La Fortuna Jungle, Panama

July 21-24

Lost & Found is an amazing little hostel in the middle of nowhere. To find it, we got off a bus in the mountains and had to walk about 20 minutes up a very steep hill - with heavy bags on back! Along the way there were signs of encouragement and at one point even a bench for a rest.

On our first afternoon we set off to buy some groceries, having been informed that there was a supermarket "just at the bottom of the hill". All we found at the bottom of the hill was a little cafe and a fruit shop, but they informed us that the supermarket was a "five minute walk down the road" which of course was closer to 20 minutes! All part of the adventure when you're in the middle of nowhere. We managed to hitch hike back up the road on our way back to save a bit of walking. 

In the evening we had a 'family dinner' at the hostel and got to have a play with Rocky, their pet kinkajou. What a cutie! We spent the rest of the night playing drinking Jenga at the bar. A lot of silliness ensued!

The next day was an adventure! The hostel is surrounded by jungle trails which they've used to create a treasure hunt! We were given a map and the first clue at the hostel.

The first stop was a viewpoint - reached via a very very steep walk. Luckily the view at the top was worth it. I think. 

At each stop there were riddle-type clues leading us to the next destination. 

The path was constantly going up and down, often slippery, unstable and against cliff edges!

We walked through the jungle until we reached a river, where we saw many rapids and waterfalls.

 

 

 

     

We ended up trekking to a cave before the final clue led us back to the hostel. There we had to solve a tricky riddle and were able to claim a drink at the bar that night as our prize! 

Yet again we spent the night playing drinking Jenga, the highlight of which was two boys being taped together and then one of them having to attempt the splits! We also played many other games like yee-ha, question game and hi jack. 

The following day we were exhausted and perhaps a tiny little bit hungover. It was also raining, so it was the perfect day to just chill out. We watched some movies and didn't even make it out of our PJs all day. Might've been good to explore some more of the jungle, but a rest day was just what we needed!