Hiking in the Mountains

Once again, we started the day early, eager to cross the island. We headed down to the local bakery to grab some bread and water, since there aren’t many places to buy anything once you venture away from the small town of Aorra. We followed the trail towards Dois Reis, aiming to stop by a beautiful viewpoint in the rainforest where we could see the whole town and the ocean from above. After about an hour of hiking, we reached the viewpoint, which was absolutely stunning. We continued along the path, wanting to explore more of the rainforest. The trek to the other side of the island was tough, and we finally arrived about three hours later. To enter the town of Dois Reis, we had to register with the police. We later learned that the police also act as forest rangers, ensuring that tourists and locals don’t harm the nature around them. The beach was completely deserted and incredibly beautiful. We had hoped to catch a ride back to our side of the island, but unfortunately, there weren’t many boats in sight. Instead, we wandered around the town and stumbled upon a small, very local restaurant where we met a Dutch couple. The girl was from Brazil, so she acted as our translator. The locals told us that the town used to be a prison town. They also mentioned that we wouldn’t be able to get a ride back to our town, meaning the only way back was to hike all the way through the rainforest again—phew! Before embarking on that long and exhausting journey again, we had lunch with the Dutch couple. The restaurant served fish and chicken, so we decided to order one of each. It only cost 6 reais per person. The Dutch couple stayed a bit longer in town while we tried to find an old man who had been a prisoner in the jail to hear some stories from him. When we finally made it back to Aorra, we were pretty worn out after walking 34 km. After stretching out and enjoying a long shower, we felt a bit more refreshed. We went for another walk, but this time it was just to find a nice restaurant. We discovered a great spot with an ocean view where we had fish with mango sauce, rice, and some kind of vegetables—all for 50 reais. Back at our pousada, we played dominoes and chatted with the other guests. Some English guys shared that they had tried to have their things stolen three times in Costa Rica. You have to be careful when traveling in South America. However, out on the island, it feels very safe. You can walk anywhere at any time of day alone, which makes it really relaxing to be here.