48 hours of bus riding over 5 days. Cold, cold air-conditioning is a shock after hot humid Panama. Border scams and long lines at 7am. My first new unknown tropical fruit juice across the border is sweet and delicious. In San Jose the bus terminal area is sketchy and I haven't changed any money yet for a taxi, but I somehow obtain a free guide who walks me to my hostel. Everyone here is amazingly friendly. In the park, I can hardly write my letter with so many people stopping to talk.
Monteverde bus leaves early and passes through gorgeous green mountains and up a steep dirt road. Hostel owner is pure loveliness: gay, braids, lots of cute threats to punish me if I don't brush my teeth or wear pajamas. Wind whips through my hair as I speed along cables high above the canopy. So fast! Epiphytes drown the tall trees in lush greenness.
Salsa dancing, live music, fun travelers. What the best hostels are all about. Up again at dawn and hiking through the cloud forest reserve. Fairy mists swirl over wooden stepping stones and under mossy fallen logs, strident bird calls are all that pierce the thick stillness.
Missed my stop to Heredia, but still manage to borrow a cell phone and call Andrea to come pick me up. Her mother is deep hugs of warmth and goodness, her house is tiled and tasteful. We drink a beer high above the twinkling lights of the town in a bar of wooden walls lit only by candles and christmas lights. First good sleep in days and a sunny morning walk through the main streets before I head home with my new Panamanian visa in hand (thanks to my Smithsonian ID and my blue eyes).
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