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Met a lovely seamstress called Annabel on the bus to La Fortuna. First person I have come across in Costa Rica who wants to practice her English! We did a language swap - with her speaking in English and me in Spanish - I really enjoyed it. The bus wound its way through Cloudforests shrouded in perpetual mist, dairy farms and tropical plant nurseries. Annabel was explaining that her husband works in a nursery and that most of the plants are exported to Europe for domestic use (houseplants). So, the next time you buy an exotic plant such as a yucca or delicious monster, it may have originated in Costa Rica!
Esperanza met me at the bus station and, after I'd put my bag in our hostel room, we walked around the town for a bit. We had a late lunch at a nice place called "Lava Lounge". Wendy and Carolyn arrived later and we caught up with the news from our respective projects. I was still tired from the nauseatingly windy bus ride so I took it easy that evening. The hostel offered a $5 ride to the natural hot springs in the river so we went there for a couple of hours until torrential rains chased us away. The water was steaming hot and we were surrounded by fireflies glowing on and off in the jungle canopy around us. It was really peaceful, at first, but then as the evening progressed more and more groups came until you could barely move around. Then, the rain started so we decided it was time to leave.
Next morning, the notorious Arenal volcano was visibly looming over the terrain. It has a classical conical shape and is absolutely massive! Up until a few years ago, lava was running down the slopes daily, but now the only activity takes place inside the mountain and is, therefore, not visible to anyone from town. Esperanza, Wendy and Carolyn all decided to go white water rafting. I was still not feeling too well so decided to take it easy and just hang around the hammocks at the hostel and buy some postcards to send to friends and family back home.
I met a lovely graphic designer from New York, called Laura, and we hung out for a the day. She's been in Costa Rica since May! She was also not enjoying it that much and I was telling her that life is too short, there's no point in hanging around trying to pass the time in a place that just doesn't feel right. I spoke to my sister on Skype that day and she gave me the same advice that I gave Laura. So, it was then that I decided that I should leave Costa Rica earlier. I just don't have the same connection to the place and the people that I have in many other countries. Everyone that we'd spoken to before arriving in Costa Rica had raved and waxed lyrical about the place - but I haven't seen it with the same rose-tinted glasses.
Anyways, Laura has travelled around the region and recommended a place called Bocas del Toro, a group of islands on the Caribbean side of Panama. I have always wanted to go to Panama so the seed was planted in my head to leave Costa Rica early. I didn't see the point of staying somewhere I didn't like or enjoy. And, I don't think it would make a difference to the children if I left a week earlier.
So, after chatting for a while, Laura and I decided to go the Baldi Resort which has almost 20 different thermal pools. It was relaxing swimming and floating in the pools and I felt a lot better having made a decision on what to do regarding the rest of my stay. In the evening, we all met up at the Lava Lounge again and chatted about our day's activities. I told Wendy that I wanted to leave the project early and she was also interested in leaving early. We decided we'd go to the Caribbean town of Puerto Viejo and then take it from there.
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