PVCR: Day 4

Oh what a night!  I never slept a wink. Neither did Louise. Maybe we  were too strung out from our hike?

We found out today that the CERRO CHATO TRAIL was CLOSED TODAY by the federal government of Costa Rica. Why? Because it is too dangerous!!!!! Where the trail starts there is a hotel, and a reception area where you pay. We didn't know it wasn't regulated. The trail itself is in a national park, but when the government tried to build a safe trail to the crater (green lake), the owner of the green lake, destroyed the hanging bridges. Can you believe it? The owner of the crater, has people selling this trail as a tour, when he really has no right.  He never maintained CERRO Chato, and was just interested in making money off unsuspecting tourists, like us. All the hotel owners and tourism people here are very glad that the government has shut him down. So we have the dubious distinction of having been pretty much the LAST tourists to go up CERRO  CHATO!!! Can we pick 'em or what?

So what did we do today? We are aching from our heads to our toes. I feel like I have been in a school yard fight. We went on ANOTHER hike after breakfast, which was however, much less arduous, must safer and very well maintained. We went to the Mystical Hanging Bridges National Park, near the Arenal Volcano.  Louise was terrified at first of these high, swinging bridges, but she got used to THEM.  We had a wonderful taxi driver, Jesus, take us there and back, while we had a leisurely three kilometre stroll through the rain forest, with MORE waterfalls, and where we saw all kinds of flore and fauna. IT was incredibly beautiful.

I have just had the BEST chicken quesadillas EVER, next door to our lodge, where we had a great chat with Alonso, our waiter, and where Louise fed half of her gigantic plate of nachos to me and the resident dog, Atmos.  Dos cervezas mas tardes ... two beer later, I am ready for a siesta.

It will be an evening spent relaxing around the pool, and to bed early. Tomorrow we move into La Fortuna, where we will spend ONE night with a REAL Costa Rican family. HOW FAR OUT OF LOUISE'S comfort ZONE do you think that will be?


Hasta mañana muchachos.