Thusday 24th November - The Full Montezuma

This morning we have no need to get up as long as we check out by noon so no alarm has been set. Inevitably we wake up before five. The stove has gone out and it is quite chilly so D plugs in an electric heater and also makes cups of tea. R's day does not have the most auspicious of starts. We pack, do some Duolingo, breakfast, load the car and it is still only 7.30. The Savegre blots its copybook further by playing pan pipe muzak at breakfast. There is a plant nursery, specialising in succulents, attached to the hotel complex, and R is keen to have a look even if she is a bit stiff and sore. The bruises on her back from her falls are starting to come out.

The two young ladies who are in charge seem very happy for us to wander round and they even open their cactus house for us.

By 10.00 we have run out of things to do and set off up the valley. A lady we spoke to recommended Miriam's, about two thirds of the way up the valley and we stop for coffee and half an hour on her terrace watching hummingbirds, woodpeckers, various tanagers and a very lively squirrel.

At the top of the hill we turn north onto the almost deserted Pan-American Highway but that doesn't last long. There are quite a few trucks and few opportunities to overtake so progress is a bit of a crawl for the 50km to Cartago where we turn off. Our written instructions suggest using satnav to negotiate this section of the route so we turn on Gertie Google. The route she takes us on through this small city is pretty convoluted but gets us through and on the road to Cachi, the nearest small town to our destination. We find ourselves following a small truck adorned with £ symbols. How odd.

We arrive in Cachi and Gertie freaks out. She takes us up an unmade road past a school that ends in a farmyard. After we retrace our route she directs round four sides of a square and wants to do it again. D demurrs and turns right where she is saying left. 

Suddenly we are on the correct road again. This climbs steeply and we see signs for our hotel, the Quelitales. We turn off the public road onto a track that leads to the entrance. At reception we are invited to take lunch before occupying our room so we take seats by the window and are in pole position when four spectacular Montezuma Oropendolas arrive nearby. If it wasn't for Toucans these birds would surely be better known. One of them even does acrobatics to entertain us.

As well as these beauties there are hummingbirds everywhere. This hotel has a reputation for good food and the soup we chose was excellent. We could have had two more courses then had to sleep all afternoon. Instead we are shown to our cabin, a bit up the hill from reception, and get settled in before exploring the grounds and seeing yet more hummingbirds and oropendolas. D even got a glimpse of an Emerald Basilisk by a waterfall, but it shot off into the undergrowth before the camera could be readied.

On the way through Cartago we stopped at a supermarket for essentials. These caught our eye for tonight's cocktail hour. Apparently Yuca is cassava and these taste an awful lot like proper plain crisps from years gone by. We open the bar as it is getting dark and the heavens open. The rain is so loud on the roof that we have to shout across the room to each other. Luckily it only lasts a few minutes.

Our table is booked for dinner at 6.30 p.m. and we make a mental note to remember to wear fleeces tomorrow. It feels cooler here at night than at San Gerardo. The Hotel Quelitales is getting into the festive swing with a tree and nativity scene in reception. The food is good here but still big portions. D had been hoping to try a flambéed banana for pud but had no room left. 

Tomorrow we are back to early starts.