Let the Games Begin...
With the kick off of the Brazil and Croatia game last Thursday, the World Cup has begun. Eight years ago I was watching the World Cup in Bulgaria, Albania and Italy. There is something to watching this event with other people from around the world. In this case, the local Ticos cheering on their Costa Rican team or other travelers from Germany, France, Argentina, or Ireland glued to the TV. The groans of missed goals or bad turn overs to controversial calls to the shot that puts the ball in the net and the announcer yelling "gggggoooooaaaaaallllll!" I will be flying to Brazil in a couple of days and can not believe how quickly a month and half have gone by.
I am enjoying the cool air, wild life and beautiful rainforest of Monteverde in Costa Rica. This morning I went ziplining, Tarzan swinging and 'superman' lining (essentially going over a 1km or so over a valley on your belly as you are garnished on a line. The outfit like many other zipline companies runs hundreds of tourists through every week and is a popular thing to do. I also recommend taking the guided night hike as the nocturnal animals are out and we saw plenty of pit viper snakes, sloths, porcupine, a sleeping tucan and other animals. The day hike you will lucky to spot any animals but the green foilage is pleasant and the insects are minimal.
Monte Verde-Santa Elena is a town centered purely around eco-tourism with English restaurant menus, plenty of accomdations and hostals, two supermarkets and lots of tours and ads for them. It is the rainy season so business is slow but I can imagine it keeps packed. There are plenty of American tourists and you can hike here in the bush knowing there are no bandits who are going to clean you out. With that, it is more expensive for food and accomdation.
I stayed a few days in Liberia with a Japanese friend's dad and it was nice to unpack and settle for a time. To be honest, there not too much to see in this town itself though there is a beach and park nearby. It was kind of him to let me stay in his town house and I was impressed that at 71, he would volunteer (through the Japanese government) in a foreign country for two years to teach the locals about food processing and learn the language and way of life here. He was also quite self sufficient and would make bake his own bread, grow his own beans and cook Japanese food.
I am enjoying the cool air, wild life and beautiful rainforest of Monteverde in Costa Rica. This morning I went ziplining, Tarzan swinging and 'superman' lining (essentially going over a 1km or so over a valley on your belly as you are garnished on a line. The outfit like many other zipline companies runs hundreds of tourists through every week and is a popular thing to do. I also recommend taking the guided night hike as the nocturnal animals are out and we saw plenty of pit viper snakes, sloths, porcupine, a sleeping tucan and other animals. The day hike you will lucky to spot any animals but the green foilage is pleasant and the insects are minimal.
Monte Verde-Santa Elena is a town centered purely around eco-tourism with English restaurant menus, plenty of accomdations and hostals, two supermarkets and lots of tours and ads for them. It is the rainy season so business is slow but I can imagine it keeps packed. There are plenty of American tourists and you can hike here in the bush knowing there are no bandits who are going to clean you out. With that, it is more expensive for food and accomdation.
I stayed a few days in Liberia with a Japanese friend's dad and it was nice to unpack and settle for a time. To be honest, there not too much to see in this town itself though there is a beach and park nearby. It was kind of him to let me stay in his town house and I was impressed that at 71, he would volunteer (through the Japanese government) in a foreign country for two years to teach the locals about food processing and learn the language and way of life here. He was also quite self sufficient and would make bake his own bread, grow his own beans and cook Japanese food.
posted by Louis at 9:01 PM
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