Monteverde

Sunday night, I arrived in Costa Rica, and Monday afternoon I got on a bus to Monteverde. The bus left San Jose at two thirty. Around six, just after the sun went down, we got stuck. It's rainy season, the roads are wet and - going up to the cloud rainforest for whichMonteverde is known - they are also unpaved.

The engine groaned and the wheels spun. Everybody out. Hombres (those who spoke Spanish anyway - which was rather comical because the largest of them were German tourists) pushed, while mujeres (I'm so glad I am a woman) walked up the hill, turned, and watched. The men prevailed, and within thirty minutes we were on our way.

This morning, after a gorgeous breakfast prepared and served to me at my $6 a night hostel (how cool is that!), I took a canopy tour. A zip line canopy tour. I'm so hooked. Me, threeAustrian guys, and our guides zipped through the trees. We stopped to take pictures of a family of howler monkeys and the largest butterflies I've ever seen - they glimmer brilliant blue against the forest floor. The tour included a Tarzan swing, which isn't for the faint of heart - the guy before me screamed like a girl. I jumped off backwards. Tomorrow, I plan to visit a butterfly garden and see if I can spot a three-toed sloth. Megusta Costa Rica!