In the meantime...

11 June to 27 June

We experienced many things since our last Blog entry – an internet connection was not one of them. Now that we're in Monteverde, we have internet access, but it's slooooooow (which means that I won't post photos, or else our stay here will be prolonged by a week).

Here's what we have been up to:

While still in Granada, we did an excursion to serene Laguna Apoyo. As this beautiful lake is set within the crater of a volcano, some of the lava rocks on its shore are so light such that they float.

We then moved on to Ometepe, a magical island created by twin volcanos rising from the calm waters of lake Nicaragua. Its lack of infrastructure is more than compensated by its abundance of natural beauty. In an adventurous 10 hour hike, we scaled one of the two volcanos. The steep, muddy slopes and pouring rain stilled our thirst for adventure for the time being.

Familiar with the public transport system of Nica by now, we crossed Lake Nicaragua by Ferry (10 hours overnight) to spend a day in San Carlos. From there we sailed down the Rio San Juan to El Castillo, an old fort set on a hilltop defending the river passage from the Caribbean Sea to the Cities on Lago Nicaragua from pirates.

We crossed the border into Costa Rica via boat on Rio Frió, fringed by lush vegetations. From the tree-tops, the monkeys bid their fare-well. We had a chance to really enjoy the serenity of this river, when the motor of our boat failed and we slowly drifted downstream (which would have been fine, if our destination had not been upstream). Luckily,our boatmen were able to fix the problem within a short time.

Now, we're in Monteverde, Costa Rica, where we enjoy our Spanish classes, and the cloud forest. At 6 a.m, the hilltop location of our apartment let's us enjoy a beautiful view down the mountains as far a the golf of Nicoya. But soon after, clouds start creeping up the mountain from below until we're wrapped in a cloud. Afternoons tend to be rainy.

Granada

8 June 2009

As we arrive in Granada, a big festival is going on on the central square, the Parque Central: lots of cowboys on horseback, huge dancing dolls, drummers and dancers. Natasha found the perfect hotel for us: central and peaceful, with a lovely courtyard complete with hammocks, a pool, wireless internet and the perfect terrace for blogging. However, it's so hot and humid that even typing makes me sweat.

See all the pictures here

Granada

Which fruit has its seeds on the outside?

7 June 2009


This is one of the questions that a U.S. border control officer asks the passengers in line for their passport check. Whoever knows the answer is allowed to jump the queue. The officer is a great laugh and keeps everyone waiting entertained with his trivia questions. Do you know the answer?

Stormy Day

5 June 2009

Getting caugth in a serious thunderstorm in Miami. The rain sets on while we're having lunch in a small restaurant, luckily we decided to sit inside. After 30 minutes, the huge outside umbrellas are destroyed by strong winds. A bit later it starts to hail ice the size of quarter coins. The parking lot in the back of the restaurant is flooded, and tree branches have fallen onto cars - calling a cab is not an option. After 2,5 hours of waiting, we decide to make a spint for the hotel which is only a few blocks away. After dashing through streets which are at some places 50 cm under water, we arrive completely soaked in our hotel - it is in this moment that the rain stops.

As we enter our room on the top floor, the maintenance man just exits our room with bags of soaked towels. Seems like our room got flooded too.

The flooded terrace of our room.

swimming at the beach in the morning

Departure day

3 June 2009

After the initial two days of downpourring, we now have uninterrupted sunshine. We enjoy the pool and the garden.

Natasha spots two monkeys on the roof of a neighbouring building, but on closer inspection they turn out to be two boys playing.

Surprising Antoine

30 May 2009

Breakfast with Sandra and Evita. Antoine doesn't know yet that we're here. We surprise him at lunch, but he doens't loose his cool - at least not for more than a second.