Climbing the Ficus Tree in Costa Rica’s cloud forest town of Monteverde

What is this mysterious tree and why does everybody on the tourist trail talk about it? 

Well, it is a parasite. It latches onto a ‘host’ tree (much like our beloved, Christmas garnish, mistletoe) and feeds off it’s water and nutrients, slowly growing around it, strengthening and maturing. After years of theft, the Ficus drains the life of its victim, which eventually dies. 
The host tree disintegrates. The ficus remains. Self sufficient and hollow. 

Such a blood-thirsty tree exists near the town of Monteverde. You just have to find it.  

Take note – this is the coolest, ‘activity’, Sam and I did in Costa Rica, and it is one hundred percent free.  

With our hostel’s in-depth, hand drawn map in hand, (we stayed at Monteverde Backpackers, it was comfortable, clean and they had an abundance of kitchen facilities. I highly recommend it), we had a rough idea of where we needed to go to reach the entrance to the forest; but there are no physical signs pointing you to the tree’s location. Luckily, I took a photo of the opening and drew a helpful arrow to show future travellers where to go: 

The clearing is pretty much directly opposite the Cloud Forest Lodge. Simple. 

As you make your way through the trees, be aware that you will come across ‘younger’ ficuses that have just started their journey to adulthood, gorging their way around a doomed host tree. These are not ready for you to climb. The beast you’re looking for is marked with a pink ribbon near its base. 

Pink ribbon attached to a tree nearby

This is the forest, sap-sucking, vampire you’re looking for. 

We were there during the low season, so when we arrived, we were the only two souls around. Perfect. Time for a photo shoot. 

Although this didn’t last long. We were too eager to climb the beautifully intricate bark ladder in front of us.  

Setting off up the trunk

We took one backpack between us. Necessary items, such as cameras, phones and a selfie stick, were thrown into it, while unnessary items like, water and raincoats, were discarded near the base. Sam kindly agreed to take it with her, as I am ever so slightly (cough, understatement) claustrophobic, and would have completely freaked out trying to squeeze myself through the final twists and turns towards the top of the tree.  

Sam went first, sussing out the situation. The tree itself is like a natural ladder. But some ‘steps’ are a bit steeper than others, so you need to be very aware of where you place each foot, especially when coming down.  

I’m not going to place a fluffy shroud over it by saying it is easy, because the last few hoists and heaves up through the trunk are quite strenuous. You need to have an indoor rock-climbing head on. You really need to think carefully about how to distort your body and where to place your feet in order to drag yourself up through the narrow passage.

Near the top of the tree

So the best part about this adventure, is that you don’t have to enjoy it solo. Once you’re at the top, as long as you are extremely careful, a couple of you can step out of the tunnel, and onto the canopy. I reckon you could fit three or four people up there at the most. As there was only two of us, and my travel buddy, Morgan Bear, who, as per usual, gets a free ride in the backpack, we were able to take some awesome photos of us enjoying the views of the valley over the treetops.  

Standing on top of the canopy

You don’t need a guide, you don’t need a harness, you don’t need to pay hundreds of dollars, you simply need to be fearless of heights and know how to climb. It’s like regressing back to your childhood instinct of, ‘I could totally get up there’. Granted, when you’re a kid, you often get stuck and need the help of your dad to get you down, but not this time. 

Admiring the Ficus from the terra-firma

Again, Sam went first, assessing the path ahead. Barking (excuse the pun) instructions to stop me panicking. And together, we did it. We reached terra firma, retrieved our belongings and gave a quick, friendly briefing, to a couple waiting patiently at the bottom. 

I mean, it’s not difficult to achieve, but when you’re in the middle of the forest, by yourselves, you can’t help but think about the accidents that could happen as you haul your way up through the middle of a phantom tree. But once you get past that initial fear, it is the coolest thing you can do in Costa Rica. 

All smiles after the adventure

And I repeat. It is free. 

If you do one thing in this adrenaline filled country, (and you won’t, you’ll do much more), do this.  

Just make sure you have travel insurance. 
This post was completed in Sugar Cane Hostel in Medellín, Colombia. It was written to the sound of city birds and the odd spot of traffic.

Peru to Ecuador via La Tina border crossing

If, like me, you want to overland to Ecuador from Peru, but you can’t find any concrete information regarding the journey, don’t panic. It has come to my attention that there are crucial facts missing from guidebooks and the internet; concrete directions on transferring from one bus to another, for example.  

I have written this blog to try to iron out some of the misleading/outdated/hazy information online. It is a guide that will take you from Peru, via the La Tina border, and straight to Loja in Ecuador. 

I started my journey in Lima. You might be starting further North, but the route is essentially the same. First of all, you need to get yourself to Piura. 

Side note: If you plan to overland via Tumbes and head to Guayaquil in Ecuador, this is not the right information for you.

So my intended route was: Lima – Piura – Loja. This all seemed simple enough on paper, but catching a bus from Lima is a bit of a minefield, as there are so many different terminals. You can’t simply walk to a main station and check timetables. I found that the best way to search for a bus, was to use the Bus Portal website. It is not always the cheapest option, but in Lima, it’s the definitely the easiest. I chose to go with Oltursa and to leave from Gran Terminal Terrestre Plaza Norte. I advise that you use Uber in Lima, as it is much cheaper than the transfers booked in hostels or taxis on the street. 

It is possible to go from Lima to Loja without having to stay in Piura overnight, you just need to make sure you work with the bus schedule in each place. I found out that there is a bus company in Piura called, Transportes Loja, which leaves around 9:30am, 1pm and 9pm, every day. I chose to take an overnight bus from Lima at 7:30pm, as it would arrive in Piura at 11:30am the following day. Perfect. Plenty of time to get to make the 1pm Tranportes Loja bus. Or so I thought.

I tried to research where this elusive terminal might be, but this is where the conflicting information began, so I decided I would just take a taxi to it, that way I wouldn’t be able to get lost. 

When I arrived in Piura, I checked how far Transportes Loja might be, and she told me it was a 10 minute walk. That was the taxi option out of the question. I made it my mission to find it using my minimal Spanish and awful sense of direction. However, it turned out to be a completely different company to the one I was looking for, and the only bus that served Loja was at 8pm. This was no good, I would have to wait 7 hours for the bus as well as arrive in Loja at 4am. 
Back on the street, I kept asking for the terminal. I finally found someone that sent me to a company called Ronco. Again, I knew this wasn’t what I needed, but I had nothing else to go by, so I followed the directions and took the advice. As was to be expected, no bus to Loja. I asked at the Ronco desk, out of desperation, for Transportes Loja,and they sent me through a door at the back of their waiting room. 

There, in the corner of a little bus depot, was my beloved bus terminal, and I had 30 minutes to spare before the 1pm bus. Success. 

Loja Terminal front desk, to prove that it exists

Screenshot to help you find the correct bus terminal

As you can see from my Google Map, there are quite a few bus terminals in the same area. When you book your bus in Lima, be sure to find out where it’s going to spit you out in Piura so you know how far away you are from the Loja terminal. Also, if you need to ask for directions, locals may call it ‘Loja International’, this is okay too, it should be the same place. If you are worried about being sent to the wrong place, as I was, simply ask for the Ronco terminal. It is on the road called, Loreto Norte and is opposite the Flores bus terminal.

There are little bakeries and shops around this area. I recommend stocking up on an empanada or 2 for the journey to Loja. It is 8 hours and there aren’t really any stops. I think they break once on the other side of the border, but it’s not long enough to get food, so just stock up on snacks before you get on the bus. 

The 1pm bus arrives in Loja around 9pm. Depending on where you’re heading next, will depend on whether or not there is possibility of an onward bus at this time. I wanted to head to Vilcabamba, but all the buses had stopped running, so I walked out of the bus terminal, crossed the road and headed towards some 24 hour accommodation called Hostal Gaviota Azul. A private room with double bed and private bathroom was $15. Perfect when you have been travelling for what feels like a week and you smell like travel (and in my case vomit, as I was victim to some child’s backlash). And only a 2 minute walk from the main bus station. Absolutely perfect. 

So to recap:

• Catch a bus from Lima to Piura (easy – there’s loads of options on the website I gave you) 
• Make sure the bus arrives in Piura an hour or so before your next bus 
• If you need to stay in Piura overnight, there’s a place called Hotel Inca Perú near all the bus terminals. It’s on the road called Tumbes. This is where I received the information about Ronco bus terminal, so they were very helpful. You might have a decent night of rest here. 
• Catch the bus from Transportes Loja at the back of the Ronco bus terminal on Loreto Norte. 
• Enjoy the ride from Piura to Loja. The border is nice and easy. There is no fee at this border. 
• Arrive in Loja and check onward buses or stay overnight. 

It might be an idea, before you head off from Lima or otherwise, to screenshot all the terminals you will need to find. For example, if you type ‘Ronco Piura’, into Google maps, it will definitely come up with the goods.
If you have any questions about my experience of this border crossing, feel free to get in touch or comment on this post.

I really hope this helps.
This post was written to the birdsong surrounding Hostal Izhcayluma in Vilcabamba Ecuador.