Monteverde

This weekend was amazing. All the International Studies Abroad (ISA) kids got together after classes on Friday and headed off to the rain forest. The trip took five and a half hours, which really wouldn't have been so bad but for the fact that we were perilously winding around the side of a mountain on a narrow, BUMPY dirt road. Most of the time you couldn't see around the corner so when another car comes zooming around, well, you can imagine. A note on the streets here, they are full of pot holes, which they call huecos. In other Latin American countries hueco is slang for a gay person. Imagine my friend's confusion when he kept telling everyone that the streets in San Jose were full of huecos and all the Argentinians kept laughing at him.

We finally arrived at Villa Verde, this awesome lodge, where we ate dinner and everyone proceeded to get drunk and dance to the DJ they had. There's a guy from Rice here named Robert who is at a different university but comes on our excursions. Anyhow, he's a great salsa dancer so I got lots of practice with him. It seems like white guys who can dance usually learned through classes so they're really technical and use terms like "cross body lead" and such and have a different sense of rhythm. Of course, I'm still learning but I think I dance better with latinos.

The next morning I woke up at 7AM and went for a walk in the rain forest. We were with a group of girls who kept whining about the mud and complaining that they hated nature. Do not ask me why you would come to Costa Rica if you hate nature. Or why you would bring your curling iron. Or your J-Lo sweatsuit. Anyhow, after ditching the fresitas, I proceeded to spend three hours hiking through the most amazing biological reserve. I took about 100 pictures, which I'll post on the internet as soon as some kind soul will tell me how. At one point it started to rain and you couldn't hear a thing except the drops landing on the leaves, and every once in a while, a monkey. I haven't felt so at peace in ages.

We headed back to the lodge, had lunch and then left for our canopy tour. A canopy tour, for those of you out of the loop, is where they strap a harness around your thighs and attach a strap to your waist with a carribeaner at the end. You hike up a ways into the forest and then climb up onto a little metal station that leads up to the top of a tree. They have a series of 16 wires connecting tree to tree. You get hooked on to the wire and then jump off the platform and zip down to the next station. Can you say adrenaline rush?

On station three I didn't stop in time and crashed into a tree, but other than that, I was a pro. At one station you have the option to do the Tarzan swing, which is just what it sounds like. That was exhilarating. The last line was the best, it ran 2,000 feet and was 260 feet up in the air. You get this bird's eye view of the rain forest and you feel like you're flying. It's different than skydiving because you actually have time to observe things, see the different colors of the greenery and the clouds meeting the hills.

Sunday morning was spent reading the sun and generally just lounging and enjoying the clean air. If anyone comes to visit, Monteverde is definitely on the itinerary.


Since a few of you aren't emailing me, I set up a comments section and you lazy asses can send some love that way. Remember, I'm all alone here and I miss everyone. (maybe the pity angle will work)