Adventurous Fortuna...Don't be scared!

Hey my friends, wherever u r, this story will excite u!

In OUR last entry WE showed u OUR planned schedule for Costa Rica...so wlecome to Fortuna which is north west of San Jose, right next to the vulcano Arenal. Unfortunately it is not active any more (since Oct 2010),...sorry guys, no own lava pics!

Arenal today

Vocano from above

Arenal in former times

For our few days here WE planned to have some adventureous moments, like jungle tours with dangerous animals, walking over hanging bridges and canopy (beeing a monkey and "jump" from tree to tree in the rainforest).
Every day WE had to pack OUR little backpacks precisely: Raincoat, first aid set, knife, headtorch, water, food, etc.

Actually already our hostel was quite exciting, as there was quite some wildlife around. The tree in front of our door was full with iguanas...colourful, little dragons and the owners of the hostel had two green parrots as pets, wherefrom one was able to speak some Spanish.

"Liebe ist" (for Henrik and Lisi;)

"Hola, hola"

On the first day WE did a guided rainforest tour and a hiking trip including hanging bridges; i know, very touristy but it was great fun! Just on the way to this area we saw already a bunch of cute cuatis (the one we missed with our camera the last time) scurring next to the street:

I don't know, but somehow, they look nasty

This time we gotcha!

Arriving there, i first thought i will not survive this trip! As u guys know, i am afraid of heights, right? Ohh...one of my biggest fears since i am little. Normally, i am not even able to stand on a latter...
However, something has changed since my "hypnosis" therapy...the fear is gone...completely! i walked over all 11 bridges...without loosing control...
The view from these bridges over the trees, little rivers and hills were breathtaking; here r some impressions:

...from the highest bridge, more than 60 m above the ground.

me and MIKE on a bridge...still smiling!

The guide showed us how to find tarantula's in the forest - one of the largest spider species on earth. He said we have to find a little hole in the soil, check with flashlight, if someone is home and then oscillate with a thin stick infront of it...she may trys to catch it. Surprisingly, the guide was not successful but MIKE was. Unfortunately, no pic because he was always last from our group, and i was on the forfront carrying the cam in my pocket.

Nevertheless, we saw many plants, flowers and animals. Have a look:

Street of leaf-cutting ants...sooo cute!

A juvenile terciopelo or bothrops asper, the most poisonous snake in Costa Rica.

A yellow eyelash viper behind a leave.

Can u find the insect in this pic?

Here it is! A walking stick belonging to the family of the phasmatodea...looks really like a plant!

jungle jungle jungle

more jungle

What a paradise!

After the tour WE wanted to go for dinner with some other groupmembers, as we all were really hungry and the guide promised us that he knows a great "local" place. After he brought us there, we realized that it was a lie...tourist trap!

So we went to another place...in Fortuna. There we have eaten well and cheap and after some beers (except MIKE) we were happy.

The jungle crew: Derek, Yemi, me, MIKE and Ana.

The next day WE were keen to do the zipline adventure tour which is nothing else then sliding through the jungle, flying from one tree to another...like monkeys. Surprisingly, our new friends, Derek and Yemi did the same thing. So we spent another day together which was such a great coincidence!

This canopy "training" was for me the last proof that my "theraphy" really worked. If i would survive this, than i am really healed from my fear. Indeed, this trip was one of the most exciting things i have ever done. U really feel like u can fly.

U just hang on one rope and slide over a zipline...very fast. It is possible to reach a speed of almost 70 km/h.
We all were afraid...scared we do something wrong but the instructor was cool and laidback and his English was good, too.
So here r some pics to impress u guys:

MIKE of course tried the superman first ;) HE is sooo brave. i was the second and last one who tried it, all others did not.
After that we four were just relaxing in the hotsprings and were watching some butterflys.

Kisses :*

In the evening we went out again for a Costa Rican dinner.

All in all a cool trip; PURA VIDA!
Here the song i thing suits best for Costa Rica, a place to explore...

Currently WE r in Alajuela (directly next to the airport) because WE wil leave this exciting country tomorrow and are going to explore Rio de Janeiro next (and because WE didn't want to go back to ugly San Jose)! With this animal representing San Jose the best, we say good bye this time and...

A wet two finger sloth (pfui teifl)

...cu soon in Rio!

Let's go into the Jungle...WElcome To sAnta tereSa Sweetys!!

Hey my friends, WE are back!

Right know WE are in Costa Rica, so buenos tardes amigos!

This time WE report about a hidden place, where u sleep next to the jungle, a surfers paradise...welcome to SANTA TERESA!!!


OUR plans in CR are as follows: First WE want to go to Santa Teresa. Why? WE asked a very, very lovely friend of us for a hint and he told us to go there...so thank YOU MILTON!!

After that we wanna see an active vulcano...a wish of US since ages!! WE will go to the volcano Arenal next to La Fortuna. Undeneath u see OUR map :)

WE have 11 days for this adventure!

OUR planned trip through CR. 1. Santa Teresa; 2. La Fortuna (vulcano) 3. Back to San Jose and in the right plane to Rio de Janeiro!!

The first night WE stayed in San Jose, the capital city of CR and i have to say,...it is pretty ugly. Almost nothing to see, a lot of holes on the streets and the food is quite expensive...all in all YEAALLK!

Nevertheless, all busses come from and go to San Jose, so when u wanna go to a specific place u have to pass San Jose.

Catedral  metropolitana..

MIKE resting..

me after a walk through the city...seems not so dangerous during daylight ;)

However, how to get to Santa Teresa? There is a direct bus going at 6 am and 2 pm...WE didn't want to get up sooo early nor arrive late either. For this reason, WE decided to do it our way...turned out to be a bad idea. WE took the bus to Puntarenas, then the ferry and then again a ?direct? bus to Santa Teresa. The bus to Puntarenas did not depart from the Coca Cola bus station...where it was supposed to leave,...so WE had no clue what to do. A crazy guy at the Coca Cola station offered US to bring US to Puntarenas for a cheap price...if WE would have been that stupid WE would have taken his offer and probably would have woken up somewhere without OUR kidneys. i believe WE r too smart for such a trap.

Arrived in Puntarenas, WE took the ferry to Paquera (see map).

Child feeding gulls with peanuts or crappy crisps.

MIKE and me on the ferry.

Wrong again, in Parquera, there is no direct bus to Santa Teresa...:P
In Paquera, a taxi driver got badly on OUR nerves...he offered to bring US there for a bunch of money...so no..FU.. Off!

WE decided to take the bus to Montezuma, get off in Cobano and take the bus to ST. i have to say...the streets leading to ST r not very good. Holes, stones, dust and bridges which really do not look save at all! i asked myself: Why the hell is no motorcyclist wearing a helmet?

MIKE in the bus to Santa Teresa...with an open door!!!

Finally after exhaustive 10 hours of travelling, WE arrived in ST and found OUR place to stay: Meli Melo's, a lovely bed and breakfast with an open air bathroom (no spiders included). i highly recommend this place!! Great owners, very friendly, good breakfast and clean! WE stayed in a private room.

Open air bathroom @ Meli Melo's.

Unfortunately WE could stay here just for 2 nights because they were booked out for the rest of the week. Weekends in ST r very famous among surfers because of the waves...
So WE moved to Las Casas Blancas for 2 nights; a very dirty hostel. On the other side, the owner is cool but his prices r compared to other hostels or Meli Melo's not worth the money!
For the last night WE moved to Don Jon's...here it is great: cool people and clean and nice dorm rooms.

Don Jon's.

In general, Santa Teresa is a hidden place on the map; u wont find it on google maps. U have a lot of nature around, an astonishing beach and small shops and surf schools. Here r some pics of this lovely little paradise grown out of the jungle:

Street in Santa Teresa. On the left side are hostels, shops, surf schools, etc. and on the right side u can go to the beach.

Here, a way to the beach...be aware of those huge reptiles that like to shit on ur head!!

The beach in the morning.

To relax, go in a natural hottub...;)

Or u can do squats on the beach.

Beach during sunset...all surfers go crazy because the waves are high.

If the beach gets boring, u can hike up the paradise hills and i can tell u, they offer u a great view...have a look ;)

Awesome view from the paradise hills.

Or u go in the jungle...as WE did...

On the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula is a huge nature preserve called Cabo Blanco. After less than two minutes WE could spot ther first "new" animal...a coati, which is something like a nose bear; unfortunately too fast for OUR camera. Right after WE heard some rustling in the trees above US...and we saw the first wild monkey in OUR lives - a white-faced capuchin (see pic below).

Further on the way WE saw the first big spider - actually a little bit frustrating. I thought they would crawl around everywhere but u really have to search for them. Surprisingly jiny seemed to have lost her fear of animals with more than 4 legs (and also of height)...probably also a result of MILTON's hypnosis.

After about half an hour of jungle madness WE found the hidden beach - locals told US that this beach is particularly nice, because not many people know about it.

          At the beginning of the dusk WE started heading back to avoid being still in the wild when it gets dark. A few moments later I had my personal highlight - something bigger was moving in the tree to OUR left. It turned out to be an Anteater! I couldn't resist moving closer to observe this strange creature. I knew that I came a little bit too close when it started snorting but therefore I got a very nice shot (see below)

The anteater mesmerized ME so much that I totally forgot about the time (although jiny called ME several times) - the sun was already pretty low and it was time to get out of the jungle. Just in that moment WE heard a very deep, loud and frightening roar - howling monkeys, easy to identify by their orange and black coloured fur, were swinging above OUR heads in the tree tops.  Although not that big they sound like King Kong himself - WE started moving faster. jiny tried to protect US with her walking stick against the bats whizzing soundless above our heads;) - actually very effective although this was more dangerous for ME than for the bats...thanks god she didn't do that with her firesticks!

On OUR way back WE also saw variegated squirrels with their typical red/black fur and a very bushy tail, lineated woodpeckers with their nice, allred mohawk and an armadillo...by the way the only animal known to reproduce itself by laying one egg wherefrom always 4 genetically identical quadruplets hatch. Just before the sundown WE made it out of the jungle waiting at the beach for the taxi driver to take US back to our hotel. There WE saw lots of funny coloured crabs while watching the sun going down.

Later WE found out that all the animals WE have seen also live right around our hotel/hostels - actually very annoying. Have you ever tried to sleep when howling monkeys are sitting above your window howling the whole night? - This is such an infernal loud noise that even earpax are worthless so the only way is to get used to it:( 


After the jungle tour MIKE changed a bit in his behaviour...see underneath! Bananas r sooo cheap u get a bunch for less than a dollar!

Donkey Kong?

No, wait...this is MIKE as we actually know him - working our all the time...and everywhere!

Tomorrow WE will leave this place and will go to La Fortuna...WE will report u about the vulcano the next time ;)

With these pictures WE say good bye fo this time:

C Ya soon!

Kisses jiny & MIKE

Antigua

Hey all,

We have a great new blog entry for u guys!

After we partied into the new year in Miami, we headed to the magic island of Antigua. There we stayed with friends in Galley Bay Heights in the Five Islands area for a little bit more than a week.

Map of Antigua

Life sunny side up

Antigua (pronounced An-tee'ga) is located in the middle of the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean and part of the British Commonwealth; hence people drive on the left side, which can be scary sometimes. The locals are very friendly and in contrast to the U.S., life happens on the streets. There are no side walks, so u have to be careful while driving ;)

Markus doing a pretty good job!

Like many other Caribbean islands, Antigua's most famous product is rum. Our favorite drink was rum punch which contains orange-, pinapple- and grapefruit juice, grenadine sirup and Antiguan rum of course.

Rum punch! Too good to show a full glass ;)

St. Johns is the capital city of Antigua with numerous the little shops where u can buy cute clothes, shoes and bikinis...and lots of jewellery. 

Markus, Sarah, Sabrina and Angie in St. John's.

There we both got a new haircut and I have to say that Angelica (my black hairdresser) did an awesome job! We also went to an old ruin @ Galley Bay. Up their I took an awesome pic!!!

Our hiking tour to the ruin @ Galley Bay.  Markus and Mike are on the right side.

The beatutiful Galley Bay has also another astonishing attraction to offer. On it's bottom lies the wreck of an old sunken ship. During our snorkeling trip we explored this underwater beauty and found various colourful fishys down there. Due to the fact, that our camera is waterproof we can also give you an impression of this unique experience.

Fishys @ the ship wreck of Galley Bay.

Believe it or not, but beside great natural landmarks Antigua also offers a vibrant nightlife. The local people defenitely know how to party but without the help of Markus and Sabrina we probably wouldn't have found these hidden hot spots. On a Saturday night we went to the English Habour on the other side of the island and had a wonderful dinner in the Admirals Inn. After filling our belly with delishious dishes, we went to the Abracadabra, a restaurant and most famous night club on Antigua. Around midnight the place gets really packed and the crowd rocks to pop and dance beats until dawn. Around 4am they started to play raggea which was the time when we decided to leave.

We had fruity but strong drinks and loooot's of fun as u can see - life is good on Antigua.

I loved those stanchions.

Angie and Sarah having fun.

Sarah and the flying dutch man

The barkeeper after mixing a fruity Cosmopolitan.

The day before we left we went to Shirley Heights. Every Sunday evening Antigua meets on this marvelous lookout high above the English Harbour celebrating the end of the week listening to various live bands while enjoying delicious burgers and chicken.

View on the English Harbour

On Monday we left this paradise and went back home...to Miami. We met again with many of our friends from the local couchsurfing community and had dinner at an all vegan restaurant where we had unbelievable good "deluxe" wraps with eggplants, spinach...and pesto. After a short night in the Batcave we boarded the plane to Costa Rica and arrived savely in San Jose, it's capital. In the next entry we will tell you about our first time in Central America.


Angie & Mike