It was time to leave my little hostel in La Fortuna and move on. I had booked a couple of nights in Monteverde the previous night and worked out how to get there by local bus using an app that had been recommended to me by several locals. it was going to take about four hours and three buses to get there so I left in plenty of time to arrive mid afternoon.
This was the first time I had used the app and I spent a bit of time working it out. It was a bit clunky until you upgraded to get rid of the ads and open up some of the more useful functionality. And then it was brilliant, offering everything you could possibly want in a public transport app. I climbed aboard my bus and settled into a hassle-free first leg of my journey. The app followed our route and even notified me to get off at the next stop. I was most impressed.
At the bus terminal in Guatuso, I consulted my new best friend who gave me details of how to get to the bus terminal for my second bus. I dutifully followed directions. And found nothing. I asked a girl in a roadside kiosk. She told me there was only one bus terminal and that was the one I just came from. She didn’t know about the bus I was wanting. I asked an older couple at a bus stop and they gave me the same information. I returned to the bus terminal and asked the couple of locals waiting for a bus who promptly told me there was no bus to Tileran from Guatuso and I would need to return to La Fortuna to take a bus from there. I showed them my app which was counting down the time to my bus’s arrival, but they could give me no answers.
The time for arrival came and went and the app started counting down the time to the next service in an hour’s time. Still no bus. I scanned the road I was supposed to standing on but no bus trundled along there either. Eventually, a bus arrived heading to La Fortuna and I asked the driver. He confirmed what everyone had already told me. The service on my app just didn’t exist. My only option was to return to La Fortuna and try again. Despondently, I climbed aboard and sat down.
By the time I returned to La Fortuna it would have been too late to try again so I weighed up my options. I could try again by public bus in the morning, I could take a tourist shuttle (which I detest doing unless I absolutely have to), or I could book a transfer which took you to Lago de Arenal to board an awaiting boat for a scenic crossing. Then it was back on a bus to your accommodation. I decided on the latter option as it was something I had considered doing and was a much safer option than catching public transport again. I had already spent enough time in La Fortuna and needed to move on. Regardless, I needed to organise a bed for the night in La Fortuna and let the hostel in Monteverde know I would be a day late. As we went in and out of mobile coverage I managed to secure a bed back at Rio Danta Hostel again.
As we pulled up again at La Fortuna, I got another message on my phone from the bus app letting me know my bus from Guatuso to Tileran was arriving soon. My response was to promptly delete the app. As I walked into the Main Street, I looked up at to see probably the clearest view of Volcón Arenal I had seen the whole time I was there. It had shrugged off its misty shroud and looked for all intent and purpose to be mocking me. Well, I suppose it does have a mischievous history. I looked away and began my walk back to the hostel.
Wild Woman Wandering 