Whatsup, chickens?
Nate and I are still having a wonderful time in Costa Rica. We left La Fortuna a few days ago and now we're in Santa Elena, a small town outside of the Monteverde cloud forest.

We were pretty excited to leave La Fortuna. Our hostel was pretty crappy and our neighbor Jorge kept trying to scam us. We were able to visit the hot springs before we left, which was rad. The hot springs are actually just a river that is heated after it flows through the volcano. There are a bunch of super fancy resorts along the river that charge out the ass to soak in the spring, but we were able to find a free spot downriver where the water forms a small waterfall under a bridge. Soaking in steamy volcano water was exactly what my aching muscles needed after lots of hiking the day before.

The day after the the hot springs we left La Fortuna. Instead of taking the 7 hour bus ride around the mountains and lake, we took the 'jeep-boat-jeep' over them. Calling it a jeep-boat-jeep is pretty misleading, because a jeep ended up being just a van. But it was fun nonetheless.

Arriving in Santa Elena was very refreshing its much cooler, more beautiful and our hostel is a lot nicer. The best part: Our hostel is filled with dozens of super nice adopted street dogs. I love it.

Yesterday we went to the cloud forest. It was easily the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Words can't describe how beautiful it is, which is too bad because we forgot a camera. So instead of including our own pictures, I found this photo gallery online which you are welcome to enjoy.

After the cloud forest some friends we met at the hostel took us to the most amazing tree I've ever seen. In the rainforest there is a tree called a strangle fig. The seed of the strangle fig lands in the top of another tree and it's roots begin to grown done the trunk of the host tree. pretty soon the roots get so thick and strong that it chokes the host tree which then dies and rots away. Whats left is dozens of intertwining vines that are still in the shape of the original tree, only completely hollow. The one that we went to was especially amazing because it was big enough to crawl through. You could actually climb up about 100 ft. through the center of this tree and poke your head out the top.

 Climbing up this tree feels strangely like squeezing yourself out of a giant, arboreal birth canal.

 I'm about halfway up the trunk and looking up here.

 Here I'm at the top looking down. That teeny tiny red spot in the middle is Nate on the ground below me.

 Husband and wife. Smelly, un-showered tree huggers.

So that's the news from Costa Rica.

Pura Vida
Kia