Armadillos aren't only in Texas!!!!!!!

I arrived to San Jose at exactly 9:38 in the pm. A mass of people and Limor greeted me. A quick cab ride took us to a Norwegian and a hostel. We enjoyed reggae music at a local bar that served surprisingly delicious burgers. Half a handle of sugar cane rum later we called it a night. The next morning we ventured to a volcano by the name of Poas. No magma or lava there, but plenty of beauty and lush vegetation. We went back to San Jose to hit up the markets to haggle the locals on gift purchases. Miss Tiffany finally reunited with us from Nicaragua. We went to see a band perform and what turned into a fire show. The street was closed by barricades of people that surrounded a 10-man drum circle. Onlookers got into the show by offering juggling performances, dancing and even a mesmerizing fire lit hula-hoop act. El Salvador was most definitely representing. The next morning we got on a bus - much to our stomach's dismay - to go to Monte Verde (green mountain). A treacherous bus ride took us to the top of a mountain that lived up to its name. After a hearty dinner and laughing like little girls all night (yes we kept the rest of the hostel awake) we got on yet another crazy bus ride. Everywhere I looked around me offered fields filled with coffee plants, fresh fruits and butterfly gardens. I couldn't help but think the free market might not be so free. We continued to the very, very top of the mountain to a little slice of green heaven. My mission was to see monkeys and, by God, I was going to see monkeys. As we entered the bosque nuboso (cloud forest) my wish was fulfilled - it was only a flash of a tail and a brief appearance, but I saw a monkey. As we continued deeper into the forest I embraced the absolute silence. A calm serenity seemed to rest on top of the clouds. Later that day a jockey derby led us into the sunset - Tiffany rode the rebellious Pamela, Limor rode sweet Paloma and I rode on the valiant Chiqitin. My thighs regretted the ride later on, but the pain was nothing a little sugar cane rum couldn't take care of. The next morning we took a six hour bus ride on the lovely public bus system to a coastal town called Puertoarenas. We boarded a ferry with a 6-pack of Imperial (CR's national beer) and a Swede. That was my first encounter with the Costa Rican sun. When we arrived on land we still had another two hours to make it to our final destination, Montezuma. Our room was a mere 25 paces from the beach with a restaurant/bar attached - how convenient. It was a breathtaking view, the kind you see in postcards, but never really get to see, but I was seeing it. Everything was so natural - the people used the earth around them and were quite content without the commodities I was so attached to. The next day we headed out to Tortuga Island for some snorkeling where I came up close and personal with another world. We saw sting rays, star fish, puffer fish and all the other National Geographic characters. We intended to continue on to Miguel Antonio, but only made it as far as Jaco because I wanted to see the beach one more time before the sun went down. We spent my last night with pitchers of Caipirinha (a.k.a. Capoeira) and nostalgia as we reminisced over the last week. Thanks for a wonderful time, my beautiful friends. Pura vida! (blog by "the" Laurette)