)

Countries experienced: 7

Bird species seen: 276

New bird species seen since entering Costa Rica a week ago: 28

Water bottle cages broken: 6

Volcanoes seen in Central America: 12

Santa Rosa to Lake Arenal, March 31-April 2

Although Daniel wasn't there to share it with us, our day at Santa Rosa was still great: super restful and filled with animals and bird sightings (barred antshrike!).  

White-faced Capuchin Monkey

The next morning we said our goodbyes to the park, the ritzy field station, and our new primatologist friends.  Thanks again to everyone who made our stay here so great!  Dan, Krisz, Saul, Ben, Lauren, Derek, Carolyn, Yohan, and random guy at gate who didn't make us pay when we left. Keep living the dream. 

The rest of the country beckoned.  The road that runs by the park, the Pan-American Highway bypasses almost everything interesting until the southern beaches, so we made plans to get off it as soon as possible.  No shoulder and a fair amount of buses and trucks confirmed our decision, and when we came to the first road that went east into the mountains, we decided to take it.  Even if the roads turned impassable, we figured we could at least stay at a lodge a few kilometers up the road recommended by our guidebook.  Right before we turned onto said road, we started talking with a cyclist who turned out to be the owner of said lodge!  Girard told us that the roads up in the mountains are super steep and thick gravel, while the Pan-American is under construction just a few miles ahead, and though the road isn't open, it's done (read: giant bike lane!).  So we ended up staying on the Pan-Am, and sure enough, the riding was great with our three-lane-wide bike lane!  

Rex leading the way

Part of me wishes we had had the adventure of going up into the mountains, but we'll be on some smaller roads soon.

One perk of staying on the Pan-Am: giant mangoes in Liberia!  I'm eating this one like a peeled cantaloupe.

Around mid-afternoon, with a headwind blasting, we came across a sign: "800m to waterfall."  Why not?  Although the place was absolutely mobbed with Costa Rican tourists due to this week being Semana Santa, Holy Week, the waterfall turned out to be really nice, a refreshing dip.  Shortly after, we arrived in Bagaces, where the road to Parque Nacional Palo Verde begins.  It would be almost 30 kilometers, roughly 19 miles, of gravel, and with the sun setting in about an hour, we set about trying to find a ride into the park.  Usually it's easy to find rides in Latin America, even with bikes, because so many people drive pickup trucks and don't seem to worry about crazy axe murderers as much as people do in the U.S.  However, this time no one came, and I went over to the restaurant across the street to see if we could camp anywhere near where we were.  They said no, but they called up a friend who said we could camp at his farm about 5 kilometers down the road.  Awesome!  We set off riding, and a few minutes in, a guy pulled up in a pickup truck and offered to take us the rest of the way.  Anything to avoid the gravel!  Plus we got to enjoy a view of clouds rolling in over the mountains.

We arrived at the house and set up camp; the owners, Uli and Johanna and their family, arrived a little while later.  They offered us a bed, a shower, food, a beer, anything!  They were so incredibly nice, and though we took them up on some of it, I felt a little bit bad refusing their hospitality.  Sometimes it's better to let people give you things; altruism leads to feelings of fulfillment, according to Psychology Today and personal experience.  But really what we wanted was to go to sleep, so after talking for a bit, we headed off to bed.

The family and Tam

The next morning, though we had already eaten a few sandwiches in the tent, we couldn't refuse a home-cooked breakfast!  Sharing some more time with these wonderful people was a gift in itself.  Uli told us that today and tomorrow, Thursday and Friday of Semana Santa, are very important holidays.  Easter Sunday isn't a thing.  And in Germany, where he is from, Easter is celebrated on Monday.  Some towns here have elaborate parades and services, but their tradition is to go to the nearby river with everyone else and eat fish and seafood.  I'm sure there's more to it, but that alone sounds pretty good to me!

Although our ridiculously wide and smooth bike lane continued from yesterday, the headwind was really roaring and made the riding less than fun.  At least it kept things cool.  We turned left at the town of Cañas, finally leaving the Pan-Am, and started to climb.  As expected, it was super steep and additionally challenging with the wind.  At one point I looked down and my odometer said five: five kilometers per hour.  It was slow going.  Yet, bit by bit, the coastal lowlands fell away and the air started to cool down.  We finally arrived at a viewpoint of Lake Arenal and headed over to a Warmshowers host in Tronadora, right on the shores of the lake.  We met Peter actually right when he was heading out for the night, but he gave us the keys and we had a nice night in, including a wonderful, freezing cold shower.  

Our location

A Great Big Volcano Island, March 26-29

Before leaving our hostel in Granada, we jumped in the pool with our clothes on.  Always easier to beat the heat when you're already wet!  The coolness didn't last long though; by mid morning the heat was going full blast but was minimized, fortunately, by the strong winds.  Whenever the land narrows, it seems winds get strong.  The same thing happened at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, aka the skinny part of Mexico.  So progress was slow, and we made it to Rivas, then the port of San Jorge in the early afternoon, just in time for the 3:30 boat to the Isla de Ometepe! 

All morning the Volcán Concepción had been looking over our shoulder.  It forms half of the Isla de Ometepe, the big island in huge Lake Nicaragua, the other half belonging to Volcán Maderas and the two being joined by a narrow strip of land.  Though Maderas is extinct, Volcán Concepción is still active, and recent lava flows can clearly be seen on its picture-perfect conical slopes.  Our ferry pushed through the wind-whipped lake to Moyogalpa, on the west side of the island, and, as the sun would set soon, we quickly biked out of town to Finca Samaria, a farm some friends recommended for camping.  We spent a quiet night on the beach, lulled to sleep by the soft waves.

The owners of the farm were really nice, and talking with them provided an interesting start to our day.  I wanted to hear especially what they thought of the new canal already under construction through Nicaragua.  It would severely hurt the ecology of the lake, not to mention the noise and sight pollution of huge tankers chugging by, so not surprisingly, our new friends were adamantly against the canal.  Hopefully Nicaragua's rights and future were and continue to be considered in the planning and undertaking of this project.

Our first stop of the day was at Reserva Charco Verde, a forest and lagoon with some short hiking trails.  We didn't see many birds, just a lot of jays, but that was okay because there were MONKEYS!  We had a great time gawking at their agility in the trees and how they use that wonderful prehensile tail as a fifth limb.  

Howler Monkey

Reserva Charco Verde

A few more kilometers down the road took us to the Volcán Maderas side of the island, the east side, where we set up at another farm, Finca Magdalena, on the slopes of the volcano.  At the restaurant we ordered big plates of plain rice and added our own veggies, beans, and some seasonings! Then an early bedtime for an early start in the morning.

True to our plan, we got up early.  But instead of packing the bikes, we put on our hiking clothes and started to climb the volcano!  The forest on the lower slopes was dry, and we saw tons of yellow-naped parrots and more monkeys, including a new kind: the white-faced capuchin.  Up higher the forest turned humid, and even higher we hit the clouds and the according cloud forest.  By the top the trail was muddy, the air cool and windy, and the surrounding forest incredibly dense.  No more could we see any birds, just the trees and vines immediately around us, until the path opened up to an overlook.  Down below us in the volcano's crater was a brownish lagoon, which stretched to the far side where, above, loomed the summit.  

The canopy was so thick that it looked as if we could walk on the leaves like a broad, green floor.  I think the trail continues to the summit, but we were happy just watching the clouds roll in and change shapes under the influence of the strong winds.  

After the descent, almost 30 km of riding took us back to Finca Samaria, where we enjoyed a massive dinner and an early bedtime.

Although the ferry back to the mainland was not running at the time we had hoped, and once we got started the wind was a strong headwind, after a few hours we made it to the border with Costa Rica!  

Leaving Nicaragua was the hardest part of any border crossing yet, and Costa Rica was super easy; if anything, we had hoped for a longer wait entering Costa Rica because the office was air conditioned!  

After the border, we didn't quite make it to the first town and asked a family to camp in their backyard.  They acquiesced, no problem, and as we were preparing dinner, we heard a buzzing sound from above.  We both looked up for a moment then resumed our activities, probably just normal sounds of the forest at dusk.  Unfortunately, a moment later, a bee flew into Tam's hair, and she started freaking out.  I got up to try and help her but quickly realized there were bees around me, too, and we ran together up a little hill and out to the road, where the family whose house we were camping behind helped pull the bees out of Tam's hair and make sure there were no more.  We both got stung a few times, but no harm done.  We still have no idea why they attacked us.  Later, as we were moving our stuff to a new spot, a troupe of monkeys swung by in the trees above.  So wonderful that these people have monkeys in their backyard!  Can you imagine eating dinner on your back deck and watching monkeys swinging around?!

Cooking and eating was moved to inside the tent, and we enjoyed a huge dinner of noodles, beans, veggies, and cheese, followed up by some PB&J sandwiches and an interesting Stuff You Should Know podcast on homeschooling.  Then, as we were about to leave the tent to brush our teeth, I noticed that the ground outside was covered with ants.  The sides, too, was swarming with them.  Not swarming, actually, because that implies disarray.  The ants had come out as darkness fell and were clearly following a line, a thoroughfare in the middle of which we had, unfortunately, put our tent!  Being resourceful creatures, they had found a way around the blockade: through our stuff.  We figured we would deal with that in the morning.  The wilds of Costa Rica, bees, monkeys, and ants, greeted us with the biggest welcome they could muster, and, while all of that interests me quite a bit, I was happy to have some mesh in between myself and them while sleeping.

In the morning the ants were gone, but looking at the grass, I could see where the millions of tiny steps every night had worn a path.  Next time we'll look for that.  Some rain kept the morning ride cool, and we arrived soon in the small town of La Cruz, where we found an ATM to take out some colones, the local currency.  One problem: we had no idea what the exchange rate was!  It wasn't in our guidebook, and we had no way of getting internet.  The middle option of the displayed amounts should be a good bet.  We were estimating it to be somewhere in the hundreds, like the other Central American currencies, so you can imagine my shock when Tam came out and showed me a 10,000 colon bill!  It turned out to be the equivalent of roughly $20, so we weren't quite as rich as I originally thought.

A few more kilometers brought us to Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, where we paid $15 each (!) to get in.  Each subsequent day would be another $15 each, plus the nightly price of a campsite.  If we want to have any money left over for the rest of our trip, we won't be doing the National Park tour of Costa Rica.  Santa Rosa was very nice, however, a dry tropical forest, and we were warmly greeted by Tam's friend Daniel, who works here studying monkeys.  

Daniel estimating the percentage of leaf cover for the tree above

We had a great day walking around with him and learning about the project, which researches the costs and benefits of being an alpha male white-faced capuchin monkey.  Plus we saw the most amazing bird I have ever seen: a keel-billed toucan!  Many thanks to Daniel and the whole research team for having us here!

Daniel and Tam

Keel-billed Toucan

Photo credit: ejphoto.com

Hot and Historic March 22nd-25th

March 22nd 

Rest day in Leon! This city is filled with beautiful cathedrals, including the largest one in Central America! We do a bit of exploring and purchase some delicious fruits and veggies at the large market. 

Giant avocado!

Photo credit: fineartamerica.com

In the afternoon we meet some fellow travelers at our hostel, Hannah and Dave. Turns out it's Dave's birthday today! We use this as an excuse to make extravagant ice cream sundaes. While enjoying these treats we meet some other travelers, Elliott and James, who happen to know Jake Preston (a friend from High Trails). This random connection inspires an evening full of funny stories. 

New friends, and Jesus of course. 

March 23rd 

We sleep in a bit, enjoying our quiet room. Heading out of the city there's a lot of traffic, but thankfully we have a nice shoulder. The only other vehicles we have to pass are several horse drawn wagons. Although this at first seems outdated, these people are certainly better off than those we saw in Guatemala who carry everything on their backs.

After a while, our road curves and traffic decreases. There is a lot of construction going on. We pass several areas where the two lane road becomes one lane but there are no signs or flaggers. It seems that the person who honks the loudest has the right of way. The scenery is remarkably remote. This is the first place in Central America where we haven't seen houses lining the road. Instead we pass large quiet farms and ranch land. It's quite nice. Progress is slow however due to a number of steep hills, a headwind, and typical extremely hot weather. 

Not a bad place to take a break

Late afternoon we pull up to a small store to get things for dinner and start talking to a guy named Carlos. He overheard that we were looking for a place to camp, and immediately offered the yard of his house. We were quite lucky to meet him! His house is beautiful, with a tremendous view over Managua, the lake and volcanos. He owns two personable scarlet macaws and three tiny Doberman pinchers. Most importantly, he's a great guy with lots of interesting stories. After attending college in Iowa, he lived and worked in the US for many more years and won a number of important law cases, including one in which he sued the casinos of Los Vegas! Quite a character. 

March 24th

It's cool and windy all night, a nice change from the usual hot, stuffy weather. For breakfast Carlos shares a delicious watermelon with us. Then it's time for goodbyes, thanks again Carlos! And we roll out. Our day begins with a descent to the outskirts of Managua, and then, since we're not going into the city, we turn and immediately begin to climb back out of the valley. It turns into, a hot, long, steep climb that we weren't really expecting. Luckily, we have delicious fresh tortillas, cheese, and mangos to sustain us. At the top our road skirts an extremely windy ridgeline where we can see the ocean! Thankfully, as we begin to descend, the wind diminishes a little. We stop for a lunch of rice and beans in a small town. After lunch we pass at least 30 shops selling furniture. If only we needed a new rocking chair! There are so many choices. Even though we haven't done a lot of mileage, the heat is very draining. We are ecstatic to discover that the last 20km are all downhill! Once in Granada it's easy to find a cheap hostel for the night. We meet two friendly travelers, Rachel and Jen, and make a fantastic dinner of pasta and veggies. 

March 25th 

We need another break from the heat so we're taking today to enjoy the pool at our hostel and do some errands. We decided to buy some corn flour and make our own tortillas as well! For our first try, they turned out pretty well. 

Rachel with one of the parrots who resides here. 

Granada is yet another city filled with beautiful old architecture and a bustling market. 

The beautiful central cathedral

What a sunset!

Check out Danny's flicker page as well!