Turrialba

I woke up early to the sound of the Caribbean morning. I headed off to the lobby to meet up with my driver and traveling companion for the rest of the trip. But I stopped in my tracks as I spotted a bright red lizard crawling around on the outside porch. I attempted to take a picture before continuing to the walkway where I met Marco. He looked well rested and ready for the day. We piled into the van, which was spotlessly clean, and started the trip to Turrialba. Our drive started off well. It soon became obvious that I would need to put my Spanish skills to work - my driver could only say phrases in English that are of the commonly useful type, such as "bathroom?" I welcomed the opportunity to practice my conversational Spanish. We hit it off immediately.

The drive to Turrialba was absolutely gorgeous! While we passed many small towns on the way, but for the most part it seemed as though we were driving on a road through endless amounts of mountainous forests. We arrived to Guayabo Lodge, one of the inspections on my list, and was greeted with a charming and quaint building on the hillside of the volcano overlooking the valley. The views were breathtaking and the rooms very lovely and welcoming. After a quick visit, we continued on our way, over the Cerro de la Muerte (Mountain of Death), and began our descent into a lesser-known cloudforest region, tucked away in a ravine. We arrived at Savegre Mountain Lodge and checked in to our respective rooms for the evening. I was surprised at how cold I quickly became, and tried to build a fire in the room with the materials provided. Unfortunately, I was defeated and confirmed the fact that I would never make it far on Survivor. I actually broke out my jeans and jacket for this evening, as the cool mountain air was not something I had anticipated.