Costa Rica Journal 2014

Pura Vida

Costa Rica 2014 Dave Rossiter

Preamble So, I have John in Safeguarding to thank for this. Staring down the barrel of two and a half weeks off work, with no plans and eight and a half working days to go, he turned to me and suggested I go and sit on a beach. That's the polar opposite of what I usually do on holidays, so I said I'd rather be doing the Machu Pichu trail or volunteer with Sea Turtles in Ecuador. This planted a seed.

That evening I booked to spend the time in Ecuador at an animal sanctuary, with a few days at the end to take a flight to the Galapagos Islands and see some sea turtles before coming back. I kept an eye on flights until the end of the week and Thursday night was planning on booking them but didn't. Which was just as well, because I got an e-mail early Friday saying that the booking, where I was due to arrive in 9 days, wasn't actually available. Would I like to go to Costa Rica instead? I checked flights and they were cheaper, so went for it.

I didn't book the flights until the Monday of the week I was due to leave, because the company wanted to make sure that I really had my place confirmed this time. Over the weekend the flight prices crept up a bit but it was worth waiting to be sure. As soon as the flights were booked I started thinking about some of the more trivial elements of travelling (as it had been a while), like understanding something about the country I just decided to spend 18 days in. In retrospect, learning any Spanish may have been a better use of this time.

The day to leave came as quickly as you'd expect. I was as prepared as I could be... it was time to fly.

Day 1 - Saturday My first flight, the longest one I'd been on since I was 16, was off to a great start when I ended up sitting next to a bloke who sat for the whole flight with his legs spread apart and up in the air, wedged against the seat in front. I couldn't work out whether he was a nervous flier or a tosser but didn't feel inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt after spending far too many hours sat next to him. I watched 12 Years a Slave and the Constant Gardener, which helped to pass the time.

I had been debating what to do when I got to Halifax. I had about 14 hours there so it was enough time to go out and see some of Canada but could equally pass the time in the airport. I opted to explore the city. I walked to the bus stop and ended up huddled in a small shelter with four other people while there was 45 degree sleet trying to join us. This was the only time I was glad to have my coat with me. The $20 Canadian note has the Queen's face on it... I guess I should have expected that.

On arriving in Halifax I walked for about 15 minutes to try to sightsee but couldn't see a thing with the weather. I ended up very cold and very wet very quickly. One thing I had seen in passing was an inviting pub, the Split Crow. I had to pay to get in as a band was on. I don't know quite what everyone was paying for because they only played about six songs before going for a cig break that lasted the rest of the night! I did have a good burger though. There was NHL and baseball on the TV. The band did play a hockey song at one point. I clearly wasn't in Kansas anymore...

I spent the evening with two "couples", a couple whose names I can't remember and Kate and Kayla who were students elsewhere in Canada and doing some travelling. We had plenty to drink and I got the bus back to the airport around 10:30pm. The airport was very bright and noisy. I found a bench that wasn't quite long enough to sleep on and tried to kip before check-in at 3:30am.

Day 2 - Sunday Suffice to say I got bugger all sleep. Check in was late to open but I was still fine for time before take-off. Security was quick and easy to get through – made me so glad that I didn't go through America. I slept on the short flight to Toronto and had a short stopover there with access to Wi-Fi. My first shock on the flight from Toronto was that there were no TVs! This was going to be a long flight! I read for most of it and eventually got talking to Aarti who was sat next to me. We went through passport control and baggage reclaim together and exchanged e-mail addresses.

As soon as I was out into the tropical heat of Costa Rica I saw the RealGap sign. Here I met Chris (from Cornwall, though didn't sound like it) and the two Mitchells (Canada) who had all been on the same flight as me!

We went to the hostel and met others when it slowly dawned on me that everyone else was doing something else and I was the only one going on to the animal rescue. That was a bit sad as they seemed like a really good bunch and we were all getting on really well. Everyone else was doing a month-long experience tour that included volunteering and excursions around the country.

Sounded quite fun! It made me wonder whether I could book more leave off work and change my flights but I decided to carry on as planned.

We went for a short walk and then back for dinner, which was the local dish called Casado. It's basically meat, rice and kidney beans. I spent the evening getting to know everyone in the rooftop bar. Everyone ended up going to bed around 8:45 but I was first to wake up about 5:20!

Day 3 - Monday It was very loud and light throughout the night but still the best night's sleep I'd had in a week. I finally got up at 6am and then everyone was getting up by the time I was back from the loo. Victor was last up and ready for the walk to orientation. No one had seen him as he'd got in late and he was the only person going to the same place as me. He's Belgian and speaks English, French and Spanish so is very handy! This was typical of the other European people I met, and goes to show how shit we are at languages in England.

We went to orientation and ate breakfast. I got a group photo for posterity, even though I wasn't going to see almost all of them again. At this point I was a little disconcerted that my camera had stopped working properly over the last few days. It would focus after a half-press on the shutter release button but then would wait anywhere between instantly and several seconds before taking the photo… if it could be bothered. It's going to be very challenging to get any photos of animals...

Got the bus to Cuidad Quesada (which is also called San Carlos, the name I use because I can't reliably pronounce the other one) with Victor and were met by two people who, it transpired, were to be my host family. We got some wellies on the way. Victor stayed with another family up the road from me and I carried on up the road with my host family, realising that I knew very little Spanish indeed. None! I could understand some of the conversation but had no way of being able to respond in any sensible or coherent way.

At the house I met Pablo who is French. I had no idea whether he spoke English or not but I knew I could speak French if I had to – though probably without much success. Thankfully he did speak English so we were able to talk and I was able to communicate with the family through him sometimes.

I spent a little time in the garden and in the 30 minutes I was there saw a hummingbird already.

Let's hope there's more of that!

I got to use the internet through the PC (there's no Wi-Fi) which was good. My phone connected on 3G for 2 minutes and then stopped working. Brilliant. While in the living room I saw a lizard creep out from behind the curtain pole and eat a fly – better than a spider doing it!

I ended up going to a local bar with Pablo and Sandra and Jorge's son, Francesco. Had a local beer, which was very nice, and then went back to the house. I went to bed and read around 8pm and ended up falling asleep at the end of the chapter.

Day 4 - Tuesday Awake again at 5:30 and up just before 6. Got ready for the bus at 7, which we missed as Pablo was still in bed. Got a lift from Jorge instead. Went to get cash and checked my balance in local Colones – over 700,000! - and took some cash out.

Went in and met the other volunteers; Lewis from Birmingham, others from Sweden and Switzerland. Spent the morning in quarantine with Pablo, starting off feeding the mice and rats before saying hello to the vicious/crazy monkeys and then cleaning out the 11 mostly evil parrots.

Stopped for a break after a few hours and found out they have Wi-Fi at the house so sat on the steps for a while and spoke to civilisation.

After the break we went back to finish quarantine – scrubbed the whole floor whilst the monkeys were fed (two of the Capuchins were fed rats) and watched a small deer get fed. Then went and cleaned out the lion enclosure which was surreal! The morning started overcast with the afternoon clearing and temperatures getting up to 32 Celsius!

We finished early to go back to the house as Pablo wanted to watch the football (Chelsea against Paris St. German, with Paris being his local team). I broke a glass and can't remember who won the football.

Had some e-mail exchanges with Aarti from the plane and I'm now going to go on an excursion with her and her fellow volunteers at the weekend. The plan is to do horse riding, waterfall abseiling, zip lining and a trip to Tortuga Island. Going to cost quite a bit but I will get to see some interesting things. Means I can leave Arenal volcano to the next weekend before deciding what to do on my final days. Next week is a major festival – Semana Santa – leading up to Easter so will be interesting to see how difficult it is to get anywhere or do anything. Should be worst on Thursday and Friday apparently!

I was sat on my bed for a while and heard a strange noise. I only had enough time to look up before little Binky, the Chihuahua was leaping through the air and onto the bed. Considering I'd not really said hello to him he was very brave. I wasn't sure how he'd be as the Chihuahua at the rescue is very nervy but Binky is the opposite – such a character and very lovable, for a tiny dog!

While planning the weekend away, and wanting to communicate this with my host family, I realise how bad my Spanish book is because it's just full of words and no phrases. I had downloaded an app with phrases whilst at the rescue but they were set ones so I had to look at a few different ones to work out how to construct the sentence I wanted to say; "Voy a Jaco a viernes hasta lunes," which hopefully means that I'm going to Jaco on Friday and will return on Monday.

Dinner yesterday was some weird omelette soup thing and tonight was pasta. I went to sleep around 9:30.

Day 5 – Wednesday Up at 5:30ish and out of bed shortly after 6. Got ready and got the bus on my own as Pablo was still in bed. The bus was fairly full at this time in the morning!

I was first in of the volunteers and then Sarah and Victor showed up shortly after. Seems most people come for 8ish but as long as I'm up early I might as well get there early. I'm not a good faffer.

Started the day cleaning the lions again with Victor. Was all going well until I poured the lions water bowl (something like 2 feet across and impossibly heavy to pick up when full) down my welly! It was wet all day!

We then started sweeping outside the row of cat enclosures. Carlos the keeper got Mina, a Jaguarundi, out and held her like a baby, we both stroked her.

At the break I took my camera out. It still doesn't work properly and the lenses are awful. Got some salvageable pics, including some close up of a Jesus Lizard, but was having to change settings with every shot to get anything decent through the telephoto, whilst hoping that it would actually take the picture I was trying to get!

Got back and carried on sweeping though Victor had disappeared. I stroked the Leopard through the cage, which was awesome – it was the size of a St. Bernard, so big you could hear the thud of weight as it landed gracefully on the concrete floor – very impressive! I recorded it purring because it was so loud! It looked playful but I wasn't going to do any more than a quick tickle behind the ears on this one! When I carried on sweeping next to its cage it put its paws against the fence and stood on its hind legs, as tall as me and only inches away... that was pretty intense.

While working outside the cats some tourists came up to me and asked me questions in Spanish. I started to say that I didn't speak Spanish (in Spanish, as I'd learnt that much!) and they said "Oh, so you speak English then?" Turns out they were some sort of Amish people from Manitoba (I asked a Canadian later in my trip) and they asked where I "hailed" from – funny bunch.

After my sweeping I helped Carlos clear branches and dead foliage – hot work. We stopped for lunch and it rained heavily for a while before easing off to just spitting. At lunch people were talking in Spanish, some in French and a few in English. We're so bad at integrating... I knew what was being talked about in French and a little of the Spanish (very local accents that drawled the words together making it difficult for everyone, not just me) but felt bad not to be able to understand and engage more.

Lunch was provided by Sandra (you take it in with you each morning) and was a nice combination of (unsurprisingly) meat, beans and rice with some fresh fruit and salad.

After lunch I paired up with both Sarah’s from Switzerland and Lewis to clear more, larger foliage and move it over to the slaughterhouse. As we were going this, a calf arrived to be killed and fed to the lions/cats. I kept my eyes averted for fear of being volunteered to help.

After we were done the other three went to quarantine to clear out the rats and I helped to clear out the birds that were called turkeys! Apparently they're usually quite hostile and territorial but the four of us in there didn't have much trouble. No one even got shit on.

That was the end of our day so I went to the house to get Wi-Fi and post some stuff on Facebook before joining Pablo and Victor to wait for the bus. We made out way down to the bus stop expecting to wait another 30 minutes for the bus but as soon as we got to the bus stop a pickup stopped and offered us all a lift to Santa Rosa, which was about 2/3rds the way to where Pablo and me were staying, and was closer for Victor. It was surreal for the three of us to be on the back of a pickup hurtling down the road, but strangely liberating.

Pablo joined some friends in Santa Rosa and Victor went to his place, leaving me to walk the last 20 minutes back on my own. The walk wasn't too bad until the end as it was quite good, temperature-wise, but getting warmer and more humid after the rain. The last bit was up a fairly steep hill too, which didn't help. I got back and no one was in. I couldn't work out how to get in at first so sat outside for a while. Shortly after I gave it another go and realised I just had to open the external gate and then unlock the door with the key I had, now I could reach the lock!

Washed up my lunch stuff and said hello to Binky before popping on the internet and then reading for a bit. Generally I just chilled until I had a shower. Been trying to learn something more useful in Spanish though it's not going to necessarily help me understand what the response is!

Dinner was nice, stewed beef and big boiled potatoes with rice and a nice drink. The drink with last night's dinner looked like frogspawn – not sure what it tasted of – and wasn't particularly appealing.

With breakfast you get a strange drink of water and what looks like porridge at the bottom. I can't bring myself to drink it!

Day 6 - Thursday So I went to sleep fairly early after my first full day's work here – around 9:30ish when I just couldn't keep my eyes open. I didn't sleep well and woke up loads. Didn't set my alarm because I thought I'd be up at 5:30 as with the other days... not the case! I woke up at 6:58, with enough time to realise that I wouldn't get the 7am bus before hearing it go past. Guess I'll be getting the 8:10 bus then!

For breakfast I had a massive, thick pancake covered in yoghurt with banana. I also had watermelon (which I don't particularly like, but it is nicer over here) and papaya. I hadn't had papaya on its own before and was told that it was from the garden, which was pretty cool.

So I got the 8:10 bus with Pablo and it was empty. Vincent got on when we passed his place and then a German girl called Katie who is here volunteering with her boyfriend. She speaks good English. Her boyfriend was staying at home as he was unwell, something to do with his leg?

There were a fair number of volunteers in the morning but most left at the first break to head off on weekend getaways. All day it was pissing down. I started by clearing a path and because of my OCD and wanting to get it perfectly clear I was later to first break than everyone else.

After break I went and cleaned out the lions with Victor and Katie. Tried to get a photo of the lions' water bowl but it was too dark in their enclosure.

Will try again next week!

After the lions the three of us fed four wheelbarrows’ full of bananas to the pigs.

We stopped for lunch, another nice one prepared

by Sandra, but there were no beans in mine! We were all shocked that a lunch was missing one of the three staple ingredients! Katie said that at the weekend they all ate burgers and pizza because they were fed up of always having the local food. I think Sandra does a fair range so it shouldn't get boring... feel sorry for some of the others who say they have rice and beans with meat or something else every meal of every day!

It was just Victor, Katie and myself after lunch and we got roped into raking up leaves on a massive bit of grass. Luckily just as we started a vanload of papayas arrived and Victor and I were told to go and help sort them.

I say luckily... the open backed truck was literally full of papayas in all stages of life from green and rock hard to mouldy/slushy ones, with the occasional one that looked solid but was actually completely rotten, so your hand would just sink into it like warm, fruity custard with a hard skin.

Yum. The first job was to sort them by colour with green ones going in one place, good green/yellow ones in another and the mushy ones in wheelbarrows. As each of the wheelbarrows got full we would take them over to the pigs and chuck them in. Very satisfying to see the overripe papayas exploding when they hit the ground. The pigs loved it. In total we filled eight wheelbarrows and fed five cages of pigs (some of which had already had bananas! Greedy p...) This took the rest of the afternoon and was really messy work. We were both sticky to the elbow with splashes of rotten papaya over our clothes and on our skin where we weren't sweating it off again. The wheelbarrows had a good litre of evil-looking papaya punch slopping around the bottom. Nice.

I've gone from not having papaya on its own before to having far too much of it for one day!!

As we left for the day the sun finally shone which made me realise how wet I was! Got the bus back and Pablo had just been chilling. Sat out in the sun and read for a while – realised I've left my hat somewhere but I'm not sure exactly where... I only just bought it before coming out but I have my spare hat, one that has been pretty much around the world with me since I was about 13 (it looks like it's been around the world 10 times stuck to the wheel of a truck!)

Now I'm going to have a shower, eat some crisps and put some clothes in the wash. Binky has been curled up asleep on my bed for a while which is cute. Tomorrow my solo adventure starts as I try to get to Aarti in Jaco.

Dinner was chicken, chickpeas and rice (maybe they've run out of beans?!) and a fried... either plantain or banana, not sure which! I'm thinking plantain but I'm not sure. Had a bit of a chat with Sandra and Pablo over dinner, particularly when I realised I had papaya juice with dinner. I told Sandra I'd had “muchos papaya” today!!

I'm feeling fairly awake still but then it is only 7:20. Rain is starting up again but seems to have stopped as quickly. Welcome to the tropics!

Ok, so aside from my camera fucking up on this trip I've just turned on my mp3 player to find that it thinks there are only three songs on my device... all by Pat Benetar. Hit me with your best shot and two versions of Love is a Battlefield! WTF?!?! I should state that these should be amongst around 1,800 other tracks of diverse musical origins. Will try the card in my phone to see if that works.

Even better. I'm trying to fix my mp3 player and try the memory in my phone. The volume button then breaks on my phone and is permanently down which means the phone only starts in factory reset mode. Even more delightful is the fact that because the button is still pressed down it just cycles through the DOS-like menu over and over and you can't select anything or do anything.

I did a quick Google but the only option seemed to be to open up the phone and cut the ribbon for the button. So... I did what anyone would do and googled the Spanish for screwdriver: destornillador. The family didn't have one, but did have a penknife instead. Thankfully the screws were Phillips rather than Torx as they sometimes are on these things. I managed to get it open, losing one of the 8 screws in the process, and cut the ribbon.

It loads up, but in a safe mode and keeps putting the phone on mute (still thinks the down volume button is on then) but at least it loads so I can still text and use my phone. Will see how it goes!

The best bit is that after this I put the memory card back in my mp3 player and all the tracks are showing up again. You bastard.

My alarm still seems to work even with the sound cycling down so it does make sounds still. I'm assuming I wouldn't be able to make a call though. I suspect this is to be continued...

Day 7 – Friday So I didn't sleep well. Partly because of knowing that I needed to get up early and not trusting my phone (which did actually go off) and also rain, dogs barking, people talking, loud cars, etc. So I was awake from 5:20ish.

Got up and had breakfast, speaking to Sandra and her husband for a bit before going. 7am bus was quiet today and I had an uneventful trip to San Carlos. When I arrived I saw the bus to San Jose with a queue outside that was boarding. I dashed over to see if I could pay cash but the driver told me that I needed to get a ticket. The ticket office was very inconspicuous – looking like just a couple of holes in what looked like a wall, but was actually Perspex. Got the ticket for the bus, which would take around two and a half hours. It only cost around £2! Not bad for such a long trip!

The local fares from San Carlos to La Palmera are only around 350 Colones – less than 50p.

In my haste I didn't double (or maybe triple) check that the bus was going to San Jose. I knew it had started heading South and I soon spotted landmarks that I'd seen on the way North from Alajuela. This didn't mean we were necessarily still going to San Jose though, as there's plenty of the country to the South of where I was! I have a fundamental and inbuilt distrust of buses. They don't have tracks and platforms like trains/tubes and I think I'd feel more comfortable and in control on a horse, and that's not saying much!

It was some time before I saw enough road signs to convince myself that we were going to San Jose. I wasn't panicked about it but it would have been a pain to have a significant transport error!

Coming into San Jose we passed a cemetery that looked like an outdoor bath sales showroom.

They were all tiled boxes of that sort of size – very strange!

The landscape has been impressive and the weather much better since leaving this morning in the fine, misty rain.

Just passed the airport and saw where we came out of the arrivals, which was a bit surreal after a week here. Half a mile on passed the Hard Rock Cafe – may have to be a last night treat!

On getting off the bus in San Jose I was surrounded by a gaggle of taxi drivers. I was at one bus terminal and needed to get to the other. I tried to walk off to find one on my own but one of them followed me and I relented. The journey didn't last long and didn't cost a lot. As soon as I got out and walked towards the ticket booth another taxi driver jumped me and said he could drive me to Jaco for $120 which was then reduced to $30, explaining that the bus was full until 1pm. I said I was happy to wait and eventually he left me alone – I missed the chance to ask him which was his helicopter that he's be flying me there in for that sort of money! The bus was $7.

In my wait I found a loo and some food from the equivalent of a Costa Rican greasy spoon. I ordered based on pictures and what I could pronounce, which ended up being the staple beef, rice and beans with a bit of pasta and a banana fritter thrown in for good measure. I had a 90-minute gap until my bus, which I filled with a bit of reading and queuing for the bus three times. The first because I hadn't seen the time on my ticket, the second because I wasn't sure how long the bus would be waiting and thought from the time that people might queue and wait on it for a bit before it went. That wasn't the case and it was the third bus that I needed!

It got hotter and hotter the closer to Jaco we got. I have now reached what I call proper hot. This must be mid-30's (I was later told that the buses tend to get up to around 38). I'm sat still and sweating where my arms are resting/touching against anything – nice.

The guy who was sat next to me has just got off so I can move my bag off my legs and stop sweating so much!

There was a bit of confusion when the bus stopped. People milled about until everyone started getting off. An American lady told me this was the last stop and I didn't get a chance to thank her, which was irritating. The bus stopped at the Best Western. Luckily I knew from my map that this was to the North of Jaco, with the beach running along the West, so I headed South along the main road.

I walked through Jaco sweating my bollocks off, looking for street names so I could find the "School of the World" where Aarti and friends were. I couldn't find the place but knew I was close so went to the first three hotels I could find but the first two were full. The third one only had a room for one night but I thought it would do. I checked in and got on the Wi-Fi to let Aarti know I'd arrived.

I had a much-needed shower and chilled for a bit before going to the beach until sunset. I took a load of photos and tried to get some sun on my white bits. When I got back I chilled a bit more. I was just posting some stuff on Facebook when my screen went blank. I pressed a few buttons and the ones at the bottom were glowing so guessed the screen must have died. I restarted it but to no avail. I went to reception, panicked that I was supposed to meet Aarti at 8pm, in an hour, but wasn't sure where exactly. Reception told me the best place to try was a shop just down the road.

I went in and waited for what seemed an eternity before speaking to the chap behind the counter.

He didn't speak English but got a friend on the phone that could. I explained that I wanted to buy a phone because mine had died and asked whether he had any for sale. He had one in his internet cafe.

I got a taxi over (not knowing where on earth this place was, even though it was just around the corner) and knew that the phone would do, so went for it. Logging onto one of the PCs while the phone was sorted out I e-mailed Aarti and updated Facebook. 50 minutes after my old phone died I had a new one that would do for now... costing me just over ÂŁ180 but at least I could communicate with the world! Didn't think I'd manage that!

By this point I only had time to drop off my old, dead phone at the hotel on my way to meet Aarti and friends. Eventually I found the School of the World, down a side road and fairly well hidden!

Everyone was watching some weird TV programme of news clips of stupid or strange Americans.

We went to somewhere called Graffiti for dinner and I had yellowfin tuna – nice to have some seafood for a change. I sat next to Robin and Remi, both from London (North and East respectively) and had a good chat and meal, with a few beers!

We then went to a bar and I played darts with Aarti, Remi and Tina before ending up playing, and winning, a game of beer pong with Jon. This involved lots more drinking. After a few more drinks some of us went on to a club. Things get blurry from there on... I drank way too much (worked out it was at least 18 bottles – but they were only £1.25 each!) and managed to lose my glasses somewhere in the process. Apparently we left the club and got back around 3am.

Day 8 - Saturday Somehow I was up for 6:30 to go on the excursion at which point the zip on my bag broke. Thanks.

I struggled to find the School of the World, again, despite finding it last night. It was only because I saw the tour bus pulling into the road that I'd walked past that I twigged and went back. I felt like death. Ate two packs of Softmints I'd been carrying around since Alajuela and got in the minivan with the others from the school.

We got to the place and paid, signing away our lives before getting mounted on small horses. Half the group had never ridden before but the animals were fairly easy to manage. Guess they must be used to lugging people around. We trekked for what must have been somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour. Aarti managed to drop her phone at one point but it was quickly retrieved.

The trek was hot but it was nice to just sit there and watch the land passing by.

When we finished the trek there was a cool water dispenser, which we all lapped up. We went through a quick guide of how to abseil down a waterfall and what would happen on the zip lines.

We then had to get to the top of the waterfall. This was, understandably, all up hill. Climbing hills in 30+-degree heat with a hangover is not fun! The worst bit was the waiting‌ sometimes in the sun.

At the top of the waterfall the guide showed us shrimp and tadpoles in the water. Eventually it was time to go down, which was fun. It was good to be doing something to distract from the hangover, if not the heat! Chilled at the bottom for a bit before going back to the water cooler to top up on liquids again. We knew in walking back that we'd have to go uphill again but that was a price we were willing to pay for more water. At least everyone was struggling and it wasn't just me. Even the guides were sweating which made me feel much better about dripping with sweat! We headed back up to the zip line after a while and did five in a row.

This was pretty cool but after the third my camera stopped saving pictures and kept coming up with a "memory card read" error. No more photos for me then! Typically, I didn't bring my spare one. I’d left that back with my host family. They have enough storage for either one to hold plenty of photos for the two weeks but I always have a backup since cards failed me in Morocco – just didn't bloody bring it! The photos would load so hopefully they'll be retrievable.

After the 5th there was another trek uphill to get to the 6th and 7th. These last two were in the open, which made the heat and uphill struggle that much harder, with the hangover. There had been promise of more cold water and fruit all morning but we finally realised that this was at the end, which motivated all of us on. The last two zip lines were the longest, with Remi recording nearly two minutes in the air on the very last one!

We got bussed back to the school and I then had to find another hotel to stay at for at least tonight if not the next two nights. Thankfully I only tried two this time and the second place was quite cheap, being a dorm room. It had no lockers or anything but I guessed I'd need to take all my crap with me at all times anyway. There were six homemade bunks in there that, I realised when I moved one to get at a light switch, were all a bit hazardous. I picked the sturdiest and pushed it against the wall for good measure! It was literally wood nailed together. The mattress wasn't flat which made sleeping difficult (what can I say, I'm a bit of a princess) but whatever; it's only two nights.

I had another much-needed shower and ate some crisps I'd been lugging around since Alajuela which were bloody awful... really disappointing!

I slept on and off for a couple of hours, still feeling like shit and with it being so hot (the hottest it got on the trip) that I just lay there and sweated like I was running through a desert. I just couldn't move.

At 5pm I worked up the energy and courage to brave the world and get a drink and to look for a new bag. I'd seen a shop that I thought should do for the bag. I was going to go out and it started peeing it down so I waited until it was easing off, which thankfully brought the temperatures under control too.

Both the drinks and the bag were easily found. I hadn't written anything in my journal because I just felt shit, physically and emotionally, with so much going wrong and the weather being so oppressive. I didn't bother having dinner and just put Germolene on my bites and played some pool by myself on the table outside my room. I just want an uneventful evening – is that possible please?

Day 9 – Sunday Well... an uneventful evening was had, thanks! I ended up having the dorm room to myself, which was nice. I woke up around 20 times through the night in my marathon of sleep but still... I eventually got up feeling refreshed and, most importantly, human again.

So I got up early, thinking that yesterday people had missed breakfast and went to a local bakery...

At this point of writing one pen dried out, then another, then my third and last pen. All in the space of three sentences. I'm really fucking fed up of this holiday. My pens decide to start working again later though – brilliant.

So... I went to the local bakery and got a load of bread. I ate some but no one else wanted any so I ended up ditching it when we finally got the to Casa Calypso (home of the Calypso Cruises) in Puntarenas. Remi missed the bus, thinking that pickup was 30 minutes later than it was, but managed to get a taxi to another pickup point while we were getting someone else.

We picked up three people from the Marriott hotel outside Jaco. The place is fucking ridiculous! It's so far from anything local you might as well be anywhere else in the world. We drove through miles of golf course and past fountains not out of place in St. Peter's square on our way to the entrance.

Whoever stays here, in my opinion, is an A class prat. Stay at home and give your money to orphans or something.

Arriving at Casa Calypso we were treated to breakfast with some drinks before boarding the catamaran that would take us to Tortuga Island. On the way we filled in the usual life disregarding disclaimers and people ticked whether they wanted to do the banana boat and/or the snorkelling. I really wasn't bothered about the banana boat so only ticked the snorkelling. The trip over was nice and calm and I tried to stay out of the sun, thinking that it was going to be a long day with lots of exposure. We were given free soft drinks and fresh fruit on the way – very appreciated! On arrival at the island we all queued to get off down the gangplank. I kept my trainers on thinking that both the boat and the white beach were going to be really hot. They were. As soon as people hit the beach they were running like Jesus Lizards to get into the shade. It was only 9:30am but the beach must have had the sun all morning already.

We congregated in the seating/lunch area that was reserved for our boat and the host welcomed us, saying that people who wanted to snorkel first needed to go and get ready. I thought it would be better to do first thing, when the sun wasn't so bad, and then I could chill or do something else in the afternoon when others were on the banana boat.

I got a life jacket/buoyancy aid thing that clipped around you and through your legs – neither comfortable nor pretty. Most of us went on this boat and we were given flippers, masks and snorkels on the way. I was one of the last to get in and struggled as soon as I was in the water, as I hadn't inflated my life jacket enough. Although the amount it was inflated was enough to remind me of the strap through my legs! I made it back to the side of the boat and held on while I blew a little more air into the jacket. Once inflated, it was easier and I had my first look underwater, with just my mask and not the snorkel. It was like dipping my head in a tropical fish aquarium... an amazing experience. Colourful fish surrounded me, all close enough to reach out and touch.

When I can back up for air I saw Remi had got in the water and was panicking. I got hold of her arm and led her over to the steps where she could get a better hold on the boat and calmed her down. I inflated her life jacked for her but she still wasn't comfortable in the water. The guides threw in a ring for her to hold on to which I fetched for her. This seemed to give her the confidence, along with a guide supporting her, to set out and have a look around.

I did a lap of the little rock island we had stopped next to, mostly just using my mask because I'm not confident in water and don't trust the snorkel for longer than about 20 seconds. The first time I tried it for longer some water eventually crept in my mask and up my nose, which wasn't fun. The second time I panicked and put my head back... breathing in a lovely snorkel full of warm, salty water. That was enough of that nonsense.

Using just the mask I was still able to see loads of fish around the rock, and a crab crawling along above water. Our guides found two starfish and I got a chance to hold them both. The second one was captured on iPhone (in a waterproof pouch) by Joanna. She was Brazilian and had also come from the School of the World.

We got back and had a 3-course lunch, starting with Ceviche, which was interesting! While we ate the Calypso Band played what sounded like the same song over and over, which everyone was commenting on. Towards the end of lunch the main guide did a sort of rap to what he said was a very Costa Rican song. Laura recorded it and it was pretty funny to watch. He'd do a couple of lines of song for each country there, though half of it was in Spanish. We cheered and clapped anyway, oblivious to anything rude/insulting he may have been saying!

After lunch I started to feel like I'd caught the sun, which I expected from the snorkelling (that being the main reason why I kept my t-shirt on). We had a little rest and a small group of us wanted to do the Eco Trail walk of the island. We were divided on the $5 per person price but decided we'd give it a go anyway. We got a map and started the walk. Most of the things identified on the map were plants of various sorts. Some of it was interesting but the way they had photocopied the maps meant that the end of all the sentences on the even pages were missing.

Half way around we were confronted by a sign with an alternative route to the "Adventure Trail"!

This would take an extra 30 minutes, which we worked out we had time for before the boat left, but would be twice as hard as the walk we were doing. It was already hard work going up some fairly steep hills in such heat but we went for it anyway... and what views we got! We all stopped in several places to take photos with stunning backdrops. As my camera was out of action I'll have to rely on others in the group putting pics online to show what it was like... I hope they do!

On our way back along the beach, after the walk, we saw some roosters with really feathery legs, some pigs and some parrots. One of the wild pigs walked through our dining area and pretty much straight to me. I decided to try giving it a stroke and it let me, which was nice. We weren't back long before the boat arrived to take us back.

The air got cooler and cooler (from very hot to reasonable) as it worked its way down towards a stunning sunset that I hope others were able to capture! When back at Casa Calypso I got an icecream, the first of my trip! We got back on the minibus and it was getting darker and darker, while I was getting less and less comfy... unable to move my legs between other people and with trainers that I'd got wet getting on the boat that hadn't dried out.

Eventually we got back and I went to buy some flip-flops before going back to meet Robin and go out for dinner. Everyone else was eating in back at the school. We walked in to Jaco and had a lovely big steak, about as much food as I could manage after eating all day! After, I was on the hunt for a bank note beach towel, which I thought looked really cool but the shops were all closed by this point.

We got icecream smoothies instead and I got cash out. We headed back and I went to my room, glad that I was still the only one in it. I moisturised again and read a bit before going to sleep around 11:30.

Day 10 – Monday I was awake on and off from around 4am but eventually got out of bed at just before 6. I was going to get an early bus but I missed my opportunity to pay for my room the night before and was told that I'd have to wait until 9! Thankfully I managed to leave earlier, not long past 8, but that meant the next bus was 10.30. This was fine because it gave me a chance to find the banknote beach towel that I'd seen Sean with the day before and also to get some food and a new pen.

I went and sat by the beach, watching a hermit crab scurry along as I ate and looked out at the Pacific. It was overcast but still warm, though thankfully not as hot as it had been on the previous days. I made my way toward the bus area slowly, knowing I had plenty of time. I'd been told that I'd be able to pay on the bus but discovered, after sitting and reading/writing for a while (with all three of my pens working again!!), that I did need to get a ticket. Which also informed me that the bus would be 11 and not 10.30. Good bus network... shit bus timetable. At least it wasn't earlier. A taxi did offer to take me to San Jose for $20 but I declined. It was good to have the time to catch up writing and do some reading.

Besides, the bus was only something like $2.

It was starting to get very hot though – I was glad when we finally got going. I ended up sitting next to a Canadian guy called Mark who plays the double bass in an Eastern European Gypsy music type band called Kleztory, from Montreal. He was a nice guy and we chatted on and off for most of the way back. He had been on the bus loads so was talking about what we were passing and places we were about to get to. We went over a river quite near to Jaco that had about five crocodiles lounging around in.

On arriving at San Jose I had decided that I needed a haircut, as I was likely to either scare the animals back at the rescue or be mistaken for one and caged. I asked the first taxi driver who pounced when I got off the bus where I might be able to get some clippers and he took me to a barber. That would do. She did my hair and face with a grade zero, as I would at home, but then offered to shave it all off. It was something I'd always thought of doing so I went for it. It wasn't as painful as the clipper she'd used on my sunburnt head, until she put the alcohol on at the end. I did look and feel like I'd been mauled by a particularly vicious house cat... not entirely sure that should have been the result. But at least I had no hair and knew that with it being that much shorter I shouldn't look too monstrous by the time I left, in just over a week.

The taxi driver had been waiting for me and took me to the other bus terminal, to get to San Carlos, only for me to queue at two places before finally finding where I was supposed to get the bloody ticket. Each of the other booths only booked for one particular location, which was odd. The bus was waiting so I managed to get straight on it and not have too much of a wait before leaving. I just want to be back now...

The rest of the trip was uneventful and I got back about 5:30, having set off at 11. I was concerned my face was a mess but had to do the pleasantries nonetheless. I got to the mirror eventually and my face did look a mess so I jumped in the shower as soon as possible. There were loads of family around and I ate a dinner of blended beans with veg in… almost like a soup... with rice. I ate, did a few things online and then retired to my room. I slept fairly early but had the usual fitful sleep before waking up at 5:30.

Day 11 – Tuesday Breakfast was the usual but the breakfast news was on TV for a change. They were talking about a lunar eclipse. They also had a very interesting ad for haemorrhoid cream with full use of computergenerated imagery... helps the cornflakes go down! To be fair, it was only the imagery that helped me to understand what the hell the advert was about though.

Jorge offered me a lift just before the bus was supposed to come and we picked up Sarah, one of the Swiss girls who is staying with Victor near Santa Rosa, on the way. She had gone with a group of the volunteers to somewhere just South of where I had been over the weekend and their journey both ways had taken longer. She's 20 and going to uni in September to train to be a Primary School teacher.

We started the day in quarantine, sorting out the parrots (there were two fewer than last time and we had no idea why), then fed the mice and rats before hosing the place down‌ which meant going amongst the monkeys.

This was reputedly something to be afraid of so I went in with some trepidation, leaving my last remaining pair of glasses on the side. All in all though it was uneventful. They tried to reach/claw at me but I just stayed in the middle of the gap between the cages and they couldn't reach. Only the blue-eyed howler monkey in the corner managed to get hold of my t-shirt and tried to pull me towards him. Looking at the blue-eyed, maniacal face with his strong grip was a little disconcerting but I just gave him a disparaging look and stepped back.

The monkeys were more vicious after, when trying to feed them. They'd take the food first, but would still try to grab your arm/fingers given the opportunity. Particularly the male Capuchin, who would take the fruit and look sorry that he hadn't had a finger to go with his buffet. It was a good time to take a morning break!

I was glad to be back and working and particularly enjoyed the lesser heat of the mountains over the roasting I'd had in Jaco. I don't think I would have done it in a climate like Jaco!

The break saw us meet up with Lena, the girl from Sweden, and a new guy who was on a placement from a local college. He was wearing some trendy jeans and t-shirt with hair not befitting a rescue volunteer but more that of an aspiring member of the Costa Rican version of One Direction. Yes, I can't comment on hair. Still...

Lewis was on the steps of the house on the Wi-Fi so I joined him and connected the new phone that I'd got while in Jaco.

Going back to work after the break saw Sarah and I feeding the pigs again, then cleaning them out, after a quick tidy-up of the cats section. Carlos let Sarah and I both hold Mina and I got photos (which are already on Facebook). The price was a couple of three-inch scratches on my arm, which I knew would flare up with my usual cat allergy. Oh well. I had antihistamines somewhere if I needed them.

Feeding and cleaning out the pigs was fine. The same mushy papayas but I made less mess this time. After all that it was time for lunch. I ate quickly and chatted only a little so I could go and get more photos of the animals. I rushed to make sure I got around and back before lunch finished, and in some places didn't take as many photos where there were visitors, but I did have a golden moment with a monkey. One of the ones out for the public to see – I walked around the back of the enclosure and offered my hand to one. After a moment it put its arm through and we held hands for a moment before I stroked its arm and it held my arm while I did it. I tried to take a photo but was more interested in just enjoying the magic. When I looked up we had gathered a crowd of around a dozen visitors watching from the area the public were able to stand and watch. That instant made the trip worth while, no matter the hard times.

I needn't have bothered rushing as people were still chilling. When lunch was over four of us, Sarah, Lina, Lewis and myself, all cleaned out the turtles. Most are like terrapins back home but some were quite a bit bigger. I started raking and realised immediately how bold/cheeky they are when one charged (for a turtle) at me until its head was against my welly. The same one then constantly tried to bury itself in any piles of stuff I raked together, despite my moving and chastisement! I got a photo on my phone but not sure how it turned out. For some reason the guy who sold me the phone has put the camera on to “inverted” mode so all shots looked like negatives… why?! Another one was just as persistent when I was getting the cleaning solution in their pool. This one was bigger and hissed at me every time I moved it away!

After the turtles, Lewis and I were told to clear an area though when we started someone else came and told us something which we can only imagine was "don't do that, do something else!"

Lewis had had enough for the day by then and I was happy to call it a day. I put trainers on and took a few more photos and got back just as the girls finished. Lewis had gone and we all walked to the bus stop. Lina walked home from there and Sarah and I waited the 45 minutes for the bus. It just started raining as we got there so we had to stand up the whole time, with the bench getting soaked.

On getting home I read for a bit before getting online. I had e-mailed the company I got my glasses from first thing to see if they could do the order again. They could, and they generated the order for me and sent me an invoice to pay through PayPal – excellent service Vision2You! I knew they'd take a while to arrive so thought it was worth ordering while away.

I was also told today that because of Semana Santa there would be no buses and no rescue work on Thursday and Friday. Rather than being stuck in the arse end of nowhere I thought I might as well book a hotel in La Fortuna from Wednesday night to Saturday morning and that way if I was to be stuck anywhere at least it wouldn't be on my own here! I found a hotel for $50 per night and booked it. Hopefully I can sort out tours when I'm there, but taxis will do to get me places I want to see, if nothing else!

Now I've been writing for what feels like ages and a lizard crept out from behind my curtain pole into the corner of my room, then back again some time later. I'm totally cool with this as long as the circle of life doesn't bring anything bigger, or with eight legs, through my window!

Not sure how tomorrow will pan out yet but I will definitely volunteer for some of the day as long as I can get to La Fortuna before my hotel check-in window closes at 6pm.

Day 12 – Wednesday As if another day would fail to bring another adventure...

So I got up the usual sort of time and got the bus into La Marina for the last time. I didn't have time to go online before hand, which I didn't think would be a problem. On the way the bus picked up Sarah and she sat next to me. We went in and rather than going through the usual staff door she wanted to go another way to find a different keeper so she could do something else. She usually got collared by the same guy and ended up doing the same things all the time. While passing the home I checked my e-mail quickly. There was a very short one from the hotel I'd booked saying there was a problem with my booking and that if I wanted to stay there the only room they had would cost more... how much more would have been interesting or useful to know, so I e-mailed back and went to work.

Sarah couldn't find who she was looking for but told me if I went to one guy that I would be able to help him clean out the monkeys. I went over and was told, I believe, words to the effect of, "You're not needed." I was pointed in the direction of Victor over by the cats. Shame, as cleaning the monkeys would have been a good finish to my time here. I went and raked outside the cats, with the hotel booking and string of other disasters on the trip playing on my mind. I was still sad to be leaving, particularly after working relatively few days compared to what I was expecting.

I was also happy that the end was in sight. After the raking Victor let me soap one of the cat cages with the cat still in it, which was pretty cool. Not the Puma or Leopard, but still... Another one took a swipe at me while I was trying to rake outside it! It was supposed to be one of the friendly ones!

Maybe it was a friendly swipe? Who knows…

Then it was break time. I went back to the chilling area and tried to get on the Wi-Fi to see if the hotel had responded. My phone wouldn't access the Wi-Fi. I restarted it and it still wouldn't. I should have expected it really... the most inconvenient thing at the worst possible time. There was no way I could go straight there now. In fact I needed to leave much sooner, to be able to sort out this mess. I did a quick dash around with my camera, to get a few last shots that I hadn't had the chance to get before, like the quarantine, then I went back and sat with the others, explaining that I'd need to go.

It was Sarah's (other Swiss girl) last day and she was leaving at the same time, so I waited for her and we left together. She had been there for months and was understandably sadder about leaving. As we left we just missed the bus, but her place was walking distance anyway so we walked there and said goodbye. She told me to keep an eye out for the bus but I had no intention of it. I wanted and needed the walk back. I put on my earphones and lost myself on the 3-mile walk home.

When I got back I checked my e-mail and there was no further response from the hotel. Not good enough really! I checked to try and find another place and booked it before telling the others to cancel my booking. About five minutes after booking the second one I got an e-mail from the first one saying that I would have to cancel it myself. I explained that it was their fuckup, to paraphrase, and why should I have to rectify it? (While rectifying it, how British.) After this I checked my credit card to find that someone had taken £200 out on it over the weekend. I spent a while on the phone, on a very bad line, to NatWest after trawling for a way to do it that wasn't going to cost me as much again on my phone bill! I also called the website I booked the second hotel through to confirm it had been booked, which they said it had... despite being told by the website that my money hadn't gone through. I felt only slightly more settled after that... slightly...

I left on the 2:50 bus. Changed with only a little hassle at San Carlos and was taken on what I believed to be the overcrowded bus to La Fortuna. It seemed to head the right way and again I was checking road signs until I was convinced. Mostly because Arenal Volcano is big, and you can see it from La Marina/La Palmera, but I couldn't see it from the bus! I expected that it would be on the other side from where I was sat but thought I should still be able to see something. We eventually arrived in La Fortuna and a tour operator, with leaflet in hand, immediately accosted me. It was actually the tour operator I had planned on going to as we drove past it on the way in to town anyway. So I went along and signed up to a 10 hour excursion into the smaller volcano, which you can swim in (everyone there said it was one of only two in the world you can swim in... this doesn't seem to be the case!), and then around the big one, as close as you are allowed to go. There's also a waterfall on the way and hot springs at the end. Sounds good! And all for around $65 so much cheaper than the Jaco stuff. I booked it for tomorrow as the weather was looking better and will decide what to do on Friday depending on what perils befall me tomorrow!

I had to eat and get money out before going to the hotel. The first ATM wasn't working and on my hunt for a second one I got a burger from a takeaway shop. It was a really nice tasting burger but I couldn't eat it all from constantly worrying about the hotel booking (the second, supposedly successful one, that is). I didn't feel particularly safe in the town – there were lots of police around. There were also lots of Americans! I got a taxi after finding an ATM and the ride cost me about $15... about what I had been told to expect, though I should have got a discount for him running over a frog on the way – not cool!

I arrived at the hotel and they had my booking, only to tell me that they could do it cheaper but I would have to cancel the other one. I agreed and handed over my debit card. Only after did I think that my booking was on the credit card which was now cancelled. Fuck. Will have to sort it somehow in the morning! The room is lovely though. I have three double beds all to myself. A nice big bathroom too! I have a feeling I'll have great views of the volcano through the window tomorrow morning too, weather permitting! While I've been writing I've watched a lizard on the outside of the windows hunting things... also very cool!

Time for a shower and sleep now. My tour doesn't leave until 9:45 tomorrow but I'll need to sort breakfast and the booking debacle, as well as get a local sim for internet data! Buenos noches!

Day 13 - Thursday So I wake up and everything was covered in mist. No volcano to be seen! Actually, I woke when it was still dark and had awful sleep but even at night you could see the faint white glow of the fog...

The tour picks me up later so there's time for it to burn off yet...

I'm thinking tomorrow I might try to do the hanging bridges and kayak safari. The weather isn't supposed to be so good tomorrow but I don't think that'll matter. Going to head for breakfast now and try to sort out my double-booking mess. Oh, and it's actually a bit chilly this morning!

What a day! My lift was late and I thought they had forgotten about me. We signed our lives away and had a chance to talk to each other for a bit before starting the trek. It was steady going for the first 30-40 minutes with plenty of stops for photos. Our guide was great and he gave us loads of information throughout and was approachable, pleasant and fun. He pointed out ants and various trees and other things. The weather started getting sunny as we got to the steep bit. We had another 30-40 minutes of proper uphill slog. That wasn't too bad in the heat but it was just unrelenting and I was sweating buckets – again, not the only one so that was fine! We didn't see much in the way of animals but because of the steep path only really saw what was immediately in front of us.

On the way up there was a Tarzan swing. A few people did it and I had a go. I took a good run up but as I was about to jump I felt it slip in my hands. That arse-clenching, ball-shrinking fear of basically launching myself down a jungle-covered mountain was all that kept my hands in an iron grip as I flew into the air. I made it back down safely but felt like I'd given myself third degree rope burns on my hands – took a while for that feeling to fade!

We got to the rim and looked out over a scene from a bond film. The first volcano was full of rainwater; a large, circular, green lake. The walk down was intense. It was very muddy and in places really steep. At some points you had to jump down around three feet to the next "step" and in some cases you actually needed to hold onto a rope or tree branch and climb down the trail.

We descended fairly quickly and ended up at the lake, looking out over it and still expecting it to be a foot of water with a big metal door under it – home to a bond villain and some world-destroying rocket or something. I was starving so ate the rolls that had been provided for lunch before taking a swim in the volcano. The water was English-seaside cold, with trademark midriff-in-waterballclench moment. I swam out a little and back again when I started to feel uncomfortable and not trusting my swimming. I then ate the rest of my lunch.

After lunch we walked around the inside of the rim of the lake, along very thin paths, until we were the other side.

Here we ascended to the rim again. The climb back up didn't feel as bad as the climb down had.

Towards the top a frog leapt at me and the guide picked it up. I was cautious at first in case it was a poisonous one, but it wasn't. The guide gave it to me to hold once people had taken photos and then I couldn't get it off. I was set to take it with us when it finally jumped off.

The track down the volcano was long and I fell over, grazing my right elbow, which I had to land on because of holding my camera, and drawing blood.

Tiffany from Texas gave me a wipe as it was muddy and I cleaned it up, later putting Savlon on it. Zac was there to take a photo! With the way down being easier going I got more chance to speak to people, including Erin who was from Halifax, Nova Scotia (where I’d stopped over on the way). I told her about my trip and she said that just about summed the place up – wet but good for drinking, like England.

Eventually we got to the bottom and had flat walking for the rest of the way. We ambled through pastureland until we got to a hanging bridge. It was very high and wobbled a lot! I didn't take any photos from it because while it was high there wasn't a lot to see and I had my telephoto lens on – having changed them over a dozen times on the trek. The waterfall was cool. Zac was the first to go in, as he had been with the lake. I followed shortly after with the Canadians. Going through the waterfall was painful, blinding and amazing. There was enough space inside for me and the two Canadians to sit and be out of the falling water. I think part of the pain was the sunburn I had on my neck. Zac got a few shots of me coming out.

From there we walked to a hotel with an observation platform to bid farewell to Arenal volcano and to watch the sun mostly set (but not completely, much to Craig's dismay) before heading to our last stop in the dark. This was the end of our walking – 12k in total! The road out was awful but we were still overtaking everything else on the way. In the end we hit tarmac, which was a blessed relief! The hot springs were busy! We got out and had to leave everything behind in the van so it would be just us in the springs. When I say springs I mean a river just off the road, heated by the volcano to around 38-40 degrees. It was very busy, mostly with what I expect were locals. A busload of young, attractive American girls arrived just after us. What a way to end the day!

Eric, our guide, gave us all a plastic cup of rum and lemonade and gave us volcanic mud facials. He claimed it would make my hair grow back but I said that would be a miracle! (It hasn’t grown back.) As he put it on my face I knew some more places where I had sunburn!

It was good but thankfully everyone got restless at the same time so we left, only to discover that our minivan had doubled-up as an ambulance for a sick child while we had been in the river. All our stuff was moved around a bit but it was fine. On the way back I got some e-mail addressed to share photos with on return. They were a good bunch and I was sorry to say goodbye to them.

When I got back I checked with reception about my cancellation but it hadn't been possible. I booked to do kayak safari first thing tomorrow morning but thankfully reception said I didn't have to pay until my money was sorted. I went to the steak shack, the nearest place walkable, for dinner. I had some uninspiring fajitas and a lovely cold glass of beer. So lovely I took a photo. My Wi-Fi is back to working intermittently. Oh well, I watched an episode of Graham Norton on the odd BBC channel they have in the hotel. It's late now so time for sleep and more adventure tomorrow...

Day 14 - Friday So I'm not sleeping well here for some reason. My alarm got me up before 6 but I faffed, with having to be ready to move room as well as go on my excursion, so I missed breakfast.

I got straight into the van having walked down just as it arrived. We went to pick up a few more people, 6 in total, including two young women from America (Suzanne and Erinn) and 3 ladies from Mexico.

When we arrived one of the Mexicans, the eldest, pulled out, so we were down to 5 plus the guide.

The two Americans shared a kayak, the Mexicans shared a canoe and I got a kayak to myself.

We had a little time to get used to them before heading off.

So after a few minutes our guide had spotted a snake. It took a while to work out where he was pointing (theme of this excursion!) but there it was!

A few minutes later we saw an owl – a great spot for our guide! Then a kestrel followed by some monkeys, a Jesus lizard, some vultures, a red (poisonous) tree frog and then some Howler monkeys. They are reputedly the second loudest mammals!

After all this spotting we stopped at a farm for a snack. The farm was apparently bought in 1933

by Carlos, who lived there until a couple of weeks ago when he died, aged 102. The guide was sad about this as the farm was a feature of the tour and Carlos was well known to them all. The farm is only accessible by car for two months of the year with a motorboat being the only other option for the other 10 months. At lunch we found out that the youngest Mexican girl, presumably with her mum (and the grandmother who elected not to come along) was turning 15, which was a big age in Mexico.

There was also a cockroach in the spoon jar, which eventually ran out and straight at the girl. She shrieked and jumped back and we all laughed (together, not just at her) and I said there were worse things that could run at you and recounted my Camel Spider story from Mauritania.

Before we stopped for lunch the skies had opened and we'd been a bit drenched. We dried out a little over lunch but were still mostly damp when it came to putting back on lifejackets – nice. We headed down to the river and I saw a hummingbird. I tried to get some shots but it was in an awkward and dark place. After the hummingbird I finally got a shot of a swallow, which I'd been trying to do since I got in the kayak. There were loads around but they were fast and I was trying to float in the right direction whilst tracking them through the lens, which isn't easy! I got some shots of a green Kingfisher, which was cool. Saw another lizard then came on some trees covered in monkeys. We stopped and I took loads of photos before just watching them for a while and enjoying the moment.

I asked the guide whether he ever saw sloths from the river. He replied that he did sometimes. 5 minutes later we saw two and stopped again for more photos. I tried to get out of my kayak to get a little closer and slipped on the bank in my flip-flops and nearly fell in – keeping the camera away from the water to the detriment of my limbs hitting the ground… again! After the sloths we saw some sleeping long-nosed bats clinging to the underside of a tree and a little while later we were done and getting out.

On the bus on the way back I got e-mail addresses to share pictures. I arrived back to the hotel to be told that I wasn't moving rooms after all. The receptionist said they would pay for me to go to the hanging bridges tomorrow morning to compensate – result, and very kind of them! I asked whether the National Park for Arenal was walking distance and was told the turning was 4k down the road and then it was a further 1k beyond that. I thought that 3 miles each way would be doable – with some time to walk around. I said I'd do anything as long as I didn't have to use my arms again as the kayak had knackered me!

So I walked almost all the way to the park, getting a lift for the last 1k or so (which was 1k further than I had been told!). Entry was $10 but you got a good 4-5k of walk for that which included walking through an old lava field from 1992 and then 1.8k through rainforest. The rainforest bit was pretty mad really. Within 100m I saw a crazy chicken-type bird. The rainforest was dark so I'm not sure how many shots will actually come out. I buggered the LCD at the top where you can see what your settings are when I fell over earlier but I could still make it out just enough to hike up the ISO and change the shutter and aperture when needed. This was most difficult when I got to the hummingbirds as they were fast and under cover (again!). Hopefully some of those shots will have come out. It was at this point that I regretted not getting my old kit again, as I know the 100-400 L would have stood a much better chance at getting a decent shot than the cheap glass I took with me. The disconcerting thing about the hummingbirds was that their hovering sounded a lot like a loud cat purr – or the purr of a very big cat! I suddenly felt quite isolated and vulnerable, but carried on regardless. I passed people occasionally but if I’m going to be eaten by a big cat (which there apparently were in the area) then it probably wouldn't make much difference who was around really.

Suffice to say, a big cat didn’t eat me. Although a beetle did a bucking bronco on my hand – the bugger wouldn't let go – and I ended up having to flick it off. I knew light would fail fast and relatively early so I picked up the pace to get back.

I got back to the car park are and braced myself for a long walk, knowing about half of it would be along the road in darkness, when immediately a German couple in a rental car offered me a lift to the end of the road. As we got talking it transpired that they were going to the town much closer along the road than my hotel and offered to take me all the way back! Muchos danka to them!

I went to get some food, walking past the place I'd been last night to see if there was anywhere else only to end up walking back there. Tonight I had two beers, a burger and icecream for a little more than I paid the night before – with better food too!

Now it's 7:40 and I'm back in my room listening to sporadic rain and looking at the sunburn on my knees and shins that I hadn't realised was there earlier – oops! I feel and smell constantly damp now – the problem with this cooler area is that stuff doesn't dry out in the same way. A minor quibble though... if I was to live anywhere in Costa Rica (that I've seen) it would be here! My lizard is back on my window. I'm going to have a shower and chill.

Day 15 - Saturday This morning I woke up to the sound of Howler monkeys and then saw a hummingbird outside my window. Awesome! I will not miss breakfast!

I didn't miss breakfast! It was the same as before and I didn't eat it all. I got ready and the owner of the hotel drove me to the hanging bridges. She doesn't speak any English and we said practically nothing to each other.

This was fine by me. She paid my entry, which I saw was $24.

The hanging bridges were fairly impressive. I didn't see a huge amount of wildlife but thankfully I didn't see a huge number of tourists either. I heard some but didn't bump into the noisy ones. I saw monkeys twice, but couldn't get photos of them through the trees. I saw a tiny hummingbird moving around so quickly and under so much cover that I didn't even bother trying to take a picture and just appreciated it. Saw a squirrel and a few butterflies too. And some very big ants!

Some of the bridges were very high and very long! In some cases they were pretty scary to walk across, particularly as you could see through them all the way down! One was 92m long and 42m high! I'm glad I did this rather than going back this morning... as long as I can still get a bus to San Carlos!

I found $10 on my way around and, whilst on some occasions I'd hand it in, there was no one around for a long way and quite frankly I deserve the good luck!

Although maybe that means there won't be buses today? Is that how this karma business works?!

I have about 30 minutes to wait for the hotel owner to pick me up so I find shade and some food as the sun gets stronger.

Well I should have seen it coming really. It came to getting my money back and I paid the full rate - fine as I had ended up in the same room for the whole of my stay – but my canopy tour also wasn't out of the kindness of their hearts and they even tried to charge me $20 each way as a taxi fare! Obviously to make the total the same as I had paid. I said that was a bit steep and negotiated and got some cash back to what I feel was maybe just about a fair deal... taxis were very expensive there. I did also get a lift to the bus when they all went into town and I didn't even pretend I was going to pay for that too!

As usual it wasn't amazingly clear what buses went where but I queued (as Brits abroad should) when others did for the San Carlos bus. I was told that I didn't need to buy a ticket but that ticket holders for San Jose had priority over others. I got to the front and looked at the time.

In front of this bus was a relatively empty one that had just started its engine. The timings on the board clicked into place and I realised that the other must have been the 12:15 to just San Carlos. I went and asked and it was. I picked a bad seat with the sun coming through the window on my face and arm for most of the way.

The bus got more and more full the farther it went on until people were standing and the bus didn't pick up people who were waiting. At San Carlos I got some food, knowing that Sandra wasn't back until late and not convinced I'd be able to find everything I needed back at the house. I got Chorizo Chop Suey. Bad choice. It was a massive portion though but in spite of eating most of it I didn't feel satisfied in any way. I feel a bit sorry for them if that's what passes for a Chinese here!

Unsurprisingly there was a wait for the bus – something around 40 minutes – but I managed to find it and get on it with minimal fuss. I got to the stop just past the rescue when Sarah got on. She came and sat next to me and explained that she was away next week so felt she needed to do an extra day at the rescue. I said it looked busy from the outside and she agreed that it had been a much busier day than during the week in terms of visitors. She said she wasn't doing anything tomorrow but didn't ask her if she wanted company.

When I got back I interrupted Pablo rolling a... cigarette. He explained that he was using his laptop because the computer had stopped working. No sending e-mail for me then! Typical really – and I've come to expect it! Pablo did let me jump on his laptop and do a quick Facebook status update.

I could have e-mailed but wouldn't necessarily have been able to check again. I also forgot to check my bank account, but hopefully that's OK...

I chilled for a bit and sat in the sun, trying to get rid of my white skin under my t-shirt. I had a shower and then Francisco asked if I wanted to go for a drink. I'd been thinking about it anyway...

Pablo declined and Francisco doesn't speak any English so it was set to be an interesting night!

We went to the bar up the road where I drank two beers to every one of his. He saw some friends there and we ended up going to Santa Rosa to a sort of club-like place, bearing in mind Santa Rosa is like a cross roads with a few shops from what I've seen!

It was quiet when we arrived and got only a little busier as the night went on. After a while they put karaoke songs on – all in Spanish. As I was drunk I thought it would be a great idea to join in. The three of us all sang... something. I believe an English song may have been played and sung by me but my memory at the point of writing is a little hazy!

We started walking back around midnight and not far from home Jorge and Sandra were returning from being out and gave us a lift up the hill. We perched right on the back of the truck because there was stuff in it and so I guess I couldn't have been that drunk if I both remember and managed to hold on!

I chatted with Sandra through Pablo for a bit and Jorge fell asleep in the chair... sleep was a good idea!

Day 16 – Sunday I woke up at 6:30 and went to the loo. My bowels finally realised I was on holiday over the last 48 hours and have started acting up. Glad that I can rely on some things out here!

I went back to sleep and woke up around 9. No point being up early on my one day where I have absolutely nothing to do! I found the cereal, bowls and spoons just as Sandra and Jorge got back – with the milk! Sandra chopped me up some banana and pineapple and cooked me fried eggs too!

Very fortifying after the night before!

Since then I've mostly been writing this up! Going to go and listen to music in the sun for a bit methinks. It's odd how much hotter it is here than La Fortuna, and it's almost difficult to remember now how much hotter it was again in Jaco!

Well as soon as I stopped writing this, lots of family arrived so I just played on my phone for a while and occasionally went out to show my face. The extra family left and I went and listened to Rachmaninoff and Queen while catching the last of the Costa Rican sun. I am now a little pink all over. My legs are more pink from the kayaking, my arms and head pinker still from more sun exposure – nothing burnt or peeling though.

I was out for a while, just enjoying. I came back in and finished my book. I'm tempted to leave my books but I've read them four times now and have had them since 2002-2004ish. I'll do some packing tonight and see what'll work best. I've brought a few things since being here, like a t-shirt, towel and flip-flops so I may need to play with the space. It feels like I've got ages left – around 40 hours – but I suppose that'll go quickly enough. I'll probably leave tomorrow around 10ish to get to the hotel in Alajuela for the early afternoon. I think I remember check-in being 4pm. Having checked my bank balance I will still be treating myself to a trip to the Hard Rock Cafe tomorrow night. I feel it's sort of required wherever I go now... like a tradition. Though if I hadn't seen it I wouldn't be going... I hope they do better ribs again now...

It's going to take me forever to type up all these notes! (And it has...)

I realised today that I packed my tablet charger though I had no intention of bringing it... wish I had as my connectivity issues might not have been so bad, although with my luck it would have broken/exploded or something!! I also realised earlier that I have five currencies on me: Euro, US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Pounds and Costa Rican Colones... madness!

Ok, well I didn't believe it was possible but I managed a whole day doing practically nothing. I didn't even put my glasses on at all! I'm getting on better with my rimless here... I guess I've been under less overhead, artificial light.

I had dinner, pasta for a change. Lunch was a big slab of meat with a finely chopped salad that is apparently traditional for Semana Santa and also something totally unidentifiable on sight but that turned out to be beans wrapped in inch-thick mashed potato. It was actually quite nice!

After dinner I watched some football with Francesco and Pablo until we decided to go for a drink – just the one this time!!

After the drink we chilled for a bit when we got back from the pub.

Day 17 – Monday I slept really badly – I saw on the news that there had been a 4.6 earthquake in the north somewhere and I wondered whether I had felt it... I finally got out of bed at about 7:15. I wanted to be up to see off Pablo for the 8am bus. I faffed a bit but ended up getting on the 9:00 bus, which I nearly missed, so ended up not saying goodbye.

Still, I'll ask for their address and send them something when I'm back – some glasses to replace the one I broke probably!

The buses were no hassle except that on the one from La Palmera to San Carlos I had to have my bag on the seat next to me rather than stored underneath... I felt bad when it got more busy, but there wasn't anything I could do. I got off at the airport and got a taxi to the hostel – almost walking distance if it wasn't for the motorway!

I had time to kill so went straight out for food. I found Pizza Hut after a bit of ambling. Fuck it, I've had my fill of the local stuff! And it was cheap enough too...

I am back and passed the time on Facebook – talking to Wayne about driving across America in May. I got chatting to my two roommates for tonight, though separately.

One was from Oregon who is a weed smoking, Canon L series photographer who has spent 5-6 months out here every year for the last 7 years.

The other is a t-total tattooed guy from Vancouver called Sean who wants to DJ and produce dance music.

I ended up eating with Sean and having a good chat. We also talked to a woman from NY who works for the UN/UNICEF managing disaster relief efforts across the world. She was on holiday with her son – pretty cool!

Now I'm going to finish writing this, go online again and then get ready for bed. Oregon man is already asleep and Sean will be up to bed soon he says. I sort of felt bad wasting my day on Facebook, particularly missing the sunset from the terrace bar, but then I did have a good walk earlier and there's not that much to do here!

I didn't go to the Hard Rock Cafe but I don't feel any massive loss at that. The food here was an OK quality and price. I have 15 and a half hours left in Costa Rica, not that I'm counting.

Day 18 – Tuesday So I didn't sleep well at all. Forgot how noisy this place was! Also sharing with 3 means there’s always someone moving or getting up and all the beds squeak. Around 3.30 I had my usual spider nightmare and I leapt out of bed while throwing covers and pillows everywhere. I don't think there was a spider but I'm never sure whether they're nightmares or real... I couldn't turn the light on to see anyway and eventually made it back to sleep until 5.30.

I don't mind not sleeping if it means I can sleep on the first plane and be awake on the second – that would see me right time zone-wise for when I get back.

I'm going to go and get some breakfast soon. The shuttle bus to the airport is at 10:15 so I'm sure that time will shoot by...

I went to a local supermarket and got some stuff for breakfast and a few bits in case I got hungry on the way. Most of the morning was spent talking to Michael (Oregon man) and Sean. At 10:20 we finally got the bus. Sean and me stuck together paying the $29 exit tax then we went our separate ways. I queued for the check-in after filling in my customs forms.

Immediately a Costa Rican woman started talking to me, someone from security came to check my paperwork and a migraine started. I had literally just been thinking that, at last, nothing else could go wrong. It's not surprising that my body wanted to throw one last curve ball my way! Through check-in I couldn’t see or think particularly well but I made it through and took some painkillers as soon as I could. Security was a struggle as my vision got worse but I made it through without incident. I walked to my gate and my vision was almost OK again when Sean came over to his gate, next to mine.

We chatted for a bit and I got a drink – a $4.50 one! Rip off but I needed something. I took more painkillers and Sean read a bit before going for his gate to queue for departure. I have another hour before I leave.

My headache is slowly getting worse but hopefully it'll help me sleep. The air con is really cold in here and I'm hopeful that the plane will be warmer!

I got one last blast of hot air when walking from the departure lounge to the plane. The plane wasn't cold, which was good! I swapped seats with a couple so they could be together and ended up sitting next to a guy from somewhere north of Toronto. He had been doing a TEFL course in Manuel Antonio (small town South of Jaco on the Pacific coast) – all the things I've heard about it suggest that it's a nice version of Jaco – shame I couldn't make it down...

I slept a couple of hours but was wide-awake for the rest, which throws my sleeping plans off. The new plan is to watch a couple of films on the second flight and snooze the last couple of hours to see me through until night. It'll have to work, with me being back at work on Thursday, the day after I land! Dad is picking me up and Mum is coming to see me. Will be glad to be on that last flight back in about 30 minutes... I just checked the weather in England and it seems to be around 18 degrees for the next couple of days – I wonder what that's going to feel like! Only a handful of people clapped the landing this time, which makes me suspect it's an American thing, despite being told by Aarti on the plane down from Toronto that she thought it was a British thing!

I didn't sleep at all on the second plane, so by the time I finally went to sleep on the Wednesday, back in the UK, I'd been awake for a very long time!