We landed in Liberia ready to start off a week with my family in the beautiful Costa Rica. When we walked out of the small airport, we found the person holding the sign for the Adobe rental car service and he drove us down the street to pick up our car.
The person at the rental car said that we would need to leave before noon if we wanted to make it to the Monteverde area, otherwise we should wait for the following morning. We didn’t understand why there would be such a time frame needed, but it was morning and so we took off down the road.
A couple of hours later we had reached the rising hills of Monteverde and began to make the climb up the mountain. We passed small towns along the way with the houses right up next to the street. It is always so interesting to see a daily life so different from your own.
We began the ascent up the mountain along twisty turns on narrow roads. Parts of the road were rocky with big potholes everywhere that required some tricky maneuvering. But at the same time we were blown away by the incredible views of the mountains and valleys and their canopies of green everywhere.
We would be staying in the town of Monteverde that was a good central point to all the places we would be visiting in the next few days. We dropped off our luggage where we would be staying and set out to explore the town a little bit. Everywhere we went, people said ‘Pura Vida’ to us (said poo-rah vee-dah). We learned that ‘Pura Vida’ is essentially the catch all phrase for every good thing and people use it all the time.
Monteverde is a town that makes everyone feel welcome. The people are lovely and warm, there are great restaurants everywhere, and a unique artist feel on all the buildings and streets- it is easy to feel immediately at home here.
In the middle of the town is the Saint Helen’s church. The building is simple in design but lovingly cared for by all the locals and is the heart of the city.
Of all the great places to eat, the most popular is the Treehouse Restaurant where a massive tree grows up in the middle of the confines of the building. We loved seeing the winding staircase go up through the branches of the tree.
It was in the afternoon when we noticed the fast moving clouds coming into town. One of the locals told us that it rains everyday down near the beach and the clouds from that come up here and will fill the town in a short amount of time. That would explain why we were told to leave in the morning so we wouldn’t have to drive up those narrow roads without being able to see through the clouds.
Within an hour, the entire town was covered and we couldn’t see anything beyond the balcony of our room. Afternoons apparently would not see us getting out much but instead enjoying the cool mountain air with a drink on the deck.
Pura Vida means pure life and is used for all expressions or greetings that is positive. Even with the afternoon clouds, you can’t help but get into that mindset as you meet the people of this area and see the incredible views of the mountains. We are ready to explore more and really get into the pure life that makes this country so wonderful.
If you have enjoyed this first day in Costa Rica, be on the lookout for more adventures to come:
Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve
Coffee, Chocolate, and Sugar plantations
The Children’s Eternal Rainforest
Ponderosa Park & Playa Hermosa
Thanks for coming along through the small mountain town of Monteverde. May you always be filled with the Pura Vida spirit.
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