Costa Rica - Day 1

Oct 3, 2019

We left our house yesterday morning at 7:45 and arriving at our hotel in Costa Rica at 2 am. I think that's 16 hours of plane travel plus stops.  #gettingtoooldforthis

But... all that is over now and that great part of the trip begins.

First thing I must say - the travel group that we worked with is MARVELOUS.  There were people at the airport who whisked us up, put us in a van and drove (over 4 hours!) into the mountains of MonteVerde while we tried to sleep.  It was a little hard because the roads are truly awful in the mountains.  Very twisty and bumpy.  I think I am glad that I couldn't see over the edge in the dark!  There were people waiting to check us in at the hotel and everyone was very patient with our obvious exhaustion and complete lack of any Spanish.

I am feeling very much like the classic 'ugly American' traveler.  I truly have no Spanish.  And I did almost no 'homework' to prepare for this trip. Things like looking up the birds / animals we are likely to see, finding out the customs of the area, etc.  Normally I do that type of thing but things have been very busy recently.

Our hotel is at the top of a mountain and we are looking out over rain forest and bands of mountains rolling to the sea.  This morning (maybe??) I could see the ocean in the distance.  But the clouds have rolled in now and we have a great view of clouds, mountains, and rain forest.

We went for a small hike after breakfast.  We heard lots of birds but had trouble seeing them closely enough to make even a stab at identifying them.  We will go on a guided birding hike tomorrow and hope to have someone tell us what we are seeing !

We did see a lot of hummingbirds.  Tried to use the Audubon App to identify them but had no luck.  The problem is my ability to use the app, I am sure.  I am still having trouble with using the cell phone (#feelingoldtoday)

The map of this place is more of what I would call a 'virtual map'.  It shows where everything is in relation to everything else but it is not to scale and many roads / paths are not on the map.  This can be challenging.  I was a little bit worried about diving into the rainforest snaky paths without a real map but we got in and out safely.

I am very impressed by the water mgmt here.  Lots of culverts and water diversion to keep the rain from washing away the land and the buildings.  Interesting to see how different it is from the water mgmt in Holland.  Both places need to always be aware of the power of water but their problems (and techniques) are very different.  Holland is flat and below sea level so the huge problem is defense from the ocean.  Costa Rica is mountainous and has a rainy season so the primary issue is managing torrential downpours and periodic large outflows.

So the question for this trip:  Will I have the courage to do zip-lining?  On the one hand, this terrifies me.  On the other hand, this is the perfect time and place to do it.  Will I regret it if I don't do it? They offer it here at the hotel. I was tempted until they told me it was 10 stages, with repelling, and a Tarzan swing.  That is WAY over my comfort level.

Trying to work up my courage.  #fortunefavorsthebold