I've been in Costa Rica for a few days now and though its very 'Americanised' its an extremely beautiful place. First stop was Monteverde region to check out the 'cloud-forests' and their wildlife. The forrest reminded me a lot of the rainforests at home but with slightly different flora and fauna. I went for a walk through the canopy on the first morning there which was very neat, especially seeing my first wild sloth. The nature on the guided nightwalk through the forest was the highlight. We managed to see two different snakes (both pit-adders), a massive trantula, some interesting bugs and two of the smallest frogs I've ever seen, I managed to get a photo (albiet not a great photo) net to a cricket, where the cricket is bigger than the frog. I'm looking forward to seeing more wildlife at Manuel Antonio once Jamie gets down here.

After Monteverde we headed to La Fortuna by some more torturous roads and lake. In the shadow of the Arenal volcano La Fortuna is a very touristy place....even more 'Americanised' than what I've seen in Costa Rica so far........natural beauty is both an economic blessing and a curse. Went canyoning for a day here which was quiet challenging. It wasn't so hard physically but the route contained two big repels one 150ft and the other 200ft both adjacent to waterfalls which were quiet intimidating.