We tried to use the internet before we left the island, but the service was down. Still raining. We caught a water taxi back to Almirante, then we walked about a kilometre with another couple until we caught a mini bus going towards David. The driver knew where the Lost and Found hostel was, and after about three hours travel we were dropped off at some yellow painted rocks on the side of the road.
We found a flight of stairs winding up a very steep hillside, so we trudged our way up in the rain (still raining!) with our packs on for about 10 minutes where we met Patrick, one of the hostel owners. We dropped our packs and bags at the door to the dorm, then headed up to the main area. Patrick gave us a complimentary beer and soda (which was well received after that hike!), met Andrew the other owner, and they explained all about the hostel.
The dorm room had three tier double bunk beds with heaps of room, and very comfortable. The views of the surrounding countryside were brilliant when the cloud cleared. After settling in, and having dinner, we watched DVDs in the lounge room, while outside it was very windy, and poured with rain.
The hostel sometimes gets wild animals that have been injured and rehabilitated, they then release them back into the forest surrounding the hostel. There is a kinkajou (called Rocky) that stays at the hostel in his own enclosure. Rocky is very friendly, and loves attention (at night, being nocturnal). Unfortunately the other wild kinkajous living near the hostel always try to attack him so he can't be released, they even attempt to get at him in his enclosure. He doesn't attempt to run away as he is very attached to Andrew, but his curiosity has got him beaten up by the wild animals in the past.
Saturday the weather had cleared so we decided to go for a tramp up to the lookout. Carol was not too happy about going, as her legs were sore from the climb the day before, Kent managed to persuade her to go. It was a good hike which took us about an hour to where we got a fantastic view, all the way out to the Pacific Ocean. After taking photos, we hiked for two hours back down through the forest then along the road to the nearby village for lunch, Carol complaining about her legs turning to jelly all the way. We stopped at the shop for some supplies, then walked along the road back to the stairs to the hostel. Carol remembered she had left some clothing back on the trail we had come down on, so Kent went back to get them, while Carol climbed up the stairs.
We stayed there for 7 nights in all. The hostel cost $US20 for a double dorm per night with the third night free. However we got to stay for the whole week free, because we tiled their reception room floor for them. We spent three six hour days working on the floor, and think we did a pretty good job despite a few problems. Patrick and Andrew were very happy with what we had done, and we enjoyed our week.
