Monte Verde

I have spent the last two weekends away from San Jose, traveling first to Monte Verde and last weekend to San Carlos. Things have been a little crazy as I attempt to get back into the groove of classes and ministry after a weekend away, so...it's for this reason that I'm finally getting around to an update on my travels.

Monte Verde is a heavily forested region Northwest of San Jose. The bus ride was just over 5 hours long, but it would have taken much less time if the roads had been in good shape. We heard that the Quaker community of Monte Verde wants the roads in such horrible condition on purpose to keep the area quieter. Sounds like a possible explanation to me; in any case, torrential rain plus dirt roads makes for a very muddy, bumpy ride. At one point, we all had to get off the bus and walk up a very steep, very muddy hill because apparently the bus couldn't make it up. There was another bus waiting for us at the top. After living in Honduras for two years, I can't say that this surprised me much. It all becomes part of the adventure. And for once, I actually had the appropriate footwear! Despite the slow going on the bus, the views from the window were absolutely breathtakingly beautiful: vibrantly green mountains cloaked in fog spread out in all directions.

We stayed two nights in a small hostel in the town of Santa Elena. Because the town is situated between two national parks renowned for their beautiful cloud forests and variety of flora and fauna, there were quite a few international tourists. I enjoyed listening to and speaking a bit of German with the girls at our hostel and, of course, Spanish with the locals in Santa Elena. On Saturday afternoon we visited a local cheese factory (sampling not cheese but delicious ice cream) and then walked some back roads lined by lush forests and graced with beautiful views. I really like walking out in the countryside, and I was reminded of walking down from La Tigra Nat. Park in Honduras about two years ago. That moment, with it's beautiful views of the valley and the sense of calm contentedness that I had, are like a photograph imprinted in my mind. Anyway, we walked back to town and then had a Tico dinner at a nearby restaurant--really the front porch of someone's house. It was fun to talk with the cook after dinner and hear about her family.

The next day, we got up early to hike in the national forest. Really, the place felt a bit surreal in it's lush beauty. I've hiked through cloud forests before, but this was park was absolutely amazing in its diversity of plant and animal life. Every once in a while, we stopped to bird watch, and I was pleased to spot a number of colorful songbirds and even a toucan. While I stayed in the park to hike a bit longer, a few of my friends left to attend a Quaker meeting. It was apparently an interesting experience: the whole congregation sat in absolute silence for an entire hour before closing with fellowship! Hmm...I guess that practicing silence can be a spiritual discipline.

The rest of the day was fairly relaxed--although I did sprint up a very long hill to escape pouring rain. I believe that one gets just as wet running in rain for a short time as walking in rain for a longer time, but it still seems like this shouldn't be the case, and at least I got to change out of my wet things sooner. After a long bus ride home, we returned to the San Jose bus station (located in a very shady part of town, which seems to be case for bus stations everywhere), and arrived home safely that evening. Here are some pictures: