Our transfer from Arenal was a bit of an adventure. We were packed tightly into a van with other tourists in transit and driven to Lake Arenal, where we boarded yet another portable sardine can. This one floated, but wouldn’t start. After flooding the engines and trying a couple of other boats that also wouldn’t start, a second attempt at starting brought one of the engines sputtering to life and we puttered across the lake at full throttle. After landing on the other side of the lake, we were assigned to a mini-van that would take us to our final destination in Monteverde.
The roads from Arenal to Monteverde are notoriously bad, with steep uphill grades and numerous potholes. We had to get a running start at one such grade, and our van died about half way up. Behind us were at least five other mini-vans all positioned at different levels on the hill. Our driver turned over the starter until it was dead beyond any doubt. Next, the van directly behind us pulled up next to us and the drivers briefly exchanged words. The driver from the other mini-van managed to squeeze past us and positioned his van in front of us. We were then ordered out of our van and a small nylon rope was tied between the two vans. Amazingly, the rope held, and they were able to pull-start our van. Our driver was replaced by the one in the lead van and promptly disappeared at the side of the road. We all piled back in the van and with our new experienced hand at the wheel, were able to make it the rest of the way without incident.
Just outside of Monteverde, we encountered something we hadn’t seen in a week, the sun. Wow! Was it always this bright?
The roads from Arenal to Monteverde are notoriously bad, with steep uphill grades and numerous potholes. We had to get a running start at one such grade, and our van died about half way up. Behind us were at least five other mini-vans all positioned at different levels on the hill. Our driver turned over the starter until it was dead beyond any doubt. Next, the van directly behind us pulled up next to us and the drivers briefly exchanged words. The driver from the other mini-van managed to squeeze past us and positioned his van in front of us. We were then ordered out of our van and a small nylon rope was tied between the two vans. Amazingly, the rope held, and they were able to pull-start our van. Our driver was replaced by the one in the lead van and promptly disappeared at the side of the road. We all piled back in the van and with our new experienced hand at the wheel, were able to make it the rest of the way without incident.
Just outside of Monteverde, we encountered something we hadn’t seen in a week, the sun. Wow! Was it always this bright?
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