Costa Rica day 25 Feb. 2

HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL EVER SEE THIS?????

Stayed in a nice place last night right downtown. This place (Quepos) is quite nice and reasonably clean. Had a great supper of lime chicken and Jo had coconut curried chicken. Went back to our air conditioned room and crashed. The hotel electrical outlets won't accept our plugs so I can't charge the computer or camera batteries. We also had no luck at the internet place across the street as they're on dial up. Found this place today but they close shortly so I'm going full throttle.
We caught a bus this morning to Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve for about .23 ea. What a ride. Straight up and then straight down. Paid $7.00 to go hiking. We didn't use a guide as the hotel mngr. told us not to. I've got to be brief here so I'll get the picture of the baby sloth posted and then we'll be getting the boot. It was on a pretty deserted trail and there it was about even with our hips on a tree about an inch thick. Just hanging on and apparently sleeping. We also saw some white faced monkeys, coons, and some dizzying heights for pictures. Another really hot hike but worth it.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28367&l=23bed&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 25 Feb. 2

Stayed in a nice place last night right downtown. This place (Quepos) is quite nice and reasonably clean. Had a great supper of lime chicken and Jo had coconut curried chicken. Went back to our air conditioned room and crashed. The hotel electrical outlets won't accept our plugs so I can't charge the computer or camera batteries. We also had no luck at the internet place across the street as they're on dial up. Found this place today but they close shortly so I'm going full throttle.
We caught a bus this morning to Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve for about .23 ea. What a ride. Straight up and then straight down. Paid $7.00 to go hiking. We didn't use a guide as the hotel mngr. told us not to. I've got to be brief here so I'll get the picture of the baby sloth posted and then we'll be getting the boot. It was on a pretty deserted trail and there it was about even with our hips on a tree about an inch thick. Just hanging on and apparently sleeping. We also saw some white faced monkeys, coons, and some dizzying heights for pictures. Another really hot hike but worth it.
LINK OF THE DAY http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28367&l=23bed&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 24 Feb. 1

We got up before dawn today and got all packed to leave Montezuma. Got to the bus stop at 7 a.m and the bus was to be there waiting at 7:45. It showed up at 8:15 and after much shoving, elbowing etc. we got on. There's no such thing here as manners apparently and we have to get more aggressive than we're used to. The driver was busy most of the time talking to the guy across the bus and behind him. Problem being he had to look at him while he was talking. When he wasn't doing that he was on his cell or stowing stuff under the dash & driving w/ no hands! The bus took us to Paqueral where we boarded the ferry to Puntarenas It was a big ferry and held a pile of vehicles. It took just over an hour to get to the other side and then we boarded a bus to the bus station. The ticket office was a couple of blocks from the depot and we were lucky a lady showed us where to get the tickets or we'd have been sitting there out of luck. The bus got there at 12:30 and we thought we were going to Jaco where we would catch another bus in the morning as it was getting too late to catch a bus w/ no reservations in Quepos which is just outside the game preserve of Manuel Antonio. It's hard to make reservations ahead as you never know how far your going to get.
We hadn't gone more than 45 minutes out of Puntarenas when the bus stopped. After about 15 minutes people started getting off. Turns out it had broken down but the driver hadn't said anything. We all piled off and stood under a tree for shade and waited for another bus. Fortunately our tickets gave us a seat number so we were ok although we kept our backpacks between our legs and the seat in front of us for the three hour ride. People were standing and the lady in front of us had two seats. One for her handbag and another small bag. She did this for the whole 3 hours even when there was a lady standing beside her holding her little girl in her arms! Another girl had asked if she could use the seat and was told no! These were local people and we've witnessed this before. I can't understand how such great people can be so inconsiderate of each other! I'd have given the lady my seat but she couldn't get in for the backpack.
The 2nd bus came by about 45 minutes later and off we went. I was concerned that we wouldn't get our seats back but it worked out. We don't like to stow the backpacks under the bus as nothing here is secure. I never let go of my laptop or camera. The stuff in the backpacks is all expendable as far as I'm concerned. Well we got to Jaco and the bus keeps going South! Well hey that works for us so we go all the way to Quepos where we intended to go anyway. On the way through town we noticed a bank and we were running low on calones so that was our first stop. It was open! Yahoo and right close by. I went to get $500 on my m/c and had to show my id. I pulled out the copy I'd made and it had deteriorated to the point of no face. Not that that's a bad thing but it's the only one I've got. It got soaked yesterday from persperation while we were hiking. I kept it in my fanny pack with the camera and the orig. passports which now no longer have the C.R. stamps in them. I finally got the money. $500.00 is 215,000 calones! now that's a lot of dinero. Jo's got half of it in a pocket she made in her bras. She's now a 38ddd on one side.
We checked out then to find a hotel. The first one was booked solid and this is scarey. I don't want to spend the night in an open ditch cause I know what's in the ditch! Better to go to jail maybe. Well we got one of the last two rooms in a place across the street. It's got tv and air so that's ok but no electrical outlets that I can plug this thing into. There's an internet place right across the street but my laptop doesn't work there. (I think it's a dial up thing) Now this really pissed me off cause I dont know how to access my hotmail account on a different computer. Jo managed to send a couple of emails but guess I'll have to wait. I was hoping to download all my pics and it was so handy. Just too good to be true I guess.
The manager of the hotel didn't recommend paying for a tour guide in the park tomorrow. The bus there is only .23 so he said take that and follow a tour so we'll know where to look and save $45 ea! Nice guy. Hope they've got another room here for us tomorrow. We have to check with the lady on the desk at 7 a.m. tomorrow. If not we can't go to the park as we'll have our backpacks. We'll see what happens.
LINK OF THE DAY http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28366&l=84ec1&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 23 Jan. 31

Sorry about the lack of up to date pics on facebook but the internet cafe was just too slow downloading. Hopefully we can find a hotel with internet so I can get the facebook caught up.
We caught a bus this morning at 8 a.m. to take us into the Cabo Blanco game reserve about a 1/2 hour ride from Montezuma. It was a bumpy logging type road going in but very picturesque and fairly cool considering what was yet to come. Upon arriving at the park headquarters we paid $10 each and were given a map with two choices. One was a circle 2 hour hike through the lower dryland forest and the other being a 5 hour hike to the Playa Blanco beach (2 1/2 hours each way.) We elected to take the long, more arduous route. It was easy going for the first 45 minutes which was part of the shorter hike but after that it became steeper both up and down and quite a bit hotter even though we were shaded by the canopy. Most of the trail consisted of walking down washed out creek beds. My knee started to give out after about an hour of going downhill. This hasn't happened since hunting years ago and even though I could hear the breakers once again there was still another half a mile to go downhill to get there. I thought rather than chance it I'd start back up at a slow pace and Jo continued on down to the beach with the camera. I made it to a small creek we'd crossed earlier and stopped to wash out my shirt and cool myself down. I perspire a lot normally but this hike had me watering down the trail! The camera, just prior to handing it off to Jo, was acting out of character and it was because it had become drenched with sweat and I'd been carrying it in my hand. I couldn't put it in the fanny pack as it too was wet inside. Fortunately we'd taken a lot of water with us. I need more than Jo who perspires very little so I drank most of it.
I got back to the trailhead just as Jo caught up to me. There was a shower there which felt like heaven! We sat on a bench to cool down and drank two bottles of gator aide which they sold at the reception. We hadn't seen one animal which was the reason for being there. The hike/bus ride starts too late in the morning to be of any practical value as far as seeing any wildlife however the fauna is very interesting going from lower dryland forest to tropical rainforest.
Just prior to leaving on the bus which came back at 3:30 to pick us up a family of white faced monkeys showed up. One was packing a very small baby. Just as I began taking pictures we heard the horn to leave. Too bad. We saw more action right at the trail head than we'd seen in 5 hours of walking.
Well it was an experience and a helluva workout!
Next stop a 7:45 bus to Paquera to catch the ferry to Jaco and then another bus to head South on the mainland to Manuel Antonio which is the largest and best game reserve in C.R. We hope to make it there by tonight so we have Sat. and Sunday to explore as the park is closed on Mondays. Looking forward to a day to let my knee rest up and a ferry ride which will be our first time on the water down here.
LINK OF THE DAY http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28365&l=8f1ab&id=680056043