Close, But No Volcano

Throughout our short stay in Arenal, the top of the volcano remained resolutely behind a curtain of clouds. Typically, by the time we made our short boat trip across the lake on the start of our onward journey to Monteverde, the sun was making a breakthrough but still too late for even a tantalising glimpse.

As we docked at the lake our boat was met by a posse of small boys, volunteering to carry cases in some case bigger than them. After several minutes of pandemonium and tips, we were ensconced in a 4x4 for a two hour drive up (and up!) a dirt track road to our destination. I'm just glad I wasn't driving as the road was rocky and narrow and the drops steep.

Last night's relaxing hot springs experience had done me the world of good: I woke this morning with all sorts of flu-like aches and pains, a racking cough and streaming nose so of course what I needed was today's activity - a zip wire canopy tour over the Monte Verde cloud forest!

Having come all this way, it seemed a shame to miss it so we were shortly strapped in to all manner of harness and, under the expert tutelage of three young guides, zipping at vertiginous heights above the tree tops on 17 different 'flights' (seems to be the apt term). The longest and last of which was 1000 metres long. As it was particularly cloudy, we kept setting off into a misty nothingness with no idea of where the end of the wire might be. It was probably the most exhilarating thing I've ever done, along with ski-ing, and the adrenalin overrode the flu for a while!