Costa Rica day 21 Jan. 29

We survived last night in one piece and after an early breakfast we bought a phone card for local calls (all of Costa Rica) We need this so we can make reservations ahead to prevent what happened last night. (Hotel hell). We also have thought about getting an international card as we'd like to talk to the kids but don't want to call collect and we can't charge it back to the house w/o knowing enough Espanol to be able to converse w/ the operator. Something we'll have to explore. Most of the Ticos don't have phones so there are calling card phones everywhere that do not accept money. All the hotels have international phones but they too are by calling card. I can't recall seeing any phones that accept cash.
After packing up and getting our $5.00 back from Mr. DeVito we struck out with our back packs to get to La Cascada where we booked in around 9 a.m. It's a nice place although w/ no air conditioning we have a ceiling fan and a small rotating one. No pool but it's right next to the river where there are three waterfalls just upstream and where it empties into the ocean just across the street there are some beautiful pools that we have to try out. They are continually flushed by the wave action.
After checking in and while hopefully it was cool enough we asked the lady at reception how to find the waterfalls. Her reply was "just across the bridge and turn right" and then 20 minutes walk. Sure easy for her to say. She forgot she was talking to a couple of dumb gringos. Hell, I'm not exactly Henry the navigator so away we go. Across the bridge there's an encampment of people I figured for gypsies or nomads or something with lots of people, cars, trucks, tents etc. so we passed them and then the road branched off to the right. What would you have done? So away we go. The first hill goes up at about 45 degrees and it's about a 1/4 of a mile to the top. Well that took care of the 20 minutes. (We did manage to see a family of white faced monkeys and got a few good shots of them) Rounding a corner there's another hill. This went on 5 times. My tongue was getting raw from the gravel. The steepest parts were paved which I figure is to eliminate the ever present washboard and in between were dust and gravel. We walked for 45 minutes aiming from spots of shade to the next shady spot. Jo was really becoming spent so I went ahead to scout while she rested. Nada. That was it. We headed back down disappointed but even if we'd found the fabled falls we'd have had to hike down into the canyon and then back up again. Upon arriving at the bottom of the hills near the ocean and just past the gypsies we saw the path right beside the river. They had parked one of their big trucks there and hidden the path. We started up but then thought better of it as we were long out of water by then so we came back to the room, grabbed some water and sat out on the covered patio just down from our room and overlooking the road and surf a few hundred feet away. This patio is quite large and is home to many hammocks. We settled in with my book and Jo with her journal and that took care of the afternoon. Our company was a group of young people from Lethbridge and a California guy who appeared on the run. He indicated he couldn't get into Canada due to a cultivation problem on U.S. govt. soil. He also informed us they were filming a movie at the falls and hence the tent etc. for feeding the crew. Well what do I know? They looked like gypsies to me.
He also told us of a better place to stay near the Arenal volcano. It appears the lava flow has changed over the last few years and there's a small undeveloped town with a better view so we'll have to check that out. He also said this place is a lot cheaper as people are still going to the one recommended in the books.
While sitting on the deck I finished downloading pictures and completed yesterdays blog as well as the book I've been packing around. There's another 1/2 # I don't need to carry. I'm saving all these blogs as drafts as I need to walk into town to obtain internet connection which we plan to do tomorrow morning while having breakfast. It's kind of a drag as to put the pics on facebook I don't have hours to spend adding descriptions which I could do at night if they had wireless. I have figured out that by hilighting the pics I want to ad while off line it speeds up sorting them out.
Tonight there was some kind of furry rodent in the grass next door that I got a good picture of as well as a possum crossing the bridge. Everyone's seen them so I didn't bother to get off my butt and snap him although it would have been neat to watch it play dead. While eating lunch though in the restaurant downstairs a couple of the bluejay magpies came down One landed on the chair back next to me and eventually ate a chip out of Jo's hand. I had ordered a cheeseburg w/ fries and when it came I couldn't find any meat. I figured what the hell and started eating it anyway. They'd toasted ( cremated) the bun and it was like trying to swallow the insole of a shoe. He came out a few minutes later with a plate and the meat patty and apologised for forgetting the meat. Haha Part of the experience. I was just beginning to think it was a veggie burger with lots of lettuce, tomato, and cheese.
We may end up staying here one extra night as the game reserve is closed on Mon. and Tues. and we'd planned to leave Wed. No sense coming this far and missing it. After that it will be possibly by boat to Jaco across the bay by about an hour or on to Port Antonio in two hours. This is our next target as that's where the sloths etc. are. After that we're very close to Panama so we'll see how that goes. That's it for tonight. Jo's already asleep and I'm not far behind.
LINK OF THE DAY http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28297&l=605a4&id=680056043

Hasta Luego
Al & Jo

Costa Rica day 20 Jan. 28

THE HOTEL FROM HELL

We survived last night in one piece and after an early breakfast we bought a phone card for local calls (all of Costa Rica) We need this so we can make reservations ahead to prevent what happened last night. (Hotel hell). We also have thought about getting an international card as we'd like to talk to the kids but don't want to call collect and we can't charge it back to the house w/o knowing enough Espanol to be able to converse w/ the operator. Something we'll have to explore. Most of the Ticos don't have phones so there are calling card phones everywhere that do not accept money. All the hotels have international phones but they too are by calling card. I can't recall seeing any phones that accept cash.
After packing up and getting our $5.00 back from Mr. DeVito we struck out with our back packs to get to La Cascada where we booked in around 9 a.m. It's a nice place although w/ no air conditioning we have a ceiling fan and a small rotating one. No pool but it's right next to the river where there are three waterfalls just upstream and where it empties into the ocean just across the street there are some beautiful pools that we have to try out. They are continually flushed by the wave action.
After checking in and while hopefully it was cool enough we asked the lady at reception how to find the waterfalls. Her reply was "just across the bridge and turn right" and then 20 minutes walk. Sure easy for her to say. She forgot she was talking to a couple of dumb gringos. Hell, I'm not exactly Henry the navigator so away we go. Across the bridge there's an encampment of people I figured for gypsies or nomads or something with lots of people, cars, trucks, tents etc. so we passed them and then the road branched off to the right. What would you have done? So away we go. The first hill goes up at about 45 degrees and it's about a 1/4 of a mile to the top. Well that took care of the 20 minutes. (We did manage to see a family of white faced monkeys and got a few good shots of them) Rounding a corner there's another hill. This went on 5 times. My tongue was getting raw from the gravel. The steepest parts were paved which I figure is to eliminate the ever present washboard and in between were dust and gravel. We walked for 45 minutes aiming from spots of shade to the next shady spot. Jo was really becoming spent so I went ahead to scout while she rested. Nada. That was it. We headed back down disappointed but even if we'd found the fabled falls we'd have had to hike down into the canyon and then back up again. Upon arriving at the bottom of the hills near the ocean and just past the gypsies we saw the path right beside the river. They had parked one of their big trucks there and hidden the path. We started up but then thought better of it as we were long out of water by then so we came back to the room, grabbed some water and sat out on the covered patio just down from our room and overlooking the road and surf a few hundred feet away. This patio is quite large and is home to many hammocks. We settled in with my book and Jo with her journal and that took care of the afternoon. Our company was a group of young people from Lethbridge and a California guy who appeared on the run. He indicated he couldn't get into Canada due to a cultivation problem on U.S. govt. soil. He also informed us they were filming a movie at the falls and hence the tent etc. for feeding the crew. Well what do I know? They looked like gypsies to me.
He also told us of a better place to stay near the Arenal volcano. It appears the lava flow has changed over the last few years and there's a small undeveloped town with a better view so we'll have to check that out. He also said this place is a lot cheaper as people are still going to the one recommended in the books.
While sitting on the deck I finished downloading pictures and completed yesterdays blog as well as the book I've been packing around. There's another 1/2 # I don't need to carry. I'm saving all these blogs as drafts as I need to walk into town to obtain internet connection which we plan to do tomorrow morning while having breakfast. It's kind of a drag as to put the pics on facebook I don't have hours to spend adding descriptions which I could do at night if they had wireless. I have figured out that by hilighting the pics I want to ad while off line it speeds up sorting them out.
Tonight there was some kind of furry rodent in the grass next door that I got a good picture of as well as a possum crossing the bridge. Everyone's seen them so I didn't bother to get off my butt and snap him although it would have been neat to watch it play dead. While eating lunch though in the restaurant downstairs a couple of the bluejay magpies came down One landed on the chair back next to me and eventually ate a chip out of Jo's hand. I had ordered a cheeseburg w/ fries and when it came I couldn't find any meat. I figured what the hell and started eating it anyway. They'd toasted ( cremated) the bun and it was like trying to swallow the insole of a shoe. He came out a few minutes later with a plate and the meat patty and apologised for forgetting the meat. Haha Part of the experience. I was just beginning to think it was a veggie burger with lots of lettuce, tomato, and cheese.
We may end up staying here one extra night as the game reserve is closed on Mon. and Tues. and we'd planned to leave Wed. No sense coming this far and missing it. After that it will be possibly by boat to Jaco across the bay by about an hour or on to Port Antonio in two hours. This is our next target as that's where the sloths etc. are. After that we're very close to Panama so we'll see how that goes. That's it for tonight. Jo's already asleep and I'm not far behind.
LINK OF THE DAY

Hasta Luego
Al & Jo

Costa Rica day 19 Jan. 27

We got up this morning around 4:45 a.m. as Jim was leaving for Hawaii at 5. We said our goodbyes, had a bite and then headed for the beach around 8 a.m. with the hopes of being back before it got too hot.
As we got to the beach right beside the path is the turtle hatchery. I took a look at all the round wire enclosures and sure enough, there were 6 or 7 little guys scrambling all over each other. By the time we came back from our walk the biologists had been there either put them on the beach to make their way to the water or put them somewhere else to be released after dark when they have a better chance of making it.
We walked West on the beach this time to the end wherre the river we'd crossed by taxi empties into the ocean. Beautiful area and I was surprised how big the river is. There were a few Tico's bldg or repairing blinds to keep them out of the sun while they went fishing. Looked like some of them had camped out there.
We got back around 8:30 and it was still too hot so Jo sliced up some of that incredible watermelon and we chilled out on the deck and in the pool for a while. That's about it for the day. It's an early night and we've just finished repacking our backpacks for another leg. Seems like we're leaving a lot behind but most is stuff we haven't used and we'll be heading inland in another week so the thought is "if we haven't got it we don't need it."
We're leaving here at 10:30 tomorrow morning and hoping to reach the peninsula tip by tomorrow night. We'll catch the first bus about a half an hour from here but it won't leave until 12:30 pm and then we'll have to change again before reaching our destination. It will be a long day and we're winging where we'll stay so I may be off line for a few days. We're figuring around 3 nights at Montezuma. It's next to a very large and very remote nature preserve so we'll be doing lots of hiking. My goal is to see a sloth and hopefully a banana boa.
I found a set of scales today and it appears I'm down at least 10# maybe more as I forgot to weigh myself before leaving home. The legs are in pretty good shape now to so all I have to contend with is the heat. Bet you guys at home really needed to hear that eh?
The nights here are perfect. We leave the screen doors which are double wide open and sleep on top of the sheets without the fan going and it's just right. Very dark and a bit of a breeze and the sound of the surf. Bonus! There's no bloody chickens to wake me up and after me remembering to bring ear plugs.
Until the next internet connection Hasta Luego
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26720&l=1733a&id=680056043

Al & Jo

Costa Rica day 20 Jan. 27

It had to happen and today was the day. We closed up the house as Jim won't be back for 10 days and Adrian picked us up at 10:30 right on time. We headed South through Punta Islita to a very small village of Secca. Just past Islita we came to Adrians village of Corozalito population around 150. Here he stopped and we grabbed a coke each and then he showed us the church which is located near his home and is 60 years old.
When we arrived at Secca I couldn't believe the bus would even stop there. The population couldn't have been more than 50 tops. It was a two hour wait but not bad as we were kept company by a rooster and the old man of the village who sat with us for a while. The bus was right on time and it took us to Jicaral (12:30 - 2:30) which was a real treat for 1/4 of a mile as there was some pavement. By this time we're used to the rattles and dust so no biggy. Arriving at Jicaral our 2nd bus was waiting for us and took us to Playa Naranjo arriving there around 3 pm. This last busride was a bone rattling experience and because it's very hilly country it's flat out or low gear. This bus had absolutely no rear brake linings and all the way we could hear the agonizing screech of the drums meeting the silver linings for the millionth time. Give the driver credit though he used those remaining slivers of shoe backings to the best of his ability and didn't spare them. I guess there's no core charge down here.
We had been told that we would have to catch the ferry across the bay to Puntarenas and then another ferry in the morning to cross back over the bay to Paquera as there was no overland carrier. We were waiting at the ferry terminal when a fellow Canuck from the Kootenays told us to take a cab overland and avoid the two ferry crossings and a night in Puntarenas (the Tijuana of C.R.) Well a guy approached us and offered to take us for less than the hotel in Puntarenas so away we went for another hour over the washboard to Paquera. Our driver was Carlos and he had a tendancy to drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid the washboard on the hills. so here we are going up the hills on the wrong side with no idea who's coming over the top towards us. (Reminds me I need to get my will updated) We got there around 3:30 and he dropped us off at the bustop. First mistake of the day. We should have gone to the ferry terminal where the bus route begins which is 4 km farther down the road. This way we would have boarded the bus while it was empty as it turned out we sat on the hard wooden bench at the bustop for 4 hours as the bus was late leaving and then had to stand when we got on. By this time it was around 8:30 pm and we hadn't eaten since around 7 a.m. We weren't sure when the bus would come by and didn't want to leave the bustop in case we missed it. We had others (Ticos) waiting with us for the duration so we figured they must know when the bus comes by. Needless to say I was getting a little antsy by this time but calm Jo kept me under control and we rolled into Montezuma around 9 pm with no reservations. This place is like Haight Ashbury and the place we wanted to stay seemed a way out from where we were dropped off and it was blacker than Toby's ass past the bustop so we began to find a quick place for the night and then grab a bite after we dropped the packs off. The following is the 2nd chapter which I wrote this morning while waiting to find a place to eat. I wanted to keep it fresh in my mind for your reading pleasure.
Montezeuma ....The revenge
It was very dark when we arrived by bus at 9:00 p.m. Not seeing a cab to get to where we'd planned to stay we headed up a small hill past restaurants and internet cafes, bars, and travel agents. The streets were alive with 20 year olds drinking and partying. Dreadlocks to skinheads along with a few Tibetan monks or harry Krishnas thrown in to round it out, many of them practising their street entertainment. It was a natural home for wannabe street minstrels who would never make it. Sort of a graveyard for Granville Island dropouts.
Most of the hotels looked quite expensive on the main street so we'd made our way down to the Hades of Hippies. After such a long day on the road (11 hours with only breakfast 14 hours ago) We found what appeared to be our nights rest. El Capitan cabinas. At last. We approached the manager who was a Danny DeVito type (actually a dead ringer) and he showed us to a room with private shower. It was very small and we were beat so we thought what the hell? I asked him how much and he said $15. I'm thinking great, but after a very pregnant pause he added "each". I'm sure he was trying us on but we let it pass. We moved in and went to sign in and pay him where another $5 deposit was req'd for a key. I kept my laptop and camera (which is always with me) and left the bags in the "room". Danny said to me as we were signing in "you look like someone". I responded "Tom Cruise"?. Nope guess it wasn't him. He then said "Andre Previn " or some long dead singer. I wondered if Andre was ever told he looked like me.
We then started cruising the restaurants to fill our empty bodies. I had told Jo earlier I'd love to have a burger and potatoes. Potatoes aren't big down here and we finally found a place advertising burgers. Yahoo I'm thinking. Well they were out of burgers along with most everything else on the menu so we settled for beef filet. They grill it outside. I mentioned to Jo why a burger was worth more than a filet. The answer came shortly after that. A beautiful lettuce and tomato salad, lots of potatoes, and the "filet". This filet was carved from the hide of the winning bull in the running of the bulls in Spain 10 years ago. It was cheaper than hamburg because it saved the machine they would have had to use to grind it! Imagine grilled jerky. The bottom line is I sat down hungry and got up tired.
We then headed back to the "room" past all the nefarious looking minstrels. We had no sooner turned a corner and two of them fell in behind us. We made it to our place and there was Danny parked in a chair watching us about to be mugged. We made it to the room and was considering having a refreshing shower in our private bathroom until Jo noticed there were no towels and there was soap although it had been used. We passed on that idea. There was a fan in the room that is wired w/ tape into another wire that goes into the only outlet. I can't use the puter as it's a three pronger and this one appears to be a 1 and a half. Our one cell window contains no glass, just a screen and steel mesh with 3' squares.. Behind the door is a sign "checkout is 12 noon be ready!"
It was now about 10:30 and time for bed. I'd already spent 6 hours sitting on a board awaiting busses and this made me feel right at home. The mattress was made up of a piece of foam that had come from the underlay of a wornout hall rug. Under that was some soft wood. Several hours later we were awakened by the screeching of a cat. It sounded like a one sided battle to the death. This was followed up by the motion lite outside going on and at 3 or 4 in the morning it gave me pause to consider which one of the local pirates was coming for us. I kept one eye on the silhouette on the curtain for a long time but nada. We'd escaped another possible rape and pillage. I must have finally dozed off when I was again awakened by the sound of water falling onto a rock or something. Unable to see what it was in the dark (it was like trying to sleep under a waterfall) I again dozed off. This time to be awakened by large nuts falling on the roof from a tree overhead. That pretty much capped my night and we both gave up around 6 with the hopes of getting out of here as soon as the restaurants open and Danny's awake to give us our $5.00 back. I've got some pictures to show my story however it's hard to get a picture inside here as it's too small. I'll do my best.

Al Cotton

Costa Rica day 18 Jan. 26

This was taken at 5:42 a.m. as the sun came up.
Today was another great day. We watched the sun come up from the open doors of our bedroom along with the sounds of the birds stirring getting ready for another day. We also heard some unidentified sounds (not birdlike) coming from the nearby jungle. I videod it just to get the sounds. After breakfast our taxi showed up at 9:30 to take us to Punta Islita. (there are no busses in this neck of the woods or in a lot of the other places off the beaten path) Taxis are very inexpensive and this one was a beaut. Diesel with a snorkel for crossing the rivers. We only had to cross one. Twenty minutes later we arrived in the heart of town. Jim says the population is about 200 if that. There's one resort with a golf course and the rest is museum, general store, and a church,school, and souvenir/craft shop.
This small village is very pretty as it's like an art colony. Marta the lady running the museum showed us all around. It was more of an art and craft show than a museum. When we were ready to leave a walk about she came with us and left one of the artist working there to mind the store! She showed us the beautiful church that had sat semi completed for a very long time because the town didn't have the money for materials to finish it. The money was donated anonymously and the villagers finished the job. She told us the original plan was for one steeple but that was changed to two because all small churches have two. Across from there was a clinic but the doctor left because he said it wasn't handicapped accessible. Now the villagers have to take a taxi (which they can't afford) to a nearby village. The school next door has 22 students ranging in age from 7 to 12. There is a morning class and an afternoon class. They get their meals in a separate lunchroom which without govt. support would only be rice and black beans every day. They now get something else thrown in to round it out. The first round of classes eat when they're finished for the day and then the afternoon class eats right after them prior to classes.
The village is amazingly clean and very picturesque. The houses are painted bright colors with pieces of tile and mirrors decorating them. Next to the church is the sacred forest. The trees were planted years ago by the existing indians and they're now decorated to commemorate them. A tree in the soccer field is painted white and adorned with many symbols. A star denotes good health (salute), the moon is love, and the spiral is you will return. I hope it's true. Really I can't express how friendly these people are and how they are content with what little they have. Most everything in this village is courtesy of a donation from somewhere and they have made the most of it. The govt. gave the museum some computers for the villagers but they're not operable as they can't hook up to the internet. The streets in the center of town are covered with paving stones (like interlocking bricks) which were also donated. This keeps the dust down the everything clean. the general store even has 4 recycling bins for various things.
It makes you wish you could give these beautiful people something to better their lives although they're very content and grateful for what they have.
Arriving back here at noon we jumped into the pool and cooled off. I was leaning on the infinity edge for quite a while just enjoying watching the surf off in the distance when I saw a black object running across a field towards the jungle near the water. It was closely followed by another one. They were a pair of jaguars! Jim had seen a mother a 2 cubs a year ago in the same spot. What an incredible piece of luck. You could tell by the way they ran and their coal black color that they were cats. He said they live down in the direction they were running which is in the nature reserve. The reserve is between Jim's house and on the right hand side of his property so no one will ever build there.
Jim spent the afternoon planting a lot of papaya trees with is Cat digger. He had some business friends over this afternoon and has gone out for supper so Jo and I had leftover yellowfin tuna for supper. Better than steak! Jim had made a dip out of guacamole, tomatoes, garlic, and some tobasco. I've got to get that recipe.
The sun went down exactly 12 hours after we saw it come up. Right away an owl came down and skimmed the pool. It's been here every night and landed for a time the other night on the deck.
It's now 8:20 p.m. and we're going in the pool to see the Southern Cross and the inverted Big Dipper up above us. The stars are amazing as there are no lights here.
Truly an amazing place that is leaving us in awe.
We'll be leaving here early Monday morning and heading further south to a remote nature reserve where it's highly likely I can get some pictures of sloths. What next I wonder?
Hasta Luego and thanks for all of you who are following us.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26605&l=6efce&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 17 Jan. 25

We awoke with the sun coming up over the left end of the beach as the house faces due South. After a quick breakfast (I was feeling a little better) Jim took off with some watermelon and his board to hit the surf. We followed along around 8 a.m and took the 15 minute walk to the beach where the turtle hatchery is. We walked to the East end of the 6 km. beach (about 3 km from where we entered) and by the time we got to the end the tide had gone a way out. We're only 10 degrees above the equator but the beaches are so flat that it goes out a long way. Jim was out in the waves along with about 10 other guys (all of whom were 40 years younger) but he was able to hold his own and most of them later came back to the house for some watermelon and coffee.
There was a large cage near the hatchery on the beach marked off on the sand by string were 2' square grids where eggs were buried. We also saw many black and white sticks in the sand along the beach which denoted where other nests were. This beach is the nesting grounds for Ridley, Green, and Leatherback turtles. When we arrived back at the hatchery I was pretty much out of water so we filled up from their hose and the hosts there were very friendly and informative.
Jim arrived back here before we did. We should have come back sooner and it was really starting to heat up. When we arrived Louis the caretaker came over with some fresh backed corn tortillas and some meat and salsa. The corn tortillas here are only made from corn flour and water. There's enough calcium in the water to bind it all together so no oil is req'd. We loaded up and Jim informed us we were eating BOA CONSTRICTOR tortillas!!!! Now that's really neat. It was quite tasty and somewhat chewey. He said they catch them in the nearby river up to 14' long and then filet them.

Jim worked via his computer and phone all afternoon while Jo and I sat on the deck or lay in the hammocks reading. Jim recommended a book by a famous Spanish author called Alchemy. I read it in two hours and it's an excellent story! The basic theme is to chase your dream and follow your heart. Very inspiring and I'll see if I can get a copy of it when we get home.
Jim got out surfing again in the afternoon and had some great waves for an hour when the wind changed. I managed to get a picture of him walking back up the dirt road a quarter of a mile away carrying his big board. Now thats an exercise program. He brought a local surfer boy back from the beach with him for supper. Eduardo was a great additon to our super supper of leftover chicken from last night and the best fish I've ever tasted. Jim cooked it on the bbq and it was yellowfin cooked Hawaii style that Jim caught off his 26' fishing boat that he keeps in Corrilla (our last place of residence). We watched it grow darker until Jim had to get back to the telephone but a huge beatle landed on me which I managed to get a picture of. We haven't identified it yet but it was a monster. Wish I'd kept it to bring home.
We later asked Jim where he recommended we go while down here. Several people including him have nixed Nicaragua due to the crooked cops but have had Panama as a place to see. So change in plans. We'll continue south from here, cross over by ferry to Puntarenas and then head south to Panama and see the canal. Hopefully catch a boat that passes through just for the experience. Then it will be back to our original plan to go to Limon on the Caribbean side for a few days and then to Arenal the volcano, cloud forest, jungle reserve. We'll probably spend some time there to enjoy the sights and the hot springs. Feb. has been recommended as the best time to view the volcano as the clouds lift and lately it's been active so you can see the lava at night flowing down the sides. We saw a postcard of the site and wow it's something I'd sure like to see
Jim has a friend in Golfito that he thinks he can hook us up with for a free night or two so hopefully that will shake out.
Jim is leaving here at 5 a.m. tomorrow so we'll lock up before leaving for Nicoya to catch a bus further south.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26560&l=d31ab&id=680056043

Costa Rica day 15 Jan. 24

Not much to tell you about today. I woke up around 5 a.m. with diarreah and vomiting and then slept for the next 24 hours pretty much full time. We did leave the Congo Real where we were staying (open sewers and all)and our cab driver Adolpho picked us up at 11 and brought us to Jim's house about a half an hour away. I fell asleep again right away, slept all day, went to bed at 8 and slept all night. Feel great today and am probably down about 15-20 lbs since arriving here.
Jim our host lives in Hawaii but gets out here about 10 days every month to go surfing. He says the surf here has one of the best "breaks" in the world. It's also home to one of the largest turtle hatcheries in the world The beach is the nesting grounds for Wrigley, Leatherback and Green turtles. Jim says you really have to be careful when surfing that you don't hit one! He also mentioned that the population of these endangered turtles had quadrupled in the 10 years he's been here. Every 10 years there's a weather phenomenon here and all the turtles panic and hit the beach at the same time. Jim said you could walk from one end of the beach to the other without ever stepping on the sand!
He owns quite a bit of acreage here and it's right next to game reserve so no one will be building in this area. Also we've noticed that this is the only house we've seen that doesn't have barred windows or the smell of smoke (The Ticos burn all there refuse like leaves, etc.) Jim has seen a jaguar and two cubs in the area just below the house and the toucans are all over place and eat the flowers. He's spent a lot of time planting trees, flowers, saving seeds and growing his own peppers etc. The watermelon here is out of this world! This house has everything!! Be sure and check out the facebook for pics of this place. Our guest bathroom is the size of my living room/diningroom. I was just telling Jo it's nice to see someone as successful as Jim stop and smell the roses. Most people like him only strive to work harder. He's a gracious host and very nature oriented. He also told us about the locals who have been in this area since day 1. The young boy in the caretakers house next door is able to catch snook in the river with his bare hands! These people have lived off the land all their lives and fish is a main part of their diet. They also used to eat the turtle eggs which is now prohibited Jim said if you'd ever eaten a cake using turtle eggs as opposed to chicken eggs there is an unbelievable difference.
The ceilings in the house are covered in what appears to be bamboo but it's actually cane (not sure if I've spelled it right) It's hollow and has an insulation factor. Outside Jim's bedroom window he has a flagpole that he can see from bed to tell him if it's worth getting up at 5 a.m to hit the surf. I'm typing this on Friday morning as yesterday was a writeoff for me. Fortunately it was a 24 hour bug and I'm feeling great having just had the first meal in about 40 hours. Now it's time to get out and head down the road (about 15 minutes) to see the beach, hatchery, and Jim surfing.
LINK OF THE DAY
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26541&l=d7ca4&id=680056043