Panama day 52 Feb. 29

We cleared out of David this morning at about 9 a.m. (or what we thought was 9 a.m.) Turns out there was a clock at the bus station that told us we were out by an hour as it was closer to 10.
We boarded the old school bus for the one hour drive to Boquete. I think it cost $1.50 each. The drive was mostly uphill all the way and the bus stopped wherever anyone wanted to board it. At one point it pulled over under a orange or lemon tree and as it pulled away a branch flew in the upper half of the windows. As it passed me I was treated with some fresh fruit that got knocked off. We disembarked at the town square which is only two blocks from where we'd made reservations so it was no hike to get here. The place is beautiful! Our room is close to the river which passes by our balcony. There are flowers everywhere and the river flows at quite a clip. It's also cooler (in the 70's) and very windy. We went for a walk after settling in. Lots of art and souvenir shops. We also saw some huge cactii. Stopping for lunch we had a great meal of a B.L.T on pumpernickle bread. We then found a wireless internet about a block away which is free. Tied the skype but no one was around. We also bought a 26'er of rum for $7.50! Yeehaw. I've died and gone to heaven. Beer is $1.00 a bottle.
When we got back to the room I turned on the mac to download the days pictures and lo and behold we've got free wireless here! Now I can have a cold one while I type.
Tomorrow we're going to a coffee plantation (so I can boost some coffee beans to bring home). Then maybe a hike up the hill across the river. We've also heard there's a bus that will take us near a waterfall which we want to see and it's only a 4 km. walk downhill to get back. That's it for today. This is THE place!
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29520&l=ba8d9&id=680056043

Panama day 51 Feb. 28

Well David isn't much more than a big noisy city. Other than the city park across the street there are countless clothing and shoe stores. We were able to find a bank that would accept my m/card so we got enough U.S. funds to last us through our next stop and get us back to Costa Rica. We've booked a place in a small village East of here called Boquete. The population is only around 1500 which will be quite a change from here.
We took a cab to the bus station this afternoon and picked up our tickets for Monday morning. The bus leaves at 8:30 a.m. so we have to leave Boquete very early in order to catch it. That will be a long day for sure. We'll probably stay in San Jose again and then take another bus to Liberia where we'll catch another one in the direction of Punta Islita where our third bag has been stored at Jim and Patty's.
There was another concert in the city park across the street tonight. We missed a bunch of little girls all dressed up in traditional clothes. They must have been dancing. There was also a young guy about 17 singing. He had an incredible voice like that of an opera singer which you'd never figure coming from such a young man. During the concert we were standing down on the sidewalk with parked vans behind us on the street when all of a sudden they started letting off fireworks on the street side of the van. These were skyrockets and going off right over our heads which was a little unnerving to say the least.
You'd think that would be the excitement for the day but as we lay here listening to the audio book on the computer there was an earth tremor! We were shaking and vibrating for several minutes. Hopefully that's over with. I thought someone was under the bed for a minute there.
That's about our day. Looking forward to leaving in the morning as this is just another big noisy city. Every driver is in love with his horn and the car alarms only work when someone is singing in the park. When we made our reservations this morning for the next three days Jo talked to an American who was on the other end and he described it as a beautiful place with a veranda facing the river and very quiet. There's also a lot of jungle trails with wildlife according to the travel book which is our constant companion. It will be nice to get back to the piece and quiet of a small village. Guess we're still hicks at heart.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29514&l=6af3b&id=680056043

Panama day 50 Feb. 27

Well last night was an experience to say the least. Our room was nicely equipped with 3 bunkbeds. period. We both took a bottom bunk and after covering the windows with blankets we listened to another 10 chapters of an audio book I have on my computer. That usually puts us to sleep (and then we have to replay the last 3 chapters the next night).
Jo was the first to wake up freezing as it gets cold in San Jose at night. She grabbed an unused blanket and I toughed it out with the sheet which still had three threads to the inch left in it. The next wake up was when someone turned on a light in the hall and it illuminated the whole room. I thought someone had come in but if they did they found it was too cold to spend time robbing us and left to find a warmer room.
We got up just before 6 and skipped the breakfast and headed with our packs to the bus station which the travel guide book said was just three blocks away. Well they got that part right but the bus we needed had moved to a new facility 2 km. away so we cabbed it. Nice new facility and we got our tickets and left promptly at 7:30 after picking up a sandwich and some drinks for the ride. We stopped around 9:30 for a pee break and then hit the road again. The bus wasn't full and because they gave out claim tickets for baggage we'd stowed our packs underneath which gave us some leg room for a change. We stopped again around noon at a nice place and had a pork chop, rice and salad for lunch. We left there after about a half an hour only to stop about 15 minutes down the road. We waited for another 20 minutes while the yahoo who'd missed the bus leaving caught up to us by cab.
The Pan American Highway climbs for the first two hours of the trip out of San Jose through beautiful country with a good highway, pullouts for slower traffic, and many switchbacks and hairpins. It's hard to get pictures while speeding along and invariably there'd be a blurry tree in the middle of every picture. We were on the wrong side of the bus to get pictures of the clouds below us and the river we followed. We went through a cloud forest and dense jungle and on up to where the trees were very low to the ground and scrubby. This was all a protected game reserve which is really nice to see that land has been set aside to be saved as is.
As we neared the border the trucks began piling up beside the road. It also began to thunderstorm very heavily. Fortunately the exit to Costa Rica was under cover and all we had to do was get our passports (which we now know the number to) stamped. I think that cost about $2.00. We then piled back in and headed to the Panamanian side. First we got our passports signed and turned in our lies about not bringing any plant material into the country. Then we went to another wicket to pay the $10.00. Then we retrieved our bags to be inspected. When I picked up our packs there was a guy sitting in the baggage compartment who wanted a dollar. I asked him what that was for and he said for watching our bags. So much for needing a baggage claim check as he didn't know me from his illigetimate kids. I told him to see my business manager who was still getting something stamped. Next we took our bags into an inspection area where he did a less than thorough job like pulling out Jo's emergency toilet paper and dirty laundry. (It's all dirty at this point). Then the guy who showed us how to fill out the entry forms wanted a dollar for not robbing us. Jo's a soft touch and paid them both. I'd have just played dumb and told them I'm American and don't savvy the lingo.
At last we were back on the road after they finished spraying down the bus to kill the Northern roaches, soon to be replaced with Southern ones. The first thing we noticed in Panama was how clean and well kept everything was. It was obvious that they are a lot better off than either the Nics or the Ticos. It took about an hour or so to reach David (that's pronounced Duh veed not David.) That's so they can tell the tourists from the Latinos but we fooled them by practicing earlier on. We caught a cab right away for $1.00 who brought us as close as he could get to the Hotel. It's across from the central park which was blocked off due to a bunch of local garbage trucks who were having a parade with all their equipment. Really! This was accompanied by lots of horn honking and fireworks. After they all left there were some singers and dancers in the park which we watched from the balcony of our hotel. It was quite entertaining and the singers were really good. My favorite was La Bomba and I think Ritchie Valens is alive and well.
We checked out another hotel for tomorrow which is just around the corner and $10 cheaper. This room has two single beds and the one I'm on creaks if you look at it. It's a nice clean room though and has a/c which will probably give Jo a cold again if we leave it on. Her cold by the way has gone thanks to the antihistimine we got in San Jose. We picked up some more before we left just in case. Actually I think it's draino in a tablet form as it sure worked fast on her.
We have hot water in this place so it was a great long shower for both of us. This is a very modern high tech city. The internet in the foyer only requires you to insert a dollar and then your good to go for an hour. Tomorrow we may look for a wireless place. That's it for today. We're looking forward to seeing the downtown core but other than that I don't think there's a heck of a lot else to see so our days here are numbered and then it's on to Boquete which is East of here and higher up and thus cooler.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29513&l=a981c&id=680056043

Al Cotton

Costa Rica day 49Feb. 26

What a day! We took a cab from the central park to the Transnica bus station. The cabs here will pick you up even if they have passengers so we stopped off at two schools to drop some kids off and then off to the depot. That was like driving in a demolition derby. Bicycles either have the right of way or a death wish as they ignore the horn completely. We got there at 7 a.m. and I went to get some orange juice for the drive. We already had 3 large sandwiches which we bought yesterday and they sure came in handy. The bus left promptly at 8:30 a.m. and two hours later we were at the Nicaraguan border. The bus drivers helper took our $8.00 each along with our passports and headed to wherever they stamp them. We had to wait outside the bus in the dust and wind and the beggars (buggers) until he came back and then we were able to board (1 hour gone). We then headed across the border to the Costa Rican side. Everybody off along with our packs while we waited in line for an hour to get them stamped again. How could it take so long to get your passport stamped when the guy doesn't even look at your face? There were at least 150 and probably more, people standing outside waiting there turn to go in. We then went back to the bus to be told we had to get in another line to have our baggage inspected. Great but there was no one there to check the bags. The inspection area consisted of two long benches that we threw our bags on and waited for a half an hour for the guy to show up. When he saw we were Canadians by the flags on our packs he waved us through. Thank you God! We finally got under way at 12:30 only to be stopped at 1:00 pm for a roadside check where we again had to show our passports. You've never seen a border crossing like either one of these and it's a major deterrent to stay out of Nicaragua.
I noticed when we boarded the bus that it had music and movies. Yahoo. Ever watched the same Claude Van DAMN movie three times in a row? Geez by the third time I new the lines. The music was old 60's stuff from much music which beat the hell out of C.V.D. We gradually began to climb over the mountains only to get stuck behind every tractor trailer in Central America which were having a helluva time making it up the hills. The bus seats were becoming like cement blocks as were our asses. We stopped for 15 minutes to let the blood begin to circulate in out butts again. Jo went to the can which was a good thing as the bus didn't have a bathroom. Fortunately I'm like a camel but the thought did cross my mind "what if?".
When we arrived at 6:30 we found that this bus station was only about 4 or 5 blocks from the B&B we'd booked last night by email. Same old story. They didn't get it so there was no vacancy but then he offered us a backpackers room in the rear. It has three bunkbeds and a shared bathroom and shower. For sound effects we have to people on either side of the building coughing up chunks of lung. Fortunately we have the room to ourselves so we have lots of room. We'll both pass on having a shower here. The room is $10 each and the tv doesn't work and there's no fan or a/c but that's ok. We had to make the beds up ourselves so we got to pick the best mattresses. ha. We also had to cover the windows with the blankets or we may as well have slept on the sidewalk. I'll have to take a picture of the room with the blankets adding the ambience. It's a good thing I've lost some weight or my butt would be touching the floor on this mattress.
We'll skip breakfast tomorrow and get over to the other bus station as early as possible to hopefully get a ticket to Panama. It was too late today to go over there and get a ticket so we'll see how that goes. That's it for today. Another long day coming up and hopefully the border crossing will go better.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29511&l=3f2bc&id=680056043

Nicaragua day 48 Feb. 25

A rest day. We had breakfast and then went to the bank to get enough U.S. to get us to Panama. We also went to the farmacia to get Jo some more antihistamine and then went looking for the post office. Bought a set of stamps for the Nic. album and we have a few of their coins to be included as well. We also went to a new internet called the Garden Cafe which was wireless and free! Brought the blog and facebook up to date and then tried out Skype again. Talked to Lance, Tony, and Jo's mom and her sister in Hawaii. I'm going to like this cheap calling. We talked for over an hour and think we used just over $1.00. I had hoped to catch up with Lance again around 3 pm to see how the Skype computer to computer worked but the two wireless internet places were both closed by 3. Bummer.
We have to be at the bus station tomorrow by 7:30 a.m. which leaves at 8 for the 10 hour trip to San Jose. Two of those will be messing around at the border I imagine. We're using the transnica busline for the first time so we'll see how that goes. At least we have reserved seats. If the bus isn't full maybe we can put our packs on another seat instead of on our laps.
We also picked up 3 sandwiches to tide us over until we reach S.J. Jo sent the B&B there an email to reserve a room for us. This is the same place we've stayed twice before. Hopefully they get it as it's close to the other bus station we need to get to Panama. I think that may be a long trip to and so far we don't have a place to stay down there so we may have to wing it.
There are some street entertainers here every night. One is dressed like an 8' tall lady and a little guy dressed llike a dwarf man. They're accompanied by two small kids who can really beat out a tune on their drums. I got a video of them the first night and was hoping to get a photo tonight before we leave but wouldn't you know it, they're not out today for the first time.
Well that's a wrap from Nicaragua.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29510&l=b133b&id=680056043

Nicaragua day 47 Feb. 24

We made our own breakfast today consisting of granola, yogurt, bananas, pineapple and watermelon and then went and joined up with Claude and his wife Nicole for coffee. On the way back we stopped at another internet cafe and had a coffee while I tried to get on line. Yahoo it worked and it was free. Two hours later we headed back to the hotel. I was able to get skype working and called Lance and Maggie but no one was home. Next I called Paul and Dana and Dana was there. It seemed to work good but we'll need to get a mike and an earset. Not bad for .02 a minute! I bought $10.00 worth of time which should last a long time so we'll see how that goes. Should have done that a long time ago. It will also be handy on the boat this summer.
We're pretty low on cash and the banks were closed today (sunday) so we'll hit them tomorrow and get some U.S. money as we'll only be here for tomorrow leaving on Tues. at 7:30 a.m. for San Jose. Then it's off to Panama and changing our money again, this time to Balboa's. The money here is in Cordoba's and in Costa Rica it's Colones. Here in Nicaragua you get 575 cordoba's for $100.00. In Costa Rica it's about 500 to a $1.00. Either way if you do the math that's a helluva pile of bills that aren't worth much. The guys at the border had stacks like 4 or 5" of bills they were willing to exchange for Colones or U.S. dollars. We stayed with the bank. The cost to leave the country is $2.00 and the bus is $15 each. It also means another few hours messing around with the immigration/customs guys.
We had pizza for supper tonight. I had a medium and Jo had a small for $8.00 which left us with about $4.00 in our money. We don't want any Nicaraguan money left over except what I'm bringing home for my album and that's why we'll be getting U.S. dollars at the bank tomorrow.
Only took a few pics today mostly of a bullet pocked wall down the street. Must have been a real blood bath here at one time.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29209&l=6f9e1&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 46 Feb. 23

Slept in this morning until 7:30. Jo had a good night so the antihistamine did it's job. We had breakfast at a waffle house. 3 egg omelette with ham and cheese for me so I can get the cholesteral back up. Jo had a huge waffle and managed to eat it all. We joined our neighbours from Quebec and after that they were going to Masaya to the market so we joined in. It was about a half hour bus trip and then we walked for a mile or so. We came to an old fort which had a craft market so we spent some time in there. Lots of neat stuff and they will haggle with you but we didn't buy anything (most of it is too heavy to carry). We then walked another half an hour to the real market. Gag a rat! It was all enclosed so no breeze. A million shoe stores, & stifling hot. Then came the good part. The fish (fresh?) . Geez even the flies were staying away. It had to be 95 degrees in there and these fish were about to be cremated! We got out of there pretty damn quick. We then backtracked to where we caught the bus. Neat bus. Two seats on one side & one on the other and when they were full they folded down a 4 seat to fill up the aisle. The person at the back invariably needed to get off first so everyone on the aisle seats had to find a place to crawl while they folded up the seats and made for the door. The drivers helper stood in the open door as we sped along hollering to pedestrians that there was still room for one more. When we passed a bus he'd lean out and wave at the other bus driver and at one point he nearly had his head taken off by the other busses rear view mirror! He didn't see it coming because he was looking back. I figured what was coming and started to get my camera out but he spoiled my day. This would have been a picture for the Enquirer too!
We got off the bus early and walked to the bus ticket office and got two tickets back to San Jose for Tues. morning. We'll spend a night there and then jump a bus for David in Panama and spend some time there. There's lots of history here in Granada but how much history can one person take. I've got enough trouble remembering the '50s let alone going back to the 1500's. This place is full of churches but most of them are pretty run down. Jo went up to the bell tower in one of them and got some good shots. Too damn high for me. That was a sure nosebleed.
I did get a good shot of a horse pulling a cart with a refrigerator on it. The fridge weighed more than the horse! Also some good shots of ladies carrying loads of fruit on there heads in a high wind. No action there either.
We picked up a dozen beer on the way back and made a good dent in those before going across the street for supper. I had a footlong hot dog that probably was what it was. Jo was more conservative and had a BLT. Jo just read this and steamed her glasses up. Something to do with my poetic license I think . We came back here for another beer and I ran a slide show for our neighbours of the wildlife (animals) that I've taken pictures of.
Tomorrow maybe we can find an internet. I say that every day but something always comes up which is a good thing as I'm getting an education which is a helluva lot more than I got when I was younger. (Teachers always misunderstood me). Well I'm all typed out so that's a wrap.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29207&l=442bd&id=680056043

Al Cotton

Costa Rica day 45 Feb. 22

We slept pretty good last night although Jo is still suffering from severe head cold. We went for an early morning walk to the waterfront down the street but there wasn't much to see. It was getting quite hot by the time we returned to the hotel to see if we could see the room we wanted but the people hadn't moved out so we went for another walk towards the market where we bought some fruit and something for Jo's cold. Sinutab down here cost about .20 each! She couldn't get any at this drugstore so they gave her an antihistamine which really seemed to do the job.
The market was something to see. People everywhere and selling everything imaginable. They take their goods to the market by horse drawn carts and then the poor horses have to spend the day standing by the curb in the sweltering heat. We stopped for a smoothie I think its called. Banana, strawberry, and orange juice with a bunch of ice and then blended. It was excellent. We'll have to make some of them when we get home.
Our new room on the second floor is quite small w/ no a/c but it has a fan and a private bathroom and it's only $13 a night. It's much cooler up here as it catches the breezes. It's also quieter as we're not so close to the street or the main lobby.
We met an older couple from Quebec who spend most of their time here and in Costa Rica. He advised us of things to see, places to go and where to eat. They joined us for supper and a few beer. He also gave us the name of a place in Panama called David which he says is really nice and about a six hour bus ride from San Jose which costs about $15 so that could be our next target although we have to get back to San Jose and spend a night there in order to catch the bus which leaves at 7:30 a.m.
I found a wireless internet this morning and it was working fine but all of a sudden it just lost the signal and I couldn't get it back. I'll try again tomorrow. It was very hot this afternoon so we sat around and drank beer until it was time for supper. There's a lot of disrepair around here but there's also a lot of improvements going on at least on the street right out in front and continuing to the waterfront.
All the store fronts are very low key. They are right on the sidewalk but no windows only a door that opens. You have to look in to see what they sell. Most have a courtyard inside where you can sit and have a drink or something to eat. The restaurants all have tables and chairs outside but depending on where the sun is most of them are too hot to sit outside. There's a building down the street and the wall is pockmarked with what appears to be bullet holes. I asked the Frenchman and he agreed they're probably left over from the last war w/ the Sandinistas. He said most of the places have been replastered but this one seems to have been missed. I'll make a point of getting a picture of it.
That's about our day. We paid for another 4 nights so we'll be here until at least the 26th which I think is Tues. Hopefullly tomorrow afternoon when it's too hot to do anything else I can get the blog and facebook updated.
LINK OF THE DAY http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29097&l=4aada&id=680056043
Al Cotton

Costa Rica day 44 Feb. 21

We ate breakfast around 7 a.m. at the Guanacaste Hotel where we boarded the Central bus to Nicaragua. About 2 hours later we arrived at the border and traffic was lined up for a long way and that was just to get out of the country. We took our visas and paperwork and walked ahead to the immigration office and got in line. About a half an hour later we had our passports stamped and reboarded the bus which took us about a mile where we again disembarked this time with our bags and went to the customs office. We were 2nd in line as we had our packs with us. After waiting for about a half an hour a customs guy showed up and he had a button to push similar to those in Mexico. Green light you vamoose and red light assume the position. Jo and I got a green light which didn't make much difference as we went back to the bus only to have to wait outside for the busdriver to bring our passports back. He'd gone off to get them stamped. He finally showed up and we were able to board again and take our packs off. Lots of beggars in the bus station.
This was a great bus compared to what we're used to. Air conditioning, music (50's rock) and reserved seating. The driver was inside a windowed compartment and the whole front of the bus was blocked off with curtains that prevented us from seeing where we were going. Then a door was closed and locked so we were captives. As we left the bus station we were told to close all the curtains. The drivers helper came through minutes later and I asked him if we could open them. He said sure. Don't know what thaat was all about but at least we could see out the side.
The scenery was very flat farmland and the highway was paved (it's the Pan American Hwy.) Off in the distance we could see some very high volcano's and Lake Nicaraguea which is the largest lake (and polluted) in Central America. The whole trip took about 5 hours but at least two of those were spent at the border. No problems just bloody slow and disorganized.
We got off the bus at the bus station in Granada. We hadn't heard back as to whether we had reservations or not so we hoofed it forever to the hotel only to be told that there was no vacancy and that theyd changed their email address and don't check the one we used. We got the address out of a 2007 book on Central America. I think he was handing us a crock but all of a sudden he remembered a room w/ air and tv for $30/night. When I told him we had wanted to stay for a week a single cheaper room became available tomorrow for $13 a night. We'll move into it tomorrow.
This place is right in the heart of Granada which is very picturesque. Lots of old buildings and churches and quite close to the water where we can catch a ferry to head up the lake in a few days. The streets are cobblestone and there are lots of horse drawn carts. buggies, hotels and bars. We went to the bank and got $100 worth of cordobas. Not sure how long that will last but it will get us going. On the way back we found a place that claims to have wireless. We'll get back to that. We then went for supper across from the hotel at a place with an open window facing the street. We each had a cheeseburg and several beers for $13.00 or 2800 cordobas. These burgers were huge and mine came with jalepino peppers. I was going to order a double as we hadn't eaten since breakfast until I saw that a double was a pound of meat! The single was a half a pound and was very good even if it was dog meat. It also came with cole slaw and home made potato chips.
Lots of homeless and very poor people but the town is relatively clean compared to what we viewed on the way here from the bus. I'm sure we will be able to spend several days here. Great place to take pictures.
We checked out the internet place after supper but couldn't get the mac to work. It didn't even show a signal although the kid running the place had internet access with his blackberry. That was our day. Good to be off with the packs and the shoes. Tomorrow we'll scout around. It's too bad it so hard to get pics from a moving bus as we saw lots of scenery plus a huge truck full of bananas with the guys sitting on top of the load going along for the ride. The temp here is in the high 80's and the country is very dry although the humidity is quite high. Nice breeze off the lake which by the way is home to the worlds only fresh/saltwater sharks. We won't be swimming though as it's supposed to be very polluted.
Last night I took a picture of the full moon from our balcony but didn't find out until today that shortly after I took the picture there was an eclipse. Jo's fast asleep already and it's 7:30. That's what backpacking does to you. I sweat off another few pounds walking here. Should have taken a cab but didn't realize how far it was. Good exercise anyway.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29095&l=249bb&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 43 Feb. 20

We got up bright and early and had breakfast at 6:30. The bus from the game reserve was supposed to make it's return trip to town at 7 a.m. so we headed down to the road to flag it down at 6:50. It came by 30 seconds after we got there and that was our ride into Monteverde. We got in town and pulled up right beside the bus we needed to catch to Canas so we pulled out right away. It took 2 hours exactly for the 42 km. busride which will give you some idea of the speed and the road. These bus drivers are the delivery boys, mailmen etc. They stop anywhere and for any reason. Our bus was even packing a washing machine, tv., and all of some guys earthly possessions. We also nearly acquired a biker who came around one of the hairpins on the wrong side. The bus was an old bluebird school bus and was apparently still using the originally brake. I say brake because it seemed it only had one judging by the grinding and wailing as we came down the hills. He picked up parcels from locals along the way along with mail as they flagged him down along the road. He'd then stop a few miles down the road, honk the horn and when someone came out he'd hand over the parcel. The front of the bus around the driver seemed to be where everyone got caught up on the news along w/ the driver. He'd look at them while he was talking and gesture with both hands while the ruts took over the steering of the bus. A novel concept to say the least. Sort of like auto pilot.
We arrived in Canas at 10:15 and it was followed almost immediately by the bus to Liberia which took about an hour to an hour and a half over paved roads. (The Pan American Hwy.) We also passed huge wind turbines and the hydroelectric facility created by the Arenal Dam. Between the two of them they probably account for most of the electricity in Costa Rica.
The bus station in Liberia is a grungy place and if you need to use the banyo my suggestion is to go in your pants. I didn't go but Jo did and I thought she was going to lose her lunch when she came out. We then tried to call the Hotel Liberia which the book said was a great place but there was no answer. Well here we are at the "great place" It's not really that bad but we had to book our bus tickets today or miss the early bus so we had to backtrack 6 blocks to the Hotel Guanacaste to buy the tickets. Had we known we'd have stayed there as it seemed like a nice place. We're having our laundry done right now for 1,000 colognes per kilo. Wow clean clothes! On the way back from buying our bus tickets for tomorrow we came across a bunch of cell phones, adaptors etc. in the grass beside the sidewalk. Probably somebody got ripped off and looked like a vendor as there were a bunch of them. We let them lie and proceeded on to a dept. store that wasn't for tourists but for the Ticos. I desparately needed a shirt and we found them for $4.00 cndn so I bought two only because they were made by American Collection and had AC monogrammed on the pocket. Now that's classy eh?
We stopped at two internets but no wireless so we rented a pc to check our mail. Not much going on except Gerry is now retired officially and out of the real estate racket. Paul and Dana are going to take over the housesitting duties for the next month (that's all the time we've got left down here) as Doug is heading out of town for a few weeks.
Tomorrow at 8:30 we pull out of here by bus and head to Granada in Nicaragua. It's half the price up there and we'd like to be able to meet up with Jo's sister and brother in law along with Jim and Patty in late March just before we go. If we stay up there we may be able to afford to hang out until then. The hotels in C.R. are costing more than we figured. Some of them have been isolated so your obligated to eat there (at their prices) or go hungry. That accounts for the two last nights candlelight dinners although they were very good. Liberia is a pretty good size so eating tonight shouldn't be a big deal. The bus to Nicaragua will take us right across the border which should help jump the border hoops. We'll then have to change some money into cordobas. Granada is supposed to be the jewel of Nic. and is home to a lot of historic bldgs and pretty scenery. (some of the places we've stayed in also seem pretty historic at least as to when they were last cleaned).
It was very cool last night and this morning due to the dampness in the cloud forest. Within an hour of leaving though we could feel it warm up and we're again in the 80's with a nice breeze. Scrap the socks again and on with the thongs (my feet I mean).
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29094&l=1c8e6&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 42 Feb.19

Our room here at Monteverde is excellent and we had a good nights sleep after a long day yesterday. We had our breakfast around 7:30 and started walking to the park entrance at 8:00 a.m. It was pretty muddy but the temperature although colder wasn't really that bad. We reached the entrance at 8:30 and were told the park was currently at capacity and we may have to wait for two hours. To kill some time we went to the humming birds exhibit/souvenir shop. Lots of humming birds at the feeding stations and got some good shots. We then went back to watch a video presentation of the park but I was a little disappointed in it. It was more of a pitch to get donations for the park.
We returned to the entrance at 10:00 and were good to go. We started up the trail and into the mist. It was time to dig out our poncho's. It wasn't raining but more of a drizzle with high winds. It was a pretty muddy walk for the first hour as was the half hour walk to the park. We reached the turnaround point after an hour and started back on a different trail which was much easier going and downhill for the most part.
Beautiful lush greenery but too late to see any wildlife which call it a day by 9 a.m. We got back to the cafeteria at the park entrance about 12:30 and grabbed a quick bite and then struck out on a different one hour hike. It also was an easy walk and we got into a small waterfall before turning around to come back. About halfway back there was a small group of people with a guide who motioned to us to come but to keep quiet. There in the tree above our heads was a quetzal. This is a beautiful and very rare bird that everyone who comes here hopes to catch a glimpse of. We not only saw it but were able to get pictures of it! Another stroke of luck! The guide asked us to send him our pictures as he was as excited as we were.
We got back to the park entrance at five to 2 just as the bus was getting ready to leave although the time schedule said it left at 3 and we were going to walk back. As it was we'd walked for six hours so we took the bus which dropped us off right at the driveway to our B&B. I showed the pics of the quetzal to the owners and they told us how lucky we were.
Now we're going across the street to a restaurant for supper and planning tomorrow. Looks like we can catch the bus to Canas right out in front. We'll have to change busses in Tilaran but that's ok. We were going to go farther but we ate at the Canas hotel while visiting the Palo Verde river trip and it was excellent so we'll stay there tomorrow night and then head off to Liberia or North from there towards Nicaragua with maybe an overnight in between. It will be warmer and dryer than up here and we're looking forward to that and being able to do some laundry. .
Just got back from supper across the road. Pretty classy place (right up to my standards) and it's the second night in a row for a candlelight supper. Got some sunset pictures from their deck and tried to make reservations in Canas but they were booked so we may continue on to Liberia and stay there for the night. The bus passes through here pretty early so we need to get breakfast done before 7 a.m.

Another lucky day with some beautiful pictures of the cloud forest.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29089&l=c7cbe&id=680056043
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29088&l=4a4ee&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 41 Feb. 18

Well last night we watched the volcano from our patio after a nice pasta supper by candlelight in the dining room with a view of the volcano. Not much was going on so we turned in round 10 p.m. and got up about 2:30 a.m. and went to the observation deck at the end of our bldg. The huge boulders we'd been watching were now visible as fireballs racing to the bottom of the mountain. They bounce for hundreds of feet and when they land they break up slightly amidst a fireworks of sparks and then continue their journey to the bottom. It's very hard to get pics or vids but I did manage a few although they're not very good. We watched them for about an hour and then turned in again.
Breakfast was included in our lodging so we got to the dining room about 7:30 and what a feast it was. A buffet with pancakes, sausages, eggs, cheese croissants, orange juice, blackberry juice, lots of fresh fruit, mango juice, and coffee. A great way to start off the day. There was a free tour at 8:30 which we joined in on. It followed the same route we took by ourselves yesterday but the information was our reason for going. There's a guy who lives in a house on the property who made a deal with the owners years ago that he can stay until he dies and then his house and property will revert back to the lodge. The lodge began as a small farm and then in 1968 the Smithsonian Institute used the area and grounds to monitor the volcano which had erupted that year for the first time in over 400,000 years. There are now a total of 4 craters, labeled A,B.C,and D, The last big eruption was last Sept. 18th.
The first year the volcano erupted over 80 people lost their lives and the nearby farms were lost under the debris. The govt. paid the farmers and they moved farther back and began farming again. Years later it was decided to build a dam near the village so the village was moved to a new location and the water now covers the original site. During the dry season the lake lowers and some of the village is visible on the surface.
The portion of the tour we took was quite interesting. We learned that one of the unique trees we saw yesterday is eucalyptus which was imported to be used as telephone poles. The other trees we noticed were pine trees. Neither of these are indigenous to this area and the birds and animals avoid them other than the birds that build the hanging nests. There are two colonies of these birds in the vicinity and each colony is headed by one male and 20 or so females. They build many of the hanging nests in the tops of the eucalyptus but some are decoys to protect the legitimate nests. The main predators are the toucans and the fer de lance snakes which abound in this area. They are extremely poisonous.
There is a small display of the venomous snakes of the area near the entrance to the dining room. There must be over 20 poisonous species around here. We also saw a few more varieties of birds this morning. After a lunch of cheeseburgers and heineken we boarded the "jeep" to the boat. By going by "jeep/boat/jeep" we saved about 6 hours of bussing. The boat took us the length of Arenal lake where we boarded another van to take us to Monteverde. This van had 9 people in it plus all the luggage! It was uphill all the way on roads that make our logging roads look like super highways. Very steep hills and extremely winding. It was like an oven in there and the driver kept stopping, getting out and checking the front tire. We finally made it to a place with a compressor so he filled it up and away we went.
By this time we were in a thunderstorm and the windows were all fogged up which made the trip even more interesting. He dropped everyone off at their respective lodgings and then took us and the van to a gas station where he changed the tires.
Our place is quite a way out of town on a rocky gravel/mud road but quite close to the entrance to the park and hiking trails. Unfortunately although the rain has stopped the trails will probably be too muddy for hiking. No problem we can call a cab to get to town and see what's going on there. The scenery between here and Lake Arenal is unbelievably beautiful with the cleared areas devoted to very green hilly grasslands dotted with cows. Beyond that are rainforests. There are also coffee plantations here so I'm hoping to get some beans to grow.
Gerry I haven't forgotten your pepper seeds so be patient. That's about it for today.
Al & Jo
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29085&l=be6ff&id=680056043

Al Cotton

Costa Rica day 40 Feb. 17

An incredible day!
I got up and went to get some things I'd left on the clothesline last night to dry. Some desperate bugger stole my shirt! Now that's something, to steal a guys shirt right off his back. He must be worse off than me for sure. He was a gentleman though as he left my gaunch and a pair of socks. He also took a ladies things that was staying there. I guess a present for his wife.
We ate and went to the internet for a couple of hours and then took a cab to the Arenal Observatory Lodge where we're booked in for one night. We arrived here at noon but check in wasn't until 3 so we checked our bags and went for a walk along one of the hiking trails. The gardens here are beautiful and it's like going to the botanical gardens all over again. We then followed a path past the swimmng pool and hot tub until we came to a sign that read falls. We hiked through the woods amongst ferns, unusual trees, and mosses. It was an easy hike compared to some we've been on, all except another suspension bridge. This one at least had wire sides on it so I wouldn't slide through and fall the 60' to my demise. Why do all these things bounce so much when I took such great pains to not shake it? Maybe it was my knees knocking. Anyway I survived the crossing even though It felt like Blondin crossing Niagra Falls on a tightrope.
The falls were great and on the way back we saw a toucan which was much different that the one we saw on the East Coast. When we got back to the lodge it was only 2 pm so we sat on the observation deck and had a beer and watched the volcano which was right in front of us as huge boulders came tumbling down the slope. You could see the smoke when they first appeared over the top of the crater. They continued to smoke and pick up speed as they tumbled down until when they reached top speed (I figured about 100 mph) they began to bounce. You could tell how far they were bouncing because of the smoke every time they landed. They must have been covering over 100 yards between landings. It was incredible to sit in a comfortable chair, sipping a beer and watching this display which continued one right after another.
We had supper at 6 pm and then went into the reception area where they had a dvd going of a day last Sept. when the volcano really got going. We bought a copy as it's very impressive and then got the receptionist to book as a "jeep/boat/jeep" ride to Monteverde in the cloud forest where we have a place booked for tomorrow night. We'll stay one night there while we look for a cheaper place. This place is $108/night incl. taxes and a free breakfast and a short hike in the morning. It's the best value we've had since arriving here. What an incredible place! I'd recommend this to anyone! We've got a huge room, two queen size beds, extra pillows, extra towels, a beautiful bathroom and a balcony that we can sit on and watch the volcano. It began raining shortly after we got back to our room so we'll get up before the sun comes up and try and get some pictures. We have seen the same boulders coming down only now they're balls of fire and they shower sparks whenever they hit the ground. They're too far away to film and that's why we bought the video.
Just off the observation deck when we were having a beer they put out fruit for the birds. And birds there were! Most we had never seen before and I got some great shots (check out facebook). They also had some coatamundie's come for fruit. At one point there were 22 of them! We can see the volcano from the bed so we'll be sleeping with one eye open tonight. We don't leave here until 2:15 tomorrow so we have lots of time for another hike.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29078&l=597f7&id=680056043
Al Cotton
al.cotton@shaw.ca

Costa Rica day 39 Feb. 16

We had breakfast at the den of thieves and then packed up and went to the internet place. A beautiful sunny morning and while I downloaded pictures to facebook Jo went out and got some really nice pictures of the volcano and the church. We spent the afternoon checking out the souvenir shops and bought a new road map as the other one was turning into dust. Scotch tape was no longer working.
While walking around we bumped into Bris who was the girl from Kelowna who was robbed the other night. She and her two buddies are leaving this afternoon for Monteverde. She's hoping to meet up with her father shortly and although he was also robbed up in Nicaragua he lost what she still has and vice versa so they should be ok once they hook up. She was in much better spirits after I told her about Lance getting his journal back after about 15 years. I'm sure she'll make out ok.
Back to the internet after our supper of pork chops, rice, beans, and salad. Got a few more pics downloaded while Jo sat nearby working on her journal.
Heard the church bells at 6:30 & thought we better get moving to make the lightning strike a little less accurate. Made it back to our new digs which aren't bad and it has a good lock on the door, along w/ tv, a/c and a fan.
Tomorrow we're off to a place where we'll have a view (weather permitting) of the lava and fireworks which are on the other side of the volcano from here. It's a little pricey but it's only for one night and then we'll head to the cloud forests of Monteverde where we'll probably need our rain gear again but the wildlife is supposed to be excellent. (I'm talking about the nature's kind of wildlife).
It was nice to have a day off and get a little caught up on the computer. We may be offline for another stint depending on the services next week. I'd like to thank those who are following our trip. Some were concerned when there were no blogs for so long and thought maybe we'd been shot, eaten,fallen into a pothole, open sewer or worse.
I'm going to try and mark our path on this new map so I can post it. We've covered a lot of ground so far and the trips only half over.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29077&l=f5ff6&id=680056043

Al Cotton

Costa Rica day 38 Feb. 15

It was a short night after being awakened by the screaming, swearing and crying after our next door neighbors got home around 4 a.m. and found they'd been robbed. The police arrived and questioned them and they had a pretty good idea it was this kid Jeremy who they knew from previous runnins. One of the guys who came here at the same time we did mentioned that Jeremy had been sitting with him that night and a guy approached him with a box with some brand new shoes in it. Jeremy had said that $80 for them was too much. Coincidentally the next morning Jeremy shows up wearing the shoes. Part of the $400 loot?
We walked downtown and lo and behold the bank honors master card! It's the same bank that didn't in San Jose but now we're good to go for a while longer. We checked out the town which is loomed over by the Arenal Volcano. The peak is cloud enshrouded but it's still pretty ominous. We also found a wireless internet and I was finally able to get my blogs done and downloaded two days worth of pics onto facebook. The picture part is pretty time consuming taking about a minute per picture.
Tonight was our night to visit the volcano and we were to leave at 5 pm. When we returned here to pay for tonight we were told the place is booked for the w/end so this is our last night here. We found another place for the last night in La Fortuna so today will probably be an internet day as we have two hours to kill before we're able to move in.
We left here about 5:30 and arrived at the base of the volcano around 7 pm. It was very dark and damp. We set out along a jungle trail with about 25 others. Flashlights were essential as the trail was rough and muddy in spots. We hadn't gone far when we came to a suspension bridge over a fast flowing river. The bridge was about 75' across and was limited to 5 at a time. Well it's a damn good thing is was dark so I couldn't see. I was halfway across and holding onto the guy wires when I realized there was no net between the wires and the actual bridge! A huge fat guy was behind me (that made up for two people) and the bridge was bouncing like a trampoline. I was loaded with camera and backpack for my laptop (which I was now afraid to leave in the room) and getting across that damn bridge really freaked me out. I had visions of ending up in the river and not stopping until I reached the coast.
We hiked for about a half an hour through the jungle and you could hear the volcano off to our right. It sounded very much like thunder. We finally got to a lava field where we crossed and found (or tried to) a comfortable spot to view the fireworks. The top was still shrouded in clouds but occasionally you could see sparks and glowing lava for brief periods. It was too far away to get pictures so I guess we'll get some postcards. Our flashlight began to get weaker as we walked out so we followed another couple as close as we could. We had brought long pants and rain gear and sprayed our deet on but there were no bugs. After we got out someone spotted a small snake on the road. He said it was a coral snake but it was a look alike as the colored stripes are in a different order.
The next stop was a half an hour away wherre some of the people went into a hot springs in the river. This river really moves and it's hard to believe it could be so hot. We hadn't wanted to do the springs so we hung out with some of the others while the rest went in in the dark with their flashlights. We did see a coatamundi that our driver was feeding bread. The face resembled that of a bear.
Arriving back here it was lights out pretty quick. Jo's picked up a cold and hopefully it will pass quickly. We've made reservations at a place on Arenal Lake for Sunday night where you can view the volcano from your room (or so we've been told). That's it for today.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28461&l=bd298&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 37 Feb. 14

Well happy valentines day! Had a quick breakfast in San Jose at the B&B & then made our way to a new busstop about 6 blocks away. We were first in line for the bus to La Fortuna. We had to check our bags in the underbody compartment so I did that while Jo jumped on and got us the two seats up front and across from the driver so I could take pictures through the windshield. It was about a 4 1/2 hour bus ride and it stopped a lot to pick up more people so we finally moved out of the "gimp" seats and moved to the back.
About a half an hour from the busstop we passed an accident on the hwy on the opposite side. Some guy on a motorcycle had been hit and was laying in the road. This brought to my attention that half the motorcycles down here (that use every lane in random fashion) don't have any rearview mirrors! Now that's a death wish if there ever was one. Around 1 pm. we started to experience drizzle and low clouds after climbing to a very high elevation on twisty, hilly roads. This turned into a full blown downpour when we arrived at La Fortuna.
As we retrieved our bags a young guy was there trying to round up people to stay at this place 3 blocks from downtown. He was talking to two guys from Alberta and we overheard the $7.00 a night per person which really got our attention so we all piled into a cab which he provided because of the rain and off we went. The pavement ended after two blocks and out front is almost cobblestones but not that orderly. We have our own room, hot water shower, internet if you can ever get onto it, and a kitchen/fridge for our use. The electrical outlets are different so I found a store and got a cheap adaptor. The hot water shower is an electric gizmo in the shower head but it seems to work. I'm going to get a picture of the fancy wiring job used to activate it. It's the kind of thing you want to throw a cat into first to see if it lives.
After checking in and paying for a trip tomorrow night to see the lava and hot springs we went for a stroll downtown. Had a great meal consisting of a pork chop, rice, beans, fried banana, and two kinds of salad for under $5.00. Then Mario brought us some excellent rice pudding with cinnamon in it for dessert. We then continued our stroll through the rain wearing our "big bird" yellow ponchos. We looked like a couple of ducks. This is the first time we've had them on and they do the job although they're very hot. They had some amazing souvenir shops with large wooden bowls which I'd love to get back but they're too big and heavy. Jo has had to chuck her runners a few days ago (either that or they ran away on their own) so her valentines present was some new ones. We also bought some more baking soda to fill mine but I think they're also beyond help. The good side is they guarantee you a seat to yourself on the busses.
On the way back to the unit we picked up some granola and yogurt to have for breakfast and then came back and sat on the patio. No sooner had we sat down when Jeremy the guy who rounded us up at the bus stop arrived with 3 more candidates for a $7.00 room. One was a young girl from Kelowna named Bri accompanied by two guys from the States. She'd been in Nicaragua for the last month, had sold her condo in Rutland and hit the road.
She and the guys went out around 10 pm to the disco while Jo and I were going to bed. Later in the evening (I thought it was morning) we heard some very heavy banging on a door and a lot of yelling. Turns out when they came back around 2 a.m. their door was open and all their belongings had been rifled through. Bri lost everything of any value. All her money ($400), her camera with all her pictures, her passport which had been under the mattress, her id including her visa etc. They called the cops and it seems this Jeremy guy is a seedy type as they knew him well.
She needs to go to San Jose to get another passport and they close Fri. at 1 for the w/end so she's stuck here although the police have offered to drive her. One of the American guys gave her $100 as she's completely broke now. She'll have to stay here for the w/end and then head to S.J. on Monday.
We always carry our cameras, passports, etc. with us no matter where we go so all that's in our backpacks are clothes and replaceable stuff. I've burned all my pictures onto dvd's and think we may mail them home as a backup. We also have photocopies of our passports, credit cards, social insurance etc. that we keep separate from the orig. A good lesson for all of us as when we checked in they offered these tours which tells them when we'll be out of the unit for hours at a time. Their place next door was opened with a key as there were no visible signs of entry and someone must have known they were at the disco while their room was being tossed. Live and learn. Now it's time to think about our next step.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28460&l=ea4c4&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 36 Feb. 13

We skipped breakfast this morning and headed straight to the bus station. No reserved seating but we got there around 7 a.m. which gives us a pretty good shot at a seat. By 8 a.m. there were a handfull of people there and that was it so we had our pick of seats. Unfortunately I got on the sunny side and the lady in front of me decided to close the window. I hope she cooked. We moved back in the bus which was much better. It took us over an hour to get out of San Jose due to a traffic jam which was miles in front of us. These bus drivers sure have patience! We finally got to the source of the tieup and a bus was laying on it's side right near the airport. (remember what I said two days ago about the bus drivers only using the brakes when death was imminent?) How do you flip a bus? These guys have talent! The traffic continued to be tied up for quite a while after the accident scene but we finally headed out of town. The scenery was incredible as we climbed up past coffee plantations, farms and holstein cows. The green grass was brilliant so they must get a lot of rain up there. Bromeliads abounded in the trees although we didn't see any butterflies and not many birds. Lots of flowers, brugmansias, oleanders, and bougainvilleas added a lot of color to the one and half hour trip that turned into two and a half.
When we were about a half an hour from the volcano the bus stopped for a 10 minute banyo break and then it clouded over and began drizzling which isn't good for volcano viewing. I was surprised he stopped in view of the fact he was running so late. The trip cost about $3.00 each for a round trip and that gave us 3 hours to prowl. The entrance fee was $10.00 each. When we approached the park entrance we paid our fee and you could smell the sulpher in the air (even over my rotten runners). We walked along a paved area for about 20 minutes uphill to the viewing area. There was a platform for taking pictures and it was well back from the edge of the crater so that's where I headed (just to get away from the edge). It was a breathtaking site and my first time seeing a volcano. Huge! The clouds had lifted and the entire area was clear. It had rained recently when we began walking and the steam was rising from the walkway. After getting our pictures we walked for another uphill 20 minutes to the crater lake which is separate from the actual volcano lake. Beautiful but with no life forms in it due to the sulpher from a previous era. The walk in here was very nice and very damp with water dripping off the overhead vines and trees. Moss everywhere but no wildlife to speak of other than a squirrel and a couple of birds. I bushwacked a little hoping to see some colorful frogs but didn't see any.
We had a lunch of bread and some kind of nut stuff (nutella?) It tided us over until we got back. We also went into the information center where we bought a dvd on the cloud forest which I'll incorporate into my dvd when I get home. Not sure if I've mentioned it earlier but I also got one on the wildlife of Costa Rica which is very good. I haven't watched this new one yet.
We had a bite to eat after walking all over hell looking for some baking soda to fill my shoes. I think they're beyond help but we'll see in the morning. Which reminds me of the other day while on the chicken bus it was standing room only. I'd tied my shoes on the back of my backpack and one fell on the floor. Jo picked it up and tied it to her belt while some lady grabbed a seat that came available right next to Jo and it should have been hers. Well she paid the price as the shoe (which really was reeking) was right in her face for the whole trip. Everytime I looked at her I nearly broke out laughing. She was even holding her nose! Jo didn't notice this as her back was to her but when I told her last night she nearly wet herself laughing. This also reminded me of an earlier blog where I mentioned that our mngr in Cahuita was pretty stingy with his toilet paper and you had to chase him to get some more. Well we were with some friends on the patio one night when he appeared and everyone jumped him for more paper. I hollered over to him not to bother as we were all using the towels. That spurred him on to cough up the paper!
We still haven't been able to reach anyone at Arenal to make reservations so we're going to leave San Jose in the morning and wing it to La Fortuna/Nuevo. We'll find something around there and it will give us time to find exactly what we're looking for. This used to be the best area to view the lava at night but about 2 years ago the flow changed so we're trying to get into a small village a way off the beaten path where it's more visible. Viewing the lava is quite difficult due to cloud cover but we've also been told that Feb. is the preferred month so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
Tomorrow will be another long day travelling and we've got about a 10 block walk to the correct bus stop with our packs so hopefully we'll find something quickly when we reach our destination.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28456&l=0c6b1&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 35 Feb. 12

Well today we walked, and we walked, and we walked. Explored all the museums and the central market along with a handicraft market where we picked up a couple of hammocks. We kind of fell in love with the ones in Montezuma and thought they'd be nice to have at home. Got a good deal on two of them. Saw an exhibition of sketches by Rembrandt in the museum but couldn't take any pictures and it was so damn dark in there they may as well have been my sketches. Saw lots of gold artifacts done by the mayans along with carvings done by locals. The detail in the gold and copper was amazing (and it was also under lock and key). The handicraft area was also fascinating with lots of stuff we hadn't seen before. Unfortunately we've got a long way to go and who's going to carry it for us?
We stopped across from the main park at McDonalds for lunch as they had a balcony overlooking the park. Sat with a fellow named Tom from Pennsylvania who joined us to the market on the way home. Interesting guy and he told us the best way to marinate meat is with papaya juice!
Jo tried to make reservations for us in Arenal where we could watch the volcano which is active but they're booked up until the 21st and we couldn't reach any of the other ones. This prompted us to change our plans once more and decided to go to Poas volcano instead. The bus leaves from near here at 8:30 and the book suggests getting there an hour early so we can get a seat. This is the largest active volcano in the world and you can get right to the edge of the crater so it will be interesting to see if I can get pictures while laying on my belly and holding on with both hands.. If I even feel a tremor I'll be a trail of dust over the horizon.
No emails from anyone lately. Where is everybody?
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28455&l=7c892&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 34 Feb. 11

Breakfast this morning consisted of a granola bar and coffee each before saying our goodbyes and heading to the bus stop to head to Limon. We'd planned to spend a night there and then head to Torteguera by boat for two nights. Well it now seems no one will touch a master card and we were getting low on money so the only option was to catch another bus to San Jose, the capital. Surely a bank there would fix us up. We did more backpacking today looking for money than anywhere else. It's very frustrating to stand in a line of 75-100 people for hours only to find out they don't want master card. The ATM's wouldn't work either. We finally found the Bank of San Jose would bail us out so we got $500 in colones (259,000 of them) and then caught a cab to the B&B where we stayed the last time we were here. This time we were clever enough to request a room at the back of the bldg rather than the front where you get all the street noise (and there's lots of that!)
The bus to San Jose was first class and the first one I've seen w/ a bathroom. These things sure have power as we passed everything on the road (mostly tractor trailors going uphill). You really have to hang on as these guys only slow down when death is imminent. That's one of the things about the chicken busses. If you don't get a seat and it's an hour ride over rough winding roads it's tests your strength to hold on with one hand while holding onto the laptop bag with the other. You don't want to use the overhead rack as things get stolen quite easily from there.
When we got off the bus in San Jose Jo went to use the banyo and there was a lady sitting outside the door that you pay and she gives you a small amount of toilet paper. What a job! She's got a big bag of rolls of toilet paper and she just tears it off and waits for a customer. Guess it pays to help keep the bathrooms clean. I wonder how she decides how much is enough. I think I'd be tempted to waddle to the door with my pants around my knees and ask her for some more.
After checking in we headed out for our first meal in two days. There's a Nicaraguan restaurant just down the street so we went in and ordered bifstek. You'd think I'd know better by now but Jo hadn't tried it yet so thought we'd give it one more try. Well Jo got the hoof of the bull I missed and I got the hoof that he bangs into the ground to toughen it up.
We're going to stay here for a couple of nights and check out the museums and art galleries before heading up North to Arenal and the cloud forests.
Jo just heard there's a tour from Arenal to Torteguera for $35.00 which is a lot cheaper than the trip we'd planned from Limon so that's probably now an option for us.
The bus trip today was the best yet as it was half empty so we each had our own seat and a place to put our packs. While having supper we were quite close to the Coca Cola bus depot. I'd estimate there are at least 60 busses an hour passing through there, sometimes coming in 4 at a time. I was able to get a few good pics from the bus window. One of the barrio on the outskirts of San Jose which we'd passed by on the way going to Limon. We also saw a local homeless guy down the street who we'd seen last time but this time he'd improved his living conditions. Instead of crawling into a garbage bag this time he had a cardboard box to put his head in. Things are looking up as there's no shortage of garbage bags or boxes. Unfortunately most of the bags are empty and litter the streets. We've been told there are two museums that are a "must see". One of them is the gold museum which is the largest collection in Costa Rica and the other one is the Jade museum. I'm taking a hammer and chisel to both just in case.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28454&l=0c9ef&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 33 Feb. 10

Another night from hell thanks to the neighbours. They spent about 3 or 4 hours getting high on something and then went out around 9 pm. When they came back they kept us awake until 1 or 1:30 and then one of them got up about 5 hacking and coughing up chunks of lung, dragging chairs around and just being a regular pain in the ass. I'll be glad this is our last night here.
Jo has gone snorkelling with Lisa and hopefully the ocean will cooperate. I got hardly any sleep last night so stayed behind to catch up. Jo wasn't going to go but I talked her into it. The guide said if it's no good he wouldn't charge them so we'll see what happens. We went to the bank yesterday morning to get some more money but they don't take M/C. Great! So we're getting low on $ and will replenish the coffers when we get to Limon tomorrow. They take m/c here so we're good to go and Jo was able to use my card for the snorkelling.
You learn as you go and in hindsight we should have brought a visa card as backup as Jo also has m/c. Something to remember down the road.
It is fairly cloudy out today which is a first and we had a brief shower while sitting out here on the covered patio earlier on. I thought about heading back into the park to meet up w/ Jo as the guides give them the choice of coming back by boat or walking back from the point which is about 3.5 km. Scratch that idea I'm going back to bed for an hour. The sunburn feels much better today, I'm just tired.
We've made reservations in Tortegura North of here for Tues. and Wed. night. The only way in is by boat which goes up a canal lined with mangroves and there's a lot of wildlife along the way. We'll stay for 2 nights and do some touring around while we're there. According to our map it looks like we can take another boat down a river to a small town where we can catch a bus into San Jose. We'll probably stay there for a night and then head up North to Arenal and the volcanoes.
There's a book of Costa Rican maps at the reception desk that I've taken pictures of. My plan is to put them on photoshop and then highlite our route. So far we've covered quite a bit of ground. We also identified several of the wildlife pictures I've taken. There's one particular bird down here that we first heard in Playa Coco and it seems to say "kick your feet". Turns out it's a Kissidee. We've also got an abundance of blue tanagers and hummingbirds flitting around in the yard surrounding the patio. This patio is in a central courtyard and about 15or 20'x40. It's covered and has tables with table cloths that were last washed by the conquistadors but it's a central meeting place for everyone and there's always free coffee out here. We also have use of the kitchen and fridge which is real handy. For the most part (except for the youalls) everyone gets along great and help each other with ideas, translations, and advice. Lisa the Dutch lady has proved to be a great benefit to us and is an accomplished world traveller on a very limited budget. She speaks several languages and helped us this morning by making our reservations in Tortegura.
Rene the manager is a real character and it's hard to pay him. He keeps saying "manana" or "piano" which I'm told means chill out I'll get it when I get it. If he's not quick he won't be getting it as our bus leaves very early tomorrow and he seems to disappear for hours at a time and leaves the desk empty. His son helps him and prefers to tell visiting backpackers that "we're full" which was the case when we got here but our cab driver straightened him out. That's it for now we'll see how Jo makes out when she gets back.
Well Jo and Lisa got back and had a good snorkel seeing lots of fish. We all went out to Miss Ediths for lunch. I settled for a pineapple milkshake which was closer to a sunday with lots of ice cream (the first since I left home. That was my meal for the day as I haven't been a whole lot.
We sat up and talked on the patio for a few hours and then turned in around 8:30. The youalls had gone out but they showed up around midnight and were at it again until Jo banged on the wall so hard I thought she was going to make another door. That seemed to do the trick and we were good for the rest of the night.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28452&l=09de0&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 32 Feb. 9

According to the snorkelling guides it's still not a good day to snorkel so we headed back into the park and just veg'd on the beach. Saw some white crabs, millions of ants going about their business and some howlers. Big surf. Jo went in for a few minutes and I stayed in the shade and dozed. When we decided to come back home I was fried on my head and I'd been in the shade all day!
We stopped at a shop where the famous 90 year old folk singer Walter Ferguson lives. His songs all revolve around life here in Cahuita. Jo and I first heard his music at Playa del Sol and it's part Spanish part English and part Caribb. We bought a cd of his music and left it with the lady in the hopes she would get him to autograph it. We'll pick it up tomorrow and I plan to use it as background music when I compile my pictures onto a dvd.
We made sandwiches for our lunch today which was a nice change. Found some real good heavy wheat bread, some processed ham, cheese, and tomatoes. Had that for supper to and then I hit the sack early as the beach burned me out.
LINK OF THE DAY http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28410&l=0584f&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 31 Feb. 8

We headed of this morning to Manazanilla on a chicken bus it was a pretty bumpy dusty drive for the most part. Manzanilla is a small fishing village and near the end of the road as far as Costa Rica goes. The only stop remaining is Sixaola at the Panamanian border. The village itself is comprised mainly of a town square with a park, beach, Maxi's restaurant and another smaller restaurant. We had a good lunch when we arrived around noon upstairs at Maxi's overlooking the ocean. Our friends who accompanied us headed straight to the beach. Lisa from Holland, a couple of German girls and another fellow from Holland. Lisa was dying to get snorkelling but the weather/water still wasn't condusive. We joined them after lunch and had a layed back beach day until it became time to leave at 5:15. The bus ride here stopped at every little bush to pick up and drop off and it was standing room only for the most part. Coming back it was faster and we made it in an hour but it was still dark when we got here. Hopefully tomorrow will be a snorkelling day.
LINK OF THE DAY http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28409&l=57e54&id=680056043
Al Cotton

Costa Rica day 30 Feb 7

We had our granola and yogurt for breakfast and then headed down the street to the bus station. The bus showed up right on time at 9 a.m. and off we went towards Manzanilla. We got off after about 15 minutes at the botanical gardens which was a short walk from the drop off point. The bus driver advised us when we got close to the "entrada panducci". That spelling is probably all wrong but it means the entrance to the sweet bread I think.
We had read that it opened at 10:00 a.m. but when we got there it said closed on Tues. through Thurs. We waited by the gate until 10 watching the multitude of birds and then Jo got someone's attention. He went and got the owner who asked us to come back tomorrow. We explained we couldn't so he let us in, where he gave us a map of the grounds and the propagation area. The path was about a km. long and most of the trees etc. were well marked. He also told us there are lots of toucans and that to find them you listen for cricketlike sounds coming out of the trees. He also pointed out a poison dart frog right at our feet. We later some many of them. Bright red and about an inch long. We saw all kinds of exotic trees along with fruit, spice and medicinal ones. It was a seed collecting frenzy for a while. We saw star fruit which we've tasted, pepper, vanilla, lime, and pomegranate. Also, on a huge rotting tree we came across three large centipedes. We saw a few toucans but I was only able to get a picture of one which I've zoomed on the computer. Beautiful birds with many colors. We spent three hours there before heading back to the bus stop on the dirt road. This was right across from the beach so it was cool and within site of Puerto Veijho which was just down the road.
I took about 150 pictures plus what Jo took so we downloaded them when we got back. The total number of pics so far is around 3500 which is about 100 a day. For supper we went just across the street. Jo had chicken and rice which was cooked in coconut juice. I had a cheeseburger which was good. The bun wasn't toasted, the hamburger was about the size of a looney and it came with ham which down here is the processed minced stuff you get in the packages. I'd have thought real ham would be abundant down here but haven't seen any yet (or pigs either for that matter).
Jo managed to reach Lance and Maggie tonight. We only got to talk to Maggie and Bella but seems like she still remembers us. It was good to hear their voices. I think we're out of time on the phone card and most of the pay phones down here don't work. We'll pick another card up next time we go to the mercado.
Tomorrow if it's nice we'll go snorkelling. The water is still murky from the rain and high waves of the last couple of days. You have to go with a guide ($) as they don't want you collecting which I can't blame them.
It's 8:10 now and nearly time for lights out. It gets blacker than Toby's ass by 6 pm. Looks like we'll stay here for at least another three days as it's cheaper than Manzanilla so we'll see that by bus and then return here. After that we still may go to Panama by bus as we're very close. There's also a canal that goes North from Limon but it's an overnighter I think. It's supposed to be good for bird and wildlife watching and we had such good luck in Palo Verde it's worth the $.
We got new neighbours yesterday. They're two American girls and a guy. The couple is from Oregon and the girl is from Franklin N.C. They partied all night and kept us awake. A fellow from Spain approached them around 10:30 and asked them to tone it down and that nearly turned into a fistfight. By the time I got out there everyone had disappeared. This place pretty much shuts down by 10 when they turn off the porch lites but these inconsiderate idiots didn't get the picture. They should have gone to La Viejho where the lifestyle is more suitable for them. Rene our mngr/owner talked to them in the morning and looks like things are now in line. (Hopefully)
Well that's it for tonight.
LINK OF THE DAY http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28405&l=328af&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 29 Feb. 6

Well this morning I tried to get on line w/ the mac. The girl in the internet place last night got on for me but this morning nada. I'm doing something wrong and it's extremely frustrating. After breakfast we walked to the Playa Negro just North of here. The surf was up and the beach really is black unlike the one to the South (Playa Blanco). The beach is all sand but fairly narrow and it's lined w/ driftwood and millions of coconuts. If I had a machete we'd be drinking coconut milk. We bought some yogurt and granola last night in the super mercado and had that for breakfast. The yogurt was mixed fruit and quite good. They make an urn of coffee out here on the patio around 6 a.m. each morning so we were good to go.
Tried to call Lance and Maggie last night on the receptionists cell phone but the line was busy. Too bad I don't know how to work this video that's built into the mac. Next time I travel I'll look into skype (I think it's called.)
Jo got to be the designated blood donor last night for the mosquitoes. I escaped unharmed. It just occurred to me I think it's eating bananas that attracts them. I'm sure I read that somewhere. We got rain last night and that brought them on as well. Walking to the beach today you could feel the humidity emanating from the dirt roads. It had to be 100%. I think in future we'll stick to Playa Blanco as the black sand sticks to everything and it's all intertidal so quite damp.
On the way to the beach we passed the local school. All the kids were in the yard getting their lessons under a shade tree. All around them were the adults who were also learning. I was hoping to get a picture but they were gone when we came back.
We had supper at the same place but this time we got a whole plate of the breadfruit. They hadn't salted it so when we asked for sal (salt) it came in a dish and we put it on with our fingers.) It was a downer of a day for me because I'd been counting on being able to get on line all night and then nothing. There is no wireless in town as we've looked. We had kept an eye out for the girl from the previous night but haven't seen her. She's the only one we've seen with a mac.
The toilet paper in this place is on rolls which may be sufficient for one day so it's a constant search for Rene to get more. We finally started using our own.
Well that's it for today
LINK OF THE DAY
Show people this album by sending them this public link:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28377&l=6e708&id=680056043