Since my last post in February, the group has been fairly busy.
Toward the end of the month, we went to spend a night at the San Gerardo Biological Station. The station is located on the Atlantic side of the Tilarán mountain range, and offers a magnificent view of the Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal. Getting down to the station took a 3hr hike down a VERY steep muddy slope. For those without boots it was more of a 3 hour slide. It probably would have only taken an hour, but we got a very detailed tour on the way down. The hike was well worth it when we got to lounge on the porch and take in the view.
We took a night hike, which I was feeling a little nervous about. (The photos haven't yet surfaced of my hiking attire, which included pants tucked into socks, hood pulled tightly enough for only my eyes to be exposed, and my coat sleeves tucked into the socks over my hands.) It turned out not to be so bad. We saw snakes, frogs, spiders, and bioluminescent fungi!
When we woke up the next morning, we went on a morning hike. We saw an...army of army ants, and proceeded to stand and talk about them for 20 min while they were milling about our feet. (As an aside: my squeamishness has decreased exponentially since being here, but I HATE army ants.) I was also keeping my eye on my watch during this hike, because a group of us had arranged a trip to Puntarenas (the Pacific beach town about a 3hr drive down the mountain from Monteverde) for Carnavales. It's a huge 11-day party along the beach. The director had told us we could make the hike back up in roughly 45 min. I don't know why anyone believed that 3 hours down a mountain could take less than an hour up, but we took his word for it. Following the hike, the 9 of us going on the trip scrambled up the mountain. One even got sick on the way up. :( We decided not to walk together, and each go at our own pace. I made it up with 3 other girls in an hour and a half. We were the first ones up so we had the benefit of being able to wash up in the sinks at the top. It's a good thing our cab driver was Ahdi's father, because I doubt anyone else would have waited an extra hour for everyone else to make it. He was incredibly patient, because the trip did NOT run as smoothly as planned. The plan was to leave at 1 and drive straight down, but once we got in the car (at 2,) all sweating profusely, half decided they HAD to shower, while others remembered we had to go to the bank. He patiently drove us all over town to the bank and individual houses while we all got ready. (No extra charge. The man is a saint.)
We got down to the beach around 5, and enjoyed walking along the beach, dancing, and checking out the local vendors and street performers. It was like a standard street carnival on steroids. We wanted to go just to experience a true Costa Rican cultural event, because despite it's size, it's not geared toured tourists like all of Monteverde is. The food was also delicious. Whoever invented churros filled with caramel is probably my soulmate.
We got back to Monteverde around 1:30am, and I can guaranty everyone went STRAIGHT to bed. Weekend=success.
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