Costa Rica 6, Third Day In Monteverde

I exhausted myself today. There is a huge hill that goes down to San Luis, a small farming community nearby. I'm not sure of the distance, but it is very steep and it is even a bit of a challenge walking downhill. I went anyway. San Luis is like something out of a surrealist landscape, or a novel written in magic realism. There are green pastures with cows and trees whose branches are covered with moss and bromeliads, and forest areas as well. One can walk an entire road without encountering a human soul, which really intensifies the magic realism. There is also a forest trail that I explored a bit of last year, but didn't go very far, since I was alone, in an isolated area, and who knows what could happen. Snake bite, sprained ankle, falling down a ravine, they are all possibilities and they do happen to dumb, reckless solo travellers, like me, who don't even know the area, nor have shown the courtesy of at least first informing their hospitality providers about their mad adventure. Guilty as charged. I happened to be on the grounds of a small university campus, the University of Georgia (don't ask, long story), and came out on the Casa de Profesores, or the professors' house. It appeared to be unoccupied, so I sat in the shade of the porch and rested for a while. I didn't finish the trail because it got very steep going down a ravine and I didn't want to have to make the huge climb back up, nor did I want to put myself at any further unnecessary risk. I did come out on another network of trails to the botanical garden. It turned out that my presence was unauthorized, but that didn't seem to matter, since I was the only one present. On my way back up the hill I encountered Esteban and his Mom, Luz-Mery, who are members of the family who are my hosts here and we chatted a bit. I assured them I'd be okay, then they drove on to visit some relatives. It was very steep climbing going back up the hill and I tried to do it in segments, stopping to rest on a rock or a shelf of dry turf on the way. Almost everyone driving by would smile and wave, something that never happens in Canada, and it is nice that people here are so welcoming. When I arrived at the lookout, I sat for around a half hour on one of the two benches, just resting and taking in the view. The mountains on the right are dry and parched looking, the ones on the left are all lush and green from the clouds blowing in from the ocean, so this gives an idea of the various micro-climates here. On the way down I had also stopped at this lookout where I chatted for a while with a young local couple who were on their way to the weekly soccer match down in San Luis. Even if the climb was hard, it is a cool day, sometimes with clouds blowing in carrying enough cool drizzle to refresh, but not to make everything too wet, and the wind has been cool and comforting. I saw another blue morpho butterfly today, and this one flew back towards me, as though to say hi again. Look them up on Google. They are positively enchanting. I am back now in the bed and breakfast, typing this post in the reception area, and I'm also sticking around just in case Esteban's dad, Rafael, who just speaks Spanish, might need someone to translate for him should any non-Spanish-speaking guests need anything. So far, so good, and one of the couple who did come in does speak Spanish, with rather a thick French accent (please don't ask, I couldn't begin to describe it). All for now.