Adventures of a Vagabond

I’ve been racking up milage on my shoes in the last 24 hours, which has been a fine contrast to cooling (or melting my heels) on Costa Rican buses. Andrea and I have done a twilight tour through the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, a five and a half hour guided tour through the Monteverde Cloud Forest, and walking up and down the potholed dirt roads that connect everything.

The guided tours we’ve done have been some of my most memorable parts of the trip–without a good guide it would have been nearly impossible to spot any wildlife or identify any flora. Frederico, our guide for Monteverde, was awesome, toting a pair of binoculars and a portable telescope that he would setup for us anytime we came across anything interesting, which tended to be every couple of minutes. Both guides that we’ve had pulled from a deep well of knowledge and experience and wrapped it in an amicable personality. Lots-o-fun.
Between the two tours we’ve done, Andrea and I have learned loads about the local flora and seen some amazing fauna, including spider monkeys, howler monkeys, five sloths, two tarantulas (and other spiders), a katydid, a toucan(!), and a bunch of other birds and insects I simply can’t remember right now. There are pictures of everything (the current count is around 900), that I’m looking forward to working through when I get home next Sunday.

Monteverde is one of those special places for me which simply feels good to spend time and hang out in. We’re staying at a great pension in a town filled with friendly faces, surrounded by beautiful rolling hills of green. Monteverde purposely has no paved roads to keep things raw (and block rampant tourism), which certainly adds to the atmosphere. I had the most memorable lunch experience today which just exemplifies everything I like about this town.

After finishing our tour through the Monteverde Cloud Forest, Andrea, myself, plus David and Dianna (two of our hostel friends), opted to walk the 5km muddy road back to town, stopping at an art commune to browse their shop. Beyond the shop, the commune also had a cafe that was incredibly similiar to something you’d find in Seattle; it had a special charm and feel from the super-friendly woman, beautiful artisian painted walls, and furniture made entirely from coffee trees. Most memorable of all, our afternoon was made when we walked into the local eatery for some lunch.

This eatery was really just a kitchen. Five small picnic style tables comprised the front of the room, backing up into a beautiful kitchen with a wood stove. I have a thing for wood stoves…the smell of the woody smoke and coziness that a wood stove brings the room fills me with a sense of euphoria. The kitchen itself was run by a super-friendly, happy, and spry Tica. Though she was somewhere between 45 and 50 years old, we all called her Señorita, a title usually reserved for women less then 30, but aptly earned by this Tica, whose energy and liveliness transcended her years. Señorita (I have no idea what her real name is) sat us down and described to us the very traditional Costa Rican menu, which involved corn tortillas with chicken, beef, beans, and/or cheese. Everything, including the torillas were made fresh, so when we expressed some interest in her preparations, Señorita immediately brought us over and taught David and I to press our own tortillas by hand, in the true spirit of the commune, while Andrea and Dianna were shown (and sampled) the broad variety ingredients used.

The food was incredible and delicious. These tortillas were eaten with knife and fork, topped with fresh cheese and chicken or beans. As we were eating, Señorita called me over and pointed to the tortilla that she was heating, which was rising and puffing up with heat. “Con mucho amor,” she told me, indicating that the tortilla was the one I had pressed. I beamed.

We ended up staying there for a good two hours, waiting out the torrential downpour that started while we ate. Coffee, prepared Costa Rican style, was ordered, and Andrea produced a deck of cards to play a few lively rounds of spoons until it was time to leave. Reluctantly, we left the warmth of the wooden stove and dashed outside in the rain to catch the last bus back to town. I came back with something special…a small ball of freshly ground corn to make tortillas from for our breakfast tomorrow morning.

I can’t wait. Tomorrow is a self-imposed relaxation day, up here in the rainforest.