Monteverde Adventures - Bus Ride Part 2

so the 2nd half of the bus ride was ok - but long and tiring. Sitting in the sun for three hours was really hot - my arms and my chest got burnt even though i was in the shade. At one point while I was waiting, a bus stopped and an old man got off. I asked him (in spanish) if that was the bus to monteverde. He told me no and that it would be along at 3pm. Then he sat down and talked to me in spanish for a while. He asked me where I was from and told me about the beaches in costa rica. I had a lot of trouble understanding much of what he was saying, but at least now I am not completely terrified to try speaking to people. I really want to learn more spanish as fast as possible! finally, after what seemed like forever, my bus arrived. The old man was very kind and made sure I was onboard before continuing on his way. The second half of the bus ride cost $1700 colones (about $3.50). I paid the driver and was happy to find that there were plenty of available seats. I took a spot by the window where the breeze would help me to cool off.

On the bus ride, there was this gimpy old man selling cold drinks and plantain chips. He spent about 20 minutes walking up and down the aisle asking people if they wanted anything. When he came to me, I noticed that on his left hand, all of his fingernails looked like they had crumbled away, leaving flaky nail remnants and exposed nail beds. Looking at his hand made me feel a little squeamish at first - so I purchased some juice from him (in a can) to get an excuse to look at his freaky nails a while longer. i wonder what would cause nails to do that? yuck. The juice was cold and refreshing after my 3 hour sun-fest on the highway and I finished it in like 30 seconds. Don't worry - I used a straw to drink so my mouth did not come in contact with anything that the freaky hand guy touched.

The bus ride was really long and windey and I am so lucky I had a window seat. If I was standing, i would have chucked for sure. Every so often, the bus driver would stop and new people would get on. After about half an hour, all of the seats plus the aisle were completely packed. While we were driving, I stuck my arm out the window and took photos of the small towns we were driving through and the pretty countryside. What do you think?

When I arrived at my destination, it was already dark so I immediately started to look for a hotel. I ended up speaking to an american who is working in monteverde with a tour company. He told me about a cheap hotel and took me to it (it was just down the street from the bus station). I am paying $7 per night for a small room and a shared bathroom. Its tiny, but hey - the price is right. Also, the bed here is more comfy than my foam mattress back at Santa Rosa. Plus - wireless internet. Perfect. tomorrow I will get up and explore. I will probably start with the butterfly museum, followed by the frog museum, followed by a zipline in the afternoon! There is a lot to do and I think it will be really fun!

I think that's it for now - i have had a long day and i'm just about ready for sleep. Oh - one last thing. When I got here, i realized that I forgot all of my bathroom stuff in Santa Rosa. I had to buy all of the basics again. sigh. Oh well, at least I didn't forget to bring my socks. >.<

Ok that's it! Hope you are enjoying the blog cause I sure enjoy writing it!! more tomorrow,
Until then,
xox Day