Quepos to La Fortuna

Today I was up early for my 6am bus north to La Fortuna. La Fortuna is where the active Arenal volcano is located and my hope was that I would be lucky enough to see an eruption with hot lava while I was there. As I sat waiting for my bus to arrive, I had an unexpected visitor crawl up my arm....a cockroach!!! I had no idea that was what I felt running up my arm until I flicked it from my shoulder and it went flying in the air. OMG it was disgusting...welcome to Central America!!!! My bus ride to La Fortuna was a bit of an experience. I was only able to buy a ticket for the 4 hour bus ride to San Jose and then once there, I needed to change bus terminals and buy another ticket for the second 5 hour bus ride to La Fortuna. I was not that excited to be heading back to San Jose, but I was lucky enough that I ran into a taxi driver who could speak English and took me to the other terminal and showed me where to buy my ticket...I am sure he ripped me off on the taxi fair, but it was worth every penny. I was told the buses get very busy on Friday, so I was expecting lots of people at the terminal...which was not the case. What I did not realize was that most of the people get on the bus at the second stop on the trip. It was amazing how many people the bus driver actually fit on the bus. And this was not just a short trip, but up to 5 hours long. I met one girl at one of our rest stops who stood for 2 hours of the bus ride. Thank God I had a seat the entire way. It was a hot, long and crowded ride, but the scenery was beautiful once you got out of the city. San Jose to La Fortuna has a very distinct landscape from Quepos to San Jose. In Quepos there was palm tree forests for as far as the eye could see and it was very dry. The drive to La Fortuna was much more scenic, with lush trees and very green valleys and hills. From time to time you went through a small village with beautifully manicured lawns and colourful flowers and plants. About an hour outside of La Fortuna the weather changed drastically. The sun disappeared, the clouds rolled in, the rain started and I swear you could feel the temperature drop 10 to 15 degrees. Through the winding and twisting hills, I finally arrived at La Fortuna at about 4pm and headed off to my hostel, La Choza Inn, on the outskirts of the town. It was a nice little place, with part of it consisting of an Inn and the other half dorm style rooms. The walls were paper thin, but the rooms were great and the staff were even better....all this for 7 dollars a night. The owner of the Inn also runs Eagle Tours and they were very helpful in answering any questions you might have. My first night in La Fortuna I met my roommate Barbara, who was visiting Costa Rica from Germany. We had some great conversation and decided to cook dinner together. After a long day of travelling, I was exhausted and headed to bed early, excited to be able to finally sleep in for the first time since I left. Tomorrow looks like it will be a day to explore the small town of La Fortuna. Until then....