Yesterday was a tiring day all in all and we were really glad to be in that little hotel room in San Isidro. We went to sleep without supper, too tired to even worry about that. I sat up quite late sorting pics writing - there was no bedside light to read with and the main light was brilliant white. So. We both woke up a lot more relaxed and rested. It had poured again all night long but the rain on the roof sounded lovely. It was still raining and I quickly checked the weather report which said that up in the mountains where we were, it was going to rain for three days! Aaaarrrgghh. This was where I wanted to go and find that beautiful Resplendant Quetzal bird! There was not way we would have a chance to see it in the mist and fog and rain. So another decision happened quickly. I had spent some time looking at places to go and found one really near San Jose - central to everything and anything we decided to do. It sounded quaint and all and decided to go and have breakfast, call the Interbus or Shuttle company and head that way.
Sure - too easy. Neither the Shuttle nor Interbus runs up this way - its too high up in the mountains and not enough tourists come this way. Back to a taxi which is hellishly expensive. Finally the hotel manager said that they would drive us in their minibus to the next hotel, about 4 hours away, for $200. No bargaining at all, period. We both thought about the taxis we had taken, the air conditioners, speedometers that did not work and decided to bite the bullet and go for it. It took us 5 minutes to pack up and drag all our luggage, which I swear is now double the original weight, down the stairs again and there we sat, in hightened anticipation to leave again. This feeling of wanting to leave places was becoming horribly familiar, but we really did not feel like exploring anything in the pouring rain. Definitely aging, methinks.
I sat up front of the minibus and had a glorious view - Frank had all 12 seats to himself and I heard him happily clicking away as we drove through the most awesome mountains! Every now and again we would catch a glimpse of the views that would have filled up my camera had it not been raining or foggy. It was beautiful and really high up and a gently winding road led us up and back down those mountains. Through the fog we could often see the bright red of the bromelias attached to so many of the trees all along the way. They are huge and rather beautiful plants and I always want to see what is living inside their leaves. We stopped at a few places along the way to buy fruit, cheese and some other goodies. The driver knew no English whatsoever and he had strange taste in music - or rather, the sounds that kept pouring from the radio. It was blissfully cold up in those mountains which was a wonderful change for us.
And then we hit the city again - through tiny roads, a gazillion cars. Some places along the way were pretty backed up as there was a stop sign where a traffic light would be really welcome, and it was obvious that this was an ongoing problem because a variety of vendors had set themselves up along the side of that short stretch of road. In a few places on the mountain road, we were reduced to only one lane as the other had fallen down the hillside. No repairs were made, and instead, there was a yield sign painted on the road and a flimsy piece of tape fluttering slowly over the gap. No one bothered, and traffic went by pretty smoothly. It was an abrupt change of scenery from the mountains to the city - gotta say that I much prefer the mountains. The driver was frantically working his GPS, trying to find the new hotel in the little town of Aranjuez, and the roads got narrower and narrower as we went along. And then he stopped. You've got to be kidding!
We were in a very odd little place with most of the buildings and houses covered with bars and trees thickly placed on the sidewalks. By now we are not surprised by anything at all - but it definitely did not look like the pictures on the website. Well, actually it did, just much more like real life and the websites photos had obviously had a good cleaning in Photoshop. Ah well. The man behind the desk spoke English!! Whooo hoooo - 10 steps ahead already! We booked a room for a couple of days and dragged those bags down the corridor where we found a neat and tidy room - so much bigger than the other and it had a bathroom that I would love to have at home! Even reading lamps, a tv that did not have snow, extra tables and well........ its a good place to relax for a few days. There are little gardens all over the place inside the main hotel building and I read that the hotel is a conglomoration of 4 houses, joined together - hence the gardens in odd places. Its really quite quaint.
Here is an interesting tidbit about this area : The first electrical plant, inaugurated on August 9, 1884, was built in Aranjuez on the southwest corner of the Calderon Guardia Hospital. With this lighting that consisted of 25 lamps, San Jose became the third city in the world, and the first in Latin America to have electrical lighting, preceded only by Paris and New York. Initially, the lighting service covered the area from the Atlantic Railroad Station to the Del Carmen Church, and from there to the Parque Central , and then on to other parts of the city. Thanks to the energy generated by the Pelton Wheel which was installed in Aranjuez by Manuel V. Dengo and Luis Batres in 1892, the electrical lighting of the incandescent system was made available to homes.
We were pointed in the direction of a cafe where we could get lunch and dinner if we wanted to - the hotel only has breakfast. And off we tootled, zigzagging down roads, over the railway track, losing and finding ourselves and all the time finding fascinating things, from little stores to strange trees to many many eateries along the way. We passed the hospital and Currency building, gawked at the wall art all over the place and walked around piles of bagged trash in the roads. When walking, you have to keep a close eye on the pavement and road - there are manhole wide open, smaller holes, deep curbs and well........ we kept our eyes firmly on the road. And then finally we found the Cafe. We sat outside under huge bamboo, with birds flittering around the yard and fish in a fish pond. It was very busy and the people watching was glorious! Our food was simply delicious and the beer ice cold. A definite re-visit is in view.
Today was probably our quietest day yet - nothing exciting apart from being fortunate enough to see even more of the beautiful countryside. I have spent a good bit of time sorting through more photos and will hopefully get them up online tomorrow or so..
love light and laughter
to U3 espcially - Joleen, I hope you knee is feeling better already!
Till next time
Annie
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