Nice waterfalls

Apparently created when a volcanic explosion caused a big hole to blow out in the side of the mountain, allowing part of the La Fortuna river to drain down the hillside. It´s about 70m high, so struggled to get the whole thing in frame.

It is very humid here, am having hair problems.

Game: Spot the elusive national bird

The main aim of a cloud forest trip is to try to spot a Quetzal. The Quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala, where the currency is also called the quetzal and there are various myths and legends where the bird has a starring role.

It´s a very pretty green bird with yellow and red belly. The males have really long tails and really elaborate feathers, the females are smarter and tell better jokes....

We saw 2 females, but this is the best photo I could get I´m afraid. When they fly they´re really lovely....but also quite fast.

Santa Elena Cloud Forest

"A cloud forest is a tropical evergreen forest characterized by a high incidence of low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level".

Indeed. Luckily for me, it was one of about 8 sunny days of the year in Monteverde on the day i went, so got to see the foresty results of the clouds, without cloudy obstructions!

Saw lots of nice plants, insects and birds with a brilliant guide called Marvin, who was also the ecology teacher at the local high school. He was the most enthusiastic man in the world, like David Bellamy, but with more wildlife-hunting dedication and less facial hair.

Here are some pictures:

General forestyness....
A nice leaf
A baby hummingbird in a nest

Interesting note on getting lost in Nicaragua

It happens a lot, because none of the roads are named....if you ask directions, it´ll be something like "take the third road south of the Crowne Plaza, and then head east until you reach the 4th street north of the cathedral".

All very well if you are carrying a compass and have a clue where the Crowne Plaza and the cathedral might be!

Festival!

It´s always weird being the first to arrive at a party, but I can confirm that it is much more awkward being the first to arrive at a festival. Derek and I were the unfortunate vanguard, and whereas at a party, the host is pretty glad you turned up to help eat all the crisps, at a festival you're kind of in the way for a while.

Luckily, a random hippy was on hand to occupy us with a yoga ´workshop´. It was a full moon festival, and the kind of event where everything is a ´workshop´. You HAVE to improve yourself!

By the time we had done some hippy yoga stretching, other people had started to arrive....enough to hold a horseshoe throwing competition!!! Unfortunately, other people seemed to have some experience in this field, and we were knocked out in the first round, with a score of 15-9 :( ....here is a picture of me throwing a horseshoe (note determined expression).


Somewhat at odds with the general vibe of the festival, there was also a cock-fighting tournament. It was pretty horrible. Razor blades are attached to the cock´s legs to maximise the blood and gore on show for the punters. I watched for a little while, but really couldn´t bear to watch the death throes of the poor things. Once the game is over, the loser is thrown onto a pile of other losers, while the winner practically has a heart attack from the stress of the situation.

This is a picture of one of the cocks being riled up by a pretty hen being waved about:

The rest of the festival was straight-up music and dancing. Yay! No fighting, violence and death, just peace, love and happiness!

Wind stops play

There is currently some kind of freak wind blowing in Nicaragua. It's been force 6 for DAYS now, and being outside is not much fun....unless you like sandstorms.

Surf practice has been put off in favour of intensive reading and coffee drinking (usually by torch light as the electricity keeps failing). The winds have brought in very cold water, big waves and lots of scary sea animals (jelly fish, stingy sting rays), so not really for beginners without wetsuits.

The first day the wind picked up we took a very scary boat trip from Isla Ometepe to the mainland...10 foot waves on a flimsy boat. Disembarking involved a single plank of wood; one end on the dock, and one end rising and falling by several feet along with the boat deck. A handrail was thoughtfully provided by one man on land holding the end of a bamboo pole, the other end held by a man on the boat (obviously also rising and falling fairly dramatically too!). Process complicted by immense waves rolling towards us, whilst carrying two rucksacks and a large bottle of water. The picture below is of a slightly nervous Steph & Derek just as we got on board....little did we know the worst of it!

We heard yesterday that a boat sailing from Isla Ometepe to San Jorge sank....! Apparently all passengers were ok....can't find news about this though. Maybe would frighten away the tourists?

Outdoor is best

If there's no warm water, there is just no point in a bathroom....

The down-side of travel

I have 66 mosquito bites on my arms alone, and have not had a warm shower for a month.

Am quite pleased it's not snowing though ;)