13 November 2023 La Fortuna

In search of nothing

“With a greater sense of understanding comes a greater sense of wonder, and a greater realisation that we are part of and not apart from the rest of nature. And… when the end of consciousness comes, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Nothing at all.”
Anil Seth, from his book ‘Being You’

Awake at 6:30 am. The Sleeping Mountain Hotel does not offer breakfast but they do provide complimentary coffee in the mornings. I don’t need any encouragement to collect a cup of the black stuff and take it back to bed to enjoy with cookies.

I did eventually venture outside. The small town of La Fortuna has a compact and easily walkable centre. The town is very touristy with all types of travellers. So it’s all quite buzzy, and lots of locals speak more than a smattering of English. Since arriving in La Fortuna, I have noticed that Costa Rica is relatively expensive, possibly even more so than Bocas del Toro in Panama!

I had morning coffee and then lunch at Arabigos Cafe & Restaurant. When I ummed and ahhed at the prices on the menu, I reminded myself “…and then you die.” I opted for the House Special Burger but I was served what looked like a perfectly ordinary, run-of-the-mill, everyday burger and fries. The difference in price was about €6 so I asked the waiter if this was the right order. He took the plate away and after a couple of minutes and a lot of muffled shouting in the kitchen, delivered it back to me. It now had a small amount each of ‘caramelised onions’, grilled mushrooms and pickles. It wasn’t worth the money.

There are lots of activities available in La Fortuna and the surrounding area but I still have 3-weeks to explore Costa Rica, currently without plans or bookings.

So, today I took the opportunity to catch up with some of my outstanding correspondence but I don’t seem to be doing as well with the ‘In Search of Something’ blog. I am now nearly a week behind with my writing, but as I am both the author and audience, I won’t complain.

Disappointingly, the weather is still overcast and cloudy, but I could just start to make out the base of mountain-like geographical features on the horizon.

Having had a late lunch, I wasn’t hungry in the evening so I was quite happy to settle on Pot Noodles and crackers.

Good night.

Budget costs: