Guayabo

I thought yesterday was long, well today was definitely longer! I don't mean that in a bad way though, it's just a declarative statement. So today we went to the national park of Guayabo. We were actually supposed to go to museums today and go to Guayabo tomorrow, but apparently our coach service changed our plans for us, which was just fine. 

We woke up at 6 AM and were down stairs by 625. We were supposed to depart by 630, but our bus driver/tour guide Johnny went to go get air in the tires so it was more like 645. We got on the road and started on our way. This was really our first opportunity to see San Jose in the day light. Allison made a good point when she said that San Jose kind of looks like downtown Atlanta, similar to Five Points. Along the way Johnny filled us in on some of the local monuments. As we started to leave the downtown area, we could finally see the amazing mountains that surrounded us. Costa Rica truly is a Cloud Forest, there are heavenly looking clouds creeping low around the mountains and in the valleys. 

After about an hour of driving down narrow windy roads that kind of remind me of the bus ride in Denali, we arrived at a restaurant for breakfast. It was truly worth the wait. The view was absolutely breathtaking. I kept thinking to myself, oh my god, I'm in Costa Rica! Lame, I know. The Restaurant was a top a high hill overlooking a valley with surrounding mountains. It was pretty empty, but I it looked like a tourist destination, and I'm assuming it was empty because it was only 8 am. We got to go out on the front porch area which hung over the hill. There was a metal platform hanging below the porch over the hill that looked like it had been placed there because tourist had lost the cameras over the side in the past. The server was very nice and took our drink orders mostly consisting of coffee and orange juice. The coffee was AMAZING!!! We didn't even look at a menu, they just brought us all the same thing. We had black beans and rice, two small tortillas, scrambled eggs, and cheese. It was a great breakfast. And the view just made it perfect. 

After breakfast we continued driving. I could ride in the bus all day. Well...not really. But I didn't mind staring out the window. Johnny was very friendly, telling us about the different types of crops we were seeing. Things you will always find in Costa Rica: Sugar kane and coffee plants, meandering cows, wandering horses, and stray dogs. Johnny also got lost a couple of times. Another interesting fact, Costa Rican men don't mind stopping and asking for directions, we stopped about 3 or 4 times, but we finally found Guayabo. 

Guayabo is the national archeological site in Costa Rica. It was created around 1000 BC and was used until about 1400 AD. It was used by several different peoples, ranging from Native Americans initially, and then later by spanish descendants. It is an advanced site that consists of round stone foundations with thatched roofing. It also had a stone  causeway leading up to the housing and an advanced aqueduct that still works today. 

We had a picnic lunch in Guayabo that we bought from the restaurant we ate breakfast at. We had these grilled cheese and ham sandwich things with lettuce and tomato. They were decent. After lunch we got back on the bus and headed back so San Jose. We crashed at the hotel afterwards and then went to a place called Cafe Mundo for dinner. I had this really good Roasted Vegetable Salad with Grilled Chicken. It had eggplant a zucchini and red peppers. Soooo good. 

Now we are back at the hotel and about to get to sleep. We are going to the museums tomorrow, and luckily we don't have to leave here until 930, so we get to sleep in! Woohoo!