Costa Rica Diary, Part 2, Dec 15 2006

Amigos y amigas!

And now, the exciting conclusion to "The Great Backpack Caper":

As you´ll recall, various promises, updates, and bulletins were flying back and forth between La Fortuna and points between, regarding the whereabouts of James´daypack. At last, we heard it would be sent from San Jose on the 1 o´clock bus. So we waited, and paced, and a small crowd grew (okay, they were really there to meet people on the bus..) and finally at 1:27 the bus rolled into town. People got down, and several got up. Mario the Bag-man and several of his mustachioed buddies yelled things at the driver, who then slapped his forehead and went around to the secret baggage compartment where he brought forth... The Bag!! But as he was under strict instructions from the bus company, he would not give it to James. Instead, he invited us to hop on the bus, which he then drove 200 metres around the corner to the depot, where a flurry of receipts issued forth. The depot man, with gusto, handed the bag to James. The bells pealed! The children sang! The rain started again! But it was okay, because James´raincoat was still in the bag. Indeed, the only missing items were his sunglasses, two chocolate bars, and a superhero comics anthology. Ergo, we deduced our thief was probably a misguided pothead who got out when things were looking hairy. Anyway, it was a day of triumph for the people of Costa Rica. Not to mention a ridiculous stroke of good luck for us.

We left the aptly-named La Fortuna that afternoon and traveled by jeebojee to Montverde. It was good fun: the first jeep leg took only 20 minutes, then we had an hour-long boat ride across Lake Arenal. The boat pitched us onto the muddy shores at Whoknowswhere. Ten or twelve of us then crammed into a small bus for two and a half hours of bumpy, careening joy through the lush mountains of Costa Verde. The hills are like multiple rows of crocodile teeth, and the so-called roads wind through, up, down and around without any straightaway longer than twenty yards. These are not paved roads. They are roads only in the sense that they are made of rock rather than tree. Good times! James couldn´t feel his legs after the first half-hour, but the views were gorgeous.

We arrived in the dark and found our hotel, a brand new place owned by an Italian guy named Renzo, whose true joy in life is riding mountain bikes up 70 degree inclines. Of which there are plenty in Monteverde: the driveway to the hotel, for example. His hotel has orthopedic mattresses, which we certainly appreciated after our many hours of "Costa Rican massage" on the bus.

I will write more about Monteverde in due course, but not on this computer; its keys are sticky with tropical goo. We spent a couple of great days there marching up and down the mountainside, and then decamped to Quepos last Sunday. Here we have a beautiful suite with kitchenette and pool and hammock and beach and good food and cheap beer etc. All mod cons.

That should explain why you haven´t heard from me in a while! We have decided to stay here until the 20th, and will be home on the 21st. Sometime before then I hope to visit a proper internet cafe to let you in on the details of what happens when you hook Allison up to a zipline suspended in the tropical canopy 100 feet above ground. Hint: there´s shrieking.

Love to all!

A&J (who´s been eaten by a hammock)