Just as we turned off the main highway to take a smaller road towards the rain forest, we got a typical afternoon rainstorm. It rained really hard, but actually felt pretty good since it cooled us off. I was worried though, since we were heading to a fairly remote area with a high likelihood of gravel and/or dirt roads. We had to put the small travel camera away, but forgot to move our passports from our front pockets (handy for the border crossing) and so they got pretty damp.

As Tamara had worried, the road soon turned to gravel. Not too bad at first, but gradually turned to bigger rocks and got much more difficult. Also, there was a dramatic elevation change, and the road was insanely steep in many places.

We got a little turned around getting to Santa Elena, but were able to get a map and directions at a little souvenir shop. The town is very small, and cute. There are a couple of supermarkets, lots of restaurants and tour companies. Also, because we are at higher elevation and in the rain forest, the temperature here is much more bearable than the previous weeks.