March 17, 2000 - Monday

We tried to see if we could go to Cartago again today but the road was still blocked. We headed toward the Barva Volcano instead, which was a mistake. The road to the base of the volcano was very scenic and again, and the types of trees changed to evergreens as we climbed higher. The path took us through towns with California city names such as Los Angeles and Sacramento.

After reaching the small town of Sacramento, we had to park and hike our way up to the ranger station because the paved road pretty much ended with just a plain dirt road and big rocks. There was an American family that came after us and tried to drive up the road but they turned around and parked their car also.

The hike from Sacramento to the ranger station was probably one of the most disappointing hikes so far. It was pretty much just a long, wide, unpaved dirt road with big rocks and lots of cows, cow droppings, and flies. Even the land that surrounded the road was just grazing fields for cows. After an hour of uphill climb, we finally reached the ranger station and registered with the ranger. Since we had to be back to San Jose by about 4, we only had time to go to one of the lagoons.

The unpaved road continued to the lagoon with horses, their droppings and flies on the trails. It was a good thing there was at least one trail into the moss-covered cold rain forest and it was one of the few good things about that hike.

We reached the lagoon after an hour and quickly ate some snacks there before heading back. The American family finally caught up with us. They're from Virginia.

About a mile away from the ranger station, I came upon a young light orange cat. It was friendly and meowing as if it was lost. It started following me back to the ranger station but stopped to meow pitifully because I was walking too fast for it to catch up. I dropped my hiking stick and picked him up instead and held him in my arms for the rest of the way to the ranger station. The cat didn't squirm too much except when there was a bird close by.

After reaching the ranger station, we found out that the cat belonged to the ranger and followed the American family up the trail. We left after that. On the way down to Sacramento, the path was blocked by about 20 cows. We had to move slowly and quietly through them. I've never been that close to cows before and wasn't sure if they'll bite me or not. We did see a small brown snake on the road, trying to catch some sun to heat up its cold-blooded body.

We picked up Dave & Rudi in San Jose and headed toward Escazu where they recently bought a property up high on the hill looking over the city. They're in the initial stage of building their new house there. The road up to the site was a bit on the bad side though, and it was cold when I got up there. We had some drinks and looked at the city lights of San Jose before heading back down.

We went to a steak house for dinner and then out to a club for some dancing and salsa. I swear the Latino people were born to wiggle their bodies like that. I didn't do too well and probably made a mockery of myself on the dance floor. It was a lovely end to my last night in Costa Rica this trip though.

  March 18/19, 2000 - Monday

An uneventful flight from Costa Rica to JFK, and I found it a bit weird to be in a noisy subway car the same day I left the lush rainforest. It was cold in New York City and it got slightly better by the time I got back to Bermuda. Bermuda was still having winter weather with the temperature hovering only in the mid-60's in the daytime with strong wind. And my adventures continued...