Saturday 13th February 1988
We awoke and packed our gear at 05:25 hrs. Typically, because we were already awake and up, the alarm clock whined happily at half past five. The taxi, a red Toyota Landcruiser, picked us up promptly at 06:00 hrs. just after a splendid sunrise.
We bobbed around in the back of the jeep while Gary joked with the young driver in Spanish. The road was a dry hilly track, and the jeep threw up a huge tailing dust cloud. The road was empty and in the fields we saw only cattle with attendant white birds and the odd squirrel.
The first sightings of Cattle Egrets in Costa Rica was in 1954. Originally from Africa the gregarious birds have become permanent residents and the most common egret species in Costa Rica. Egrets are herons but are normally smaller with a mostly white body and decorative plumage. While most heron species are solitary birds, egrets are gregarious and live in colonies.
As we drove down the last rise to the ferry terminal we saw our first howler monkeys, about six of them up in the trees. We waited at the dock while Gary carved up a pineapple and handed out dripping chunks to us.
The bus and a heavily crowded truck pulled up with more passengers for the lancha (boat). A likeable Dutch American Jewish bloke, who also shared our taxi (which cost us ₡ CRC 400 per person) sold a dodgy pineapple to the refresco (soft drink) lady and some good-humoured banter ensued.
We paid our ₡ CRC 75 at a wooden hut and jumped aboard the ferry. We sat around a heap of melons on the top deck in the glaring sun. When we arrived at Puntarenas we had breakfast in a café and bid farewell to Chris and Gary and then set off to kill the four hours until the bus to Santa Elena left at 14:15 hrs. Our next destination was the gateway to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.
We sat amongst colourful inflatable plastic toys on the beach front and sipped coffee for a while. Next, we went shopping for T-shirts and toiletries. From 13:00 hrs. until the bus left, we sat at the bus shelter brushing off the hustlers and the beggars.
We paid our ₡ CRC 95 fare on the bus. Once on the road the first hour was on “normal” roads and quite smooth, but we then turned on to a dusty rubble-strewn cart track which wove up into the mountains. We stopped a couple of times to tow an overladen green Daihatsu pick-up truck up the steeper inclines.
As we got higher, we got great views of the mountains, the setting sun, a huge lake, and a very solid-looking semi-circular rainbow. Adversely the cloud became greyer and thicker, the temperature dropped and the wind blew fine rain, to mix with the dust, through the windows of the bus.
We bumped into the town of Santa Elena just after 18:00 hrs. and ran around the corner in the wind and the rain to the Pension Santa Elena. This cost us ₡ CRC 350 for a double room. A young girl led us to a small wooden cubicle and provided us with a tiny padlock for the door.
We ate at the pension and nipped out to buy some Coca Cola and crisps from the local store. As we came back into the pension a girl was taking the local bobby (policeman) into the bar to break up a fight. We retired to our room for an early night.
No comments:
Post a Comment