Tamarindo The sequel

Wednesday, March 26. Here's Mud in your Eye
Our last excursion of this trip.  Unfortunately, BIL was again having health issues and decided at the last minute not to go.  We were picked up at 6:30am, along with two other couples, both from New Jersey, although they did not know each other.   The one couple stayed at Playa Grande, the next beach north of Tamarindo which we look onto from our condo.  However, to drive there took almost 30 minutes.  After a bathroom break in Liberia, we arrived at Rincon de la Viejo National Park around 9:30.  The park is on the slope of the Rincon volcano, which is still active.  You can not hike to the rim of the crater at present.  There was a mist in the air.  It was raining at the very top, and the downdraft that blows down the slope as the warm air from the volcano cools, carried rain droplets.  While the lower slopes are very dry, particularly since it was the dry season, the upper slopes were lush and green.  We began with a 3 km. hike through the forest.  Along the way we saw howler monkeys and spider monkeys, the largest monkey in Costa Rica.  We learned about some of the flora, including a strangler tree that begins to grow from near the top of another tree, after seeds are deposited there by animal. As it grows, it drops roots down along the trunk of the host tree.  Over many years, these roots wrap around the host, slowly strangling it, and killing it.  Eventually only the strangler tree is left, with a hole in the middle where the host tree used to be.  We visited vents where thermal steam from the volcano shot up in the air, as well as bubbling hot mud pools.
After this we walked another twenty minutes into a canyon where there was a beautiful waterfall and crystal clear water.  We jumped from the rocks into the pool at the base of the waterfall.  I expected the water to be cool but not too cold, given the thermal region.  I was wrong.  I jumped through the air and the minute I hit the water,  a question came to mind,"What the heck were you thinking to do this?"  It was very cold and it seemed like it took an eternity to get myself to the surface after the plunge.  Over time it became bearable and we were quite refreshed when we got out.  Our guide, Miguel, took a shine to Jo.  He called her "me momma", and was always ready to give her a hand scrambling over rocks, even carrying her backpack.  From there we drove to a resort that is used for zip lining, and had typical lunch.  Rice, black beans and a meat/fish of your choice.  No surprise
there.
In the afternoon we went to another location where we had to walk across a suspension bridge.  It was way wobblier than the one in Lynn Valley, North Vancouver, and only two people were allowed on at a time.  On the other side we were given large paint brushes and a bowl of warm mud, and we covered each other in mud.  That had to dry for ten minutes.  Then we climbed into the river to wash off, or used showers attached to two trees.  Once clean, we could go into the hot springs pools hewn out of the rock.  Supposedly, this was great for our skin.  It was lovely in deed.  We did not get back from our trip until 6:30pm, and Miguel promised to email us the many pictures he took during the day.  Another great experience, while I had held out some hope of seeing one of the local toucan species, a coatimundi or anteater, or some of the large birds I had yet to get a photo of, it was hard to complain.  Plus, we did see the last monkey species that had eluded us.  I was feeling a little sad though that we only had one more day here.  It did not help when one of the two leaders we had learned about my interest in wildlife, and confided that bird watching was his passion.  He knew a few places he could recommend where I could see a lot of birds, and up to 30 varieties on one outing.  Next time?
When I first suggested returning to Costa Rica, Jo was not very enthusiastic.  She said she preferred Belize because the people were friendlier and she liked the beach.  She eventually agreed to go when I assured her that we would be seeing different parts and experiencing it differently than last time,when we  stayed in one house in a non-touristy area, with a rocky beach. For the past week she had been saying how much she enjoyed our experience and how much more she loves the country.  Even the people were much friendlier than what she experienced last time.  Today she went a step further.  She said she would love to come back some day!

Thursday, March 27. Don't Bank on It!
Today was our last full day here, and I was still sitting on 12,000 colones, about $24US.in old 1Mil, 2Mil, and 5Mil old bills that had been replaced by new, copy-proof bills similar to what Canada did.  These old bills are no longer accepted by merchants, but according to the internet, can be easily exchanged for new bills at the bank, since they are legal tender.  The security guard confirmed this on my last visit a few days ago, when I did not have my passport on me.  So today, I decided to walk down the hill on my own and go to the bank with my passport.  Again, the door was locked and I had to get the guard's attention to let me in.  I again had to empty my pockets and get scanned before he would even talk to me.  I told him I wanted to exchange old colones, and he pointed me to a machine by the door.  I looked confused and got out my passport to see if it had to go in some slot like at the airport.  The guard shook his head and pushed a button. Out came a card saying I was number 31.  There were three open wickets and only one other customer.  An electronic board flashed that number 31 was to go to wicket #1.  I have no idea why they use a card when there is no line up.  Typical third world bureaucracy.  The tellers were behind glass.  It seems like Costa Ricans assume everyone is a thief or a liar until you prove otherwise.  All decent accommodations have security guards outside, and even restaurants have someone in a vest guarding the parking lot.  Anyway, I showed the teller that I had old bills for exchange.  She immediately shook her head, and said I had to go to San Jose to exchange these at the bank.  San Jose is a good three hour drive and not exactly a reasonable request to make of a tourist.  I left in disgust.  While there are many things I loved about the country, it was these type of things that would turn me off of living here.  While the average people were nice, officials treat tourists, the bread and butter of the country, like dirt.  So, I did my long, hot walk for nothing.
After lunch, a mishmash of leftovers that had to go, we went to the beach for one final romp in the waves.  It was very hot, about 36 degrees, but also windy.  The wind blew against the waves, so that after a wave passed over you, you would be hit by spray blowing back at you.  Also, it hurt to stand on shore as sand pelted the back of your legs.  One final mango smoothie and it was back up that darn hill for a final dip in our pool.  By now it was late afternoon, and I decided to check out the trees just down the street from us one last time.  Leroy was there and watched over me.  It seemed that the bird population came out to say good bye. First there was a little gnatcatcher that posed frequently for me.
Then a flock of wrens stopped by and alit in the bushes a few feet way.  In addition to the very common birds that were everywhere, not one but six bright yellow orioles sat in a tree for me.  Two magpie-jays, a bird similar to a blue jay but with a long tail, came by, and finally a new bird, bright red, made an appearance. I was missing happy hour so I said good bye to Leroy, my adopted howler friend who sat in the tree above me.  For good measure a hummingbird posed for me, and what looked like a spoonbill did a fly by.  I am so busy here!
For dinner we went to Amore!, an Italian restaurant at the bottom of the hill.  There was another group of three there, and when they left, we were the only patrons.  On the way out I asked the owner why most restaurants we saw were so empty.  He said there were over 100 restaurants in town, too many for the population.  One last trek up the hill and our vacation was coming to a close.

Friday, March 28 Adios Amigos!
I got up early again today, at 6:30, and thought I would go say goodbye to Leroy, but he was not around.  A number of birds did stop in though.  Henry came by to pick us up for the airport at 11AM.  I gave him the old colon bills I was unable to change so he could exchange them the next time he is in San Jose.  We learned from Henry that the Nicaraguans are the cause of all problems in Costa Rica.  I told Henry about my experience at the bank, and how you are made to feel like a criminal.  He agreed, but said he thought it was justified because a while back there was a bank holdup by a group of Nicos in one of the towns.  There was a shootout with the police, and several police were killed, as were all but one robber.  That robber mysteriously died while trying to break out of jail, but Henry figured the police were just getting revenge.  Speaking of robbery, as we neared the airport, Henry suggested we stop at a store to buy water, because the cost at the airport is so high.  He said the businesses at the airport take you and shake you upside down until any last money you still have left falls out before you go.  I think he was right.  We went to the only restaurant for lunch, since there is no food service on the flights.  A muffin cost over $7US.  Jo and I ordered a quesadillas (for Jo, not for me), two small slices of pepperoni pizza, a coffee and a smoothie and it cost 27,552 colones, or $55.10US.  That was probably triple the price of similar food in town.
Our flights went smoothly.  In Houston we had to pass through Immigration, retrieve our luggage, go through Customs, re-check our luggage, and then go through Security again to board our flight to San Francisco.  It all went reasonably quickly and we got onto our plane within the 40 minutes we had.  We arrived in SF at midnight, and everything was closed.  Our flight to Vancouver did not leave until 8AM, so it was a long night.  We went to the proper gate, and tried to sleep, but that was an imaginary plan.  It was the noisiest gate in all of SF.  Crews walked around us vacuuming forever, women took their breaks near us and spoke loudly, and we were near Security.  Also, the benches had arm rests for every seat, so you could not lie down.  The women lied on the floor for a while.  I dozed off and on.  But, everything went well and it was a great trip.  

Tamarindo, The Last Hurrah

Saturday, March 22
What a blessing to have a whole night in a cool room, with no bugs, and no cicadas waking up the dead outside!  Strangely though, I still woke up just after 6am, ready to get up.  Friday night trying to catch a nap in the San Fran airport should cure me of this before we get home.   After breakfast, Jo and G walked to town to do some shopping.  I was not worried. After all, we had agreed before we left that due to future downsizing, we would not buy more souvenirs.  My souvenir was an empty Imperial beer bottle.  Jo had already bought a small bowl in Dominical, the one item she did want, so we were pretty much done.  I forgot however that women lie.  She broke down and bought something last week, and when BIL and I met up with the women for lunch on the beach, they both had large bags!  Maybe this is why some people are still opposed to women on office at church.  But, she was not done with me yet.  During their shopping they had found a restaurant for us to go to that evening. When we arrived there, it was a Japanese sushi restaurant.  With apologizes to my friend Wade, my three least favourite restaurants are Chinese, Japanese, and all other Asian restaurants. The setting was very nice, in and outside courtyard, which was the main attraction.  We opened with mixed tempura.  Normally I consider this a good, safe dish, but I was not prepared for disguised calamari.  I chose a seemingly safe dish of shrimp in fried rice, but it seemed to be bathed in soya sauce and, sorry to say, was only so so.  Jo enjoyed her dish very much, which was good.  Oh well, pura vida. Maybe I can get one if those mango smoothies tomorrow.

Sunday, March 23 Beach Day
I believe the number one job in Costa Rica is leaf raking.  Everywhere we went, the local staff spent hours raking.  All the leaves would be raked from grass, under the trees, etc.  they would form little piles everywhere.  Those piles were never cleaned up, so eventually many of those leaves would be blown around again. If you have been trained in the art of leaf raking, like most NHL teams, there is a job for you here.
Since it was Sunday, we took it easy today.  A leisurely coffee on the deck, followed by toast and boiled egg, dishes, and then an hour of emails, Candy Crush or just reading.  This was quite an adjustment for BIL, who was experiencing his first Sunday in years without Cream of Wheat.  We are using up our food supply and C of W was now off the menu.  For lunch we went down for a fruit smoothie and then walked the beach for a little while before renting lawn chairs and umbrellas and hitting the water.  Unlike Matapalo, the water is warm but still refreshing.  After a hike back up our hill, we hit our own pool to cool down before happy hour.
It was another good day, but panic was beginning to set in.  The end of the trip was in sight and we were not ready to leave yet.

Monday, March 24 Sailing Away to Margaritaville
Toast and boiled eggs for breakfast again.  Its okay though. The men enjoyed a quiet morning while the women walked to town to shop.  At 1:30 we had a snorkel and sunset sail trip booked.  We were on a catamaran with about sixty other people.  We motored and sailed up the coast to a bay where we anchored.  There was an open bar, and the crew were constantly bringing drinks and picking up empties. Our drinks of choice were the mai tais and pina coladas.  I will not disclose how many were consumed in our party, but I am sure the alcohol content was not that high.  The snorkeling was poor, but I had expected that.  The water was murky and deep and the rocks had no coral and few fish.  However, following the snorkel, they served a nice pasta salad, delicious salsa and guacamole with assorted types of chips, and cookies.  Jo was happy, as she loved sailing.  Every now and then we saw large flat things, which looked like some kind of sting ray leap out of the water.  A women also claimed to see a snake in the water.  We got back just after sunset.  Having been in the sun all afternoon, brain functions deteriorate.  Therefore a silly suggestion was made that because of the pasta salad and chips we ate, there was no need for dinner.  It is always difficult to know how to react to something like that.  Do you simply ignore this insanity, trusting the normal brain functions will return once we are out of the sun, or try to quell the revolution?  I knew there was little to offer in the way of goodies at home, except toast and eggs, so I protested a little.  I picked up a jumbo hot dog on our way home from the boat.  The picture was large, and it had six toppings, based on my command of the Spanish language.  It only cost 2,000 colones.  I believe jumbo and mini must mean the same in Spanish.  And one of the ingredients was crushed potato chips.  Not totally sold on chips in my dog.  Looking forward to eating tomorrow.  Meanwhile, we want to do one more excursion before we go, preferably on Wednesday, but Henry had not contacted us with suggestions, prices, etc.  I sent him another email.  By 11:30 we were all so bagged, we went to bed.

Tuesday, March 25 Welcome to our bank, now hands up!
Today was to be a quiet day, with plans to hang out at our pool in the afternoon.  I was pleased to spot a new bird in the tree across from us as well as seeing another pass over head that I could not take a picture of.  It was amazing to keep finding new species after all this time.  Since Henry did not respond, ( He did send an email late in the day after it was too late), we went looking for a tour desk that could book us an excursion for tomorrow.  Along the way, the women discovered a jewelry store near by.  I held out as long as I could, waiting outside,before I finally made the fatal mistake of coming in.  It cost me!  I also found the local Costa Rica National Bank.  I had a number of colon bills from our trip in 2007, but the government created new, more secure bills since then, and these old ones were no longer acceptable.  I entered the bank after the armed security guard unlocked the door.  I was totally scanned just like in the airport.  Only then did he ask me what I wanted.  He said I could not exchange my old bills for new ones without a passport.  See if I join this bank!  We enjoyed
mango smoothies and lunch on the beach before heading back up the hill.  For dinner we headed back down for pub food on the beach.  BIL had the trip down pat now.  Because it was always hot, both day and night, his shirts were drenched by the time he got to the top of the hill, so now he wore a shirt down the hill, but took it off to go up.  Incidentally, his camera is still having problems.  It may take a few pictures, and then stop.  It probably has too much rice dust inside.

Matapalo II

Tuesday, March 18. who let nature in?
Another hot one today.  Jo, my sister and me were up by 6 am for a nature walk.  BIL stayed in bed, still in mourning for his non-functioning camera.  Why is it easier to get up early here than ay home? We walked down our road back to where we saw the coati a few days ago.  We saw many, many howler monkeys, which was now a common occurrence, and some large blue morphin butterflies, a photographer's nightmare.  We also saw several agoutis.  However, it was far to busy to expect much else.  There were many pickup trucks loaded with people riding to work at the nearby resort, and many small motor bikes and quads taking children to school.  Our little riverbed road was like a freeway.  Last time I get up early here.  During coffee on the deck, I watched a pod of dolphins in front of our place.  In the afternoon, we walked two beaches down to the "safe beach" where there was less surf.  The water was a shock to my system.  Many of my showers are colder than this, in fact, this was the warmest non-hotsprings water I have ever experienced outside of a bathtub.  While the average water temp. here was 85degrees F., but this was downright hot in places.  We looked for cool spots.  I did not think I would ever say this but this was too warm to be refreshing.  I cooled down by getting wet, and standing in the shade, without drying myself.
It is dark here by just after 6pm each day, so we usually have happy hour, consisting of a rum punch until dark, before starting dinner preparations.  Tonight the downside of open air construction reared its head again.  While eating, tiny bugs attracted by the light buzzed around our heads.  After BIL removed a giant, ugly cicada from our kitchen tap, (where is Colleen when you need her?), I was under siege by tiny flys that devoted their energy to walking up my shirt and doing fly-bys in my face.  I had to find a dark corner to read and blog on my ipad.  Several more cicadas and a large crab also dropped in.  While cicada noise can drive you crazy, having them go off in your house for a prolonged period of time can kill you.  In addition to the unwelcome wildlife, it was also a warm, muggy evening.  You would have to shower every hour or so to feel fresh around here.

Wednesday, March 19 "I could go crazy if I let myself"
I woke to the sound of macaws and toucans, which disappeared when I got up at 7am.  These days I don't sleep much beyond 7am.  It was already hot in the sun.  We sat around much of the morning then drove a bone-jarring 60 minutes to a cocoa farm for a tour.  It was quite interesting, showing how cocoa beans are grown and processed into chocolate.  The tour ended with various fruits we could eat with a warm chocolate sauce, and a cake made with 100percent pure chocolate.  On route to the tour, on our extremely rough road which required us to drive through two streams, we saw a squirrel monkey.  On the way home, we saw several large green parrots.  I then saw a coatimundi  ross the road  ahead, and go into the bush.  I was driving, and stopped where I saw him go in.  He was still on the edge of the forest, and jumped into a tree.  As I opened my window and got ready to take a picture, two girls pulled up, stopped right between us and the coati, and asked what we were looking at.  End of opportunity to get a picture.  Just as we were getting ready to leave for the tour, I had loaded my camera into the car and turned on the AC, I walked to the back deck just in time to see a coati walk a ross the yard.  All morning we sat there with cameras ready, and saw nothing, and the minute I am without a camera, this guy saunters by.  Now these girls blow a second chance at a picture!
As I sit here, in the dark at 9pm, avoiding all the bugs that are attracted to our lights, I, like everyone else, am hot and sweaty. We have felt this way since arriving in Matapalo.  It is hot during the day, and in the evening it sometimes feels like it gets hotter, mainly because there is no breeze.  We face west and the sea breezes seem to not reach us.  Going from inside to outside makes no difference, and there is not even a slight variation when you step from inside into the yard.  If you think about it too much, you can almost go into panic mode, knowing that you will feel hot like this all night and all day tomorrow, until we step into our car on Friday.  The only relief is a few minutes in the shower and in bed, where there is a small fan attached to the bedpost.

Thursday, March 20. Tag, you're it.
What a horrible night I had.  I kept waking up with very itchy hands, arms and back.  Despite how warm it was, I had to crawl under the sheets.  Then at 5 am I got a calf cramp and had to crawl out of bed and find the exit in the mosquito net.  For the rest of the day my leg hurt and I needed to be careful so it did not cramp again.  Before I crawled back into bed, I thought I should go to the bathroom.  Good plan.  I had major diarrhea much like Jo had earlier.  Rather than going back to bed, I crawled into a hammock in the back.  This was at 5:30!  I slept only a little, and spent the rest of the day in my chair ir hammock, drinking water only and a few crackers for lunch.  Our doctor had given us antibiotic drugs just in case, and they were put to good use.  I did miss happy hour and evening wine.  Jo wanted to go to the beach down the road, but it felt too far away in the heat, so she explored the tidal pools in front of our place instead.  This was our last day here, and despite all the reviews which talked about daily visits from monkeys, toucans, etc., we had not seen any on the property, although we did find them in other places. At 3:30, we heard howler monkeys and soon saw them overhead.  Not long after that, two toucans dropped in.  I also photographed some parakeets that live next door, but were usually hidden in the tall trees.  For the past few days we had a coatimundi walk
across our yard, but naturally, never when I was near my camera.  We expected this guy to make an appearance before dark but he did not show.  After a delicious dinner of chicken noodle soup with undercooked rice, we enjoyed our last evening being covered in little bugs and longing for air conditioning.  Looking back, I do mot think I would return to this area of the country.  I think it attracts a kind of hippie, surfer dood audience, unless you are rich and stay in exclusive resorts, and fly into areas you want to explore.  I cannot understand why people would choose the open concept, where you are always fighting off bugs every night and there is mo relief from the heat.  Our main goal was to hike in the nearby national park, but the government made that more difficult so we did not do any of the things we hoped to do.  The local road is a nightmare and I don't know how you would get around if it rained hard and the creeks that cross the road rise.  Nevertheless, the house was  a neat experience, at least during the day and we did see more great wildlife.

Friday, March 21. North to Tamarindo
Travel day. We had to get up at 5:15am, for our 6:30 departure, but it was almost a relief to get up.  Despite our bed being surrounded with netting, we had a mosquito tormenting us and requiring us to cover up in spite of the heat.  It was difficult to sleep with an itchy arm.  I was however feeling 100% again.  We left on schedule and did see a few exotic birds along the way.  We were happy to negotiate the rocky road for the last time.  We returned our rental vehicle in Dominical, but the rental office was closed.  Henry, our driver from Tamarindo, met us at the office and was excellent help.  He had left home at 4:30am to make sure he would be here on time!  He immediately called the head office of the rental company to find out what was going on.  He was told we could just park the car and drop off the keys at the reception desk of the hotel that the rental company was in.  He then got out his phone and made photos of the car from all angles, in case there was any claim of damage after we left.  Later in the day he also called again to find out what was happening, but was told he had to call the local office direct.  It was a seven hour trip from Dominical to Tamarindo, including lunch at Steve n Lisa's, a restaurant near Tarcoles that we had eaten at in 2007. and grocery shopping along the way.  While we would consider the long day  Henry had not worth what he was getting paid for it, he was very pleased that we had use him a second time, and we agreed to hire him to bring us to the airport next Friday as well.  He was also asked to provide us with details on potential tours we might hire him for.
We were back in the same unit we were in two weeks earlier by 6:30pm.  Having had a traditional local meal of rice, beans, shrimp, meat or chicken, and fried banana at lunch, there were those among us who had some lunatic notion that we had already had our dinner at lunchtime, and since we had done nothing but sit in a car since, we did not need dinner.  I was at a loss for words!  For one thing, I had done far more than just sit around.  I carried on conversations with a Spanish speaking man with pretty good, but not fluent English, and worked hard at keeping my eyes open despite other urges. This would also mean going about  nineteen hours without a meal.  Police would probably come to find out whether our hunger strike was politically motivated.  There was no English language pizza delivery service that we could find, but in the end, there was a frozen dish of rice leftovers that I
heated up.  Surprisingly, then everybody ate.  We enjoyed an evening sitting out on our patio, enjoying a nice breeze and a pleasant evening without being overcome by bugs.  Pura vida!
It was also nice that the locals were so happy to have us back, that they put on a fireworks display for us, where we had a bird's-eye view! It was good that the people at the weekend rodeo festivities could also enjoy it.

Matapalo I

Did you know that I hate whoever is responsible for the editing features  on this blog using ipad.  The time spent trying to re-edit blogs is greater than the time spent writing them, and still often ends with poor formatting and wrong new paragraphs.  So, I am breaking down my blogs into smaller chinks.

Saturday, March 15 Outdoor living indoors
We bid a sad goodbye to our wonderful place in Dominical to travel to Tres Peces in Cabo Matapalo, on the southern point of the Osa Penninsula.  This area is much less developed and therefore holds an incredible variety of flora and fauna.  The drive was uneventful until the final eighteen kilometres, when the road deteriorated into a dirt road with big potholes.  In fact, the last three kilometres would be undoable in a regular car.  We even crossed two streams.  The house was amazing and scary at the same time.  It was an open air concept.  There were no doors, even to the two bathrooms.  The kitchen, seating area and downstairs bathroom were completely open to the outdoors.  Two bedrooms upstairs were connected by a walkway.  Beds were surrounded by mosquito netting.  Our room was open to the back yard, and I could look out onto the ocean without lifting my head from my pillow.  Here too, there were no walls to the ceiling and, according to the caretaker, who lives in an old cabin on the property, monkeys often like to hang out in the rafters.  Of course, all manor of night bugs are also free to join us, hence the netting.  It is important to be a quiet bathroom user, since anyone sitting downstairs can hear every sound. There were tarps rolled up downstairs and in front of our bed, which should be rolled down if it rains.  Everything in the kitchen was old looking due to exposure to weather, and we were concerned about the cleanliness if the kitchenware.  The hot water was less than lukewarm, and there was no plug for the sink.  It made us wonder how previous renters washed dishes, under cold running water?  No matter where you are in the house, you can feel the breeze, if you are luck enough to have a breeze in the 30+ degree temperatures.  We also discovered that the cicadas have followed us, and there is nowhere to get away from the sometimes ear-splitting noise.  Nevertheless, we were looking forward to the experience.  The view was stunning and the rain forest was again at our doorstep, so to speak.  Jo continued to have stomach problems.

Sunday, March 16 Park It!
Our first night in our open house was very warm.  Its a good thing there was a little fan over the bed.  I woke up before daybreak to sound of howler monkeys, and later to the husky sound of macaws and toucans.  I was up by 6:15.  That's crazy.  I went for a walk to a nearby beach and was entertained by a large group of howlers, a black hawk, and dozens of scarlet macaws. Sister G went with me and as we walked along the beach she said she wished we would see some toucans. No sooner were the words out of her mouth, and two toucans landed in the tree in front of us.  Many macaws flew over, always in pairs, and she said she wished they would land instead of flying by.  A minute later, that's what happened.  In fact, we witnessed a macaw climb into a hole in a tree, clearly a nest.  Over the course of the day, we saw at least 50 scarlet macaws fly by or in trees.  We discovered why we always saw them in pairs, when we followed the loud sound they were making and soon recognized that these pairs were all mating in the trees.  G also said she wanted to see an anteater, but I guess that was pushing it.
Today was to be a relaxing day, being Sunday of course, and we came to the Osa Peninsula planning to go to Corcovado, a large national park boasting one of the most concentration of wildlife in the world.  The local activity guide also advertised Lapa Rios, a nearby resort that offered guided walking tours.  In the afternoon we went for a walk to check out this place, since info we received indicated Corcovado might be a problem because you need day passes which must be bought a month in advance, a bit of info that would have been useful for the owners to pass on in their info package of things to do here.  After leering at a number of mating macaws, our walk along the narrow, tree covered and boulder filled dirt road led to a big hill.  I was sure we were getting close to Lapa Rios, and carried on up the hill while the women decided it was too hot, and difficult for Jo, who had mot kept any food down for days now.  Each bend in the road revealed another stretch of uphill, but soon I reached there.  I talked to someone in the office about day hikes.  Their hikes were only available for those staying in their lodge.  I then asked about a day hike in Corcovado and he said that the rules were changed a few months ago.  Now you must hire a guide to enter the park, and the process had
become much more complicated.  However, he said the park was huge and a one day hike would probably not be worthwhile, since it would take a six hour hike just to get to the area you want to be in.  So, suddenly, our plan for the week was shot.  No park for us.  No looking for exotic wildlife.  When I got back to where the women were, they were busy taking pictures of a new bird they saw, and a coatimundi. Very cool.  I turned around and saw a big exotic tropical bird.  Then as we walked back, we came across a troupe of spider monkeys, then some howler monkeys, a number of green parrots, a Costa Rican rail, a medium-sized ground bird, and some other smaller birds.  I guess if you
can't go to the park, it comes to you.
One of the novelties of this house, with its open bathroom, etc. is that you are always within earshot. You can sit on the toilet or take a shower without missing any part of a conversation.  The downside is that when it is hot, and it has been 24/7, there is no where to go to cool off.  We are off the grid, and rely on solar panels.  There is not even a ceiling fan.  The caretaker's dog freely wanders in to visit.

Monday, March 17 are the macaws an Irish clan?
Lazy day Monday.  Our greatest activity was an afternoon walk down the road, which looks like a dried out river bed.  If we saw 50 scarlet macaws yesterday, we saw at least 100 today.  All day long, pairs flew by, including one flock of 15!  On our walk, we found a tree along the beach that had 8 macaws in it, with many others circling in and out.  I am finding it very busy here.  Every day I find bird species I had not seen yet, at last count 53 species.  Every time I sit down, a new bird flies by, demanding my camera's attention.  BIL's slr camera still is not working, but today showed signs of life.  Back into the rice!
Tonight there is no breeze and we feel rather sticky.  Air conditioning in Tamarindo next week sounds really good.  I emailed Henry, our taxi driver, to see if he would accept our proposal to pick us up Friday and bring us back to Tamarindo.  He responded affirmatively, and seemed pleased for the business, including a future trip to the airport.
Mosquitoes have not been an issue, although there seems to be invisible bugs that bite at your ankles.  As I write this for the second time, Google having deleted my previous edit, a land crab walked by, in our living room area.  These crabs are maybe three inches wide and can be found all over the place, burrowing holes in the yard. Two of these guys were wondering around the house.  With the open concept, it is surprising we do not have more critters inside.
It struck me today that it is never quiet here. Between the pounding of the surf, the sound of crickets 24/7, the loud caws of the macaws, the howls of the monkeys in the morning, the chirping and singing of many different birds throughout the day, and the bursts of noise from cicadas, which can last for half an hour or more, there is always substantial noise at all times.

Dominical

Saturday, March 8  Birds, Birds, Birds
At 8am, we were picked up by our driver, Henry, for our trip to Dominical for a week.  of couse, the first thing he says is, "Dominical?  I thought you were going to Manual Antonio."  Dominical is 30 minutes farther.  He said he gave us a really good price, based on the shorter trip, but now he would be losing money.  We were not quite sure if we were being had, especially when he insisted that he had written down Manual Antonio, and then, After taking a quick peek, quietly put it away, but not before Jo got a glimse of the word Dominical.  However, knowing that the price we were quoted was very good for what could over six hours of drive, and of course he has to drive back too, I agreed to give him an extra $50 if he would stop and let us do our grocery shoppibg along the way.  He seemed pleased.  Henry was a Tico, ( native Costa Rican), but spoke English quite well.  We learned that Nicaraguans are called Nicas, and Panamanians are called Panas.  Americans are called Gringos, as are Canadians until they discover you are not American, ib ehich case you are called Canadian.  Nicas and Panas do not like Ticos, and Ticos prefer Canadians over Gringos.  When the American economy took a downturn, Canadians continued to come and feed the important touist economy.  People from Spain are also not popular be ause they act like Ticos are back woods people and everything is beeter in Spain.  Henry also said that unlike other ethnic groups, Ticos generally do not move to other countries for work.  He said this is because they are generally lazy and want to enjoy a sressfree life rather than working long hours to get ahead.
The first two hours of the drive was very tedious, on slow narrow roads with slow-moving trucks and lots of road construction. Once we got to Punteranus, travel wentmuch faster.  We stopped for coffee at a place known for lapas, parrots.  There were large almond trees in the back with many scarlet macaws and even a rare green macaw.  We stopped for a full grocery shop and, because it was not in a touristy area, ended up paying only slightly more for almost double the amount of food we bought in Tamarindo the first day.  We also stopped at the "crocodile bridge" near Torcoles, where we stayed in 2007.
We had a little difficulty finding our place, because it was tucked away in the trees above the highway and there were no signs on the highway.  It was fortunate that we had a Spanish speaking driver that asked some of the locals.  The cottage was up a long steep road but it took our breath away.  We had a. Magnificent view of the cove, Dominicito and was nestled in the trees, so you looked over the tops of the rain forest. Even Henry asked if he could come in and take a picture.  We arrived at about 4pm, eight hours after leaving Henry, so we gave him a good tip and decided to hire him for our return trip on March 21.  The location is awesome, but it is a ways to go to the beach, of couse we have a small, private pool, and the hike back up would be very difficult in the heat.   The town of Dominical is still3 kilometers down the beach.  Perhaps we need to rent a car earlier than planned.
For the rest of daylight hours, I was extremely busy.  I really hoped to see some toucans this trip.  Last trip I only saw one.  Here, we had two sitting in a tree overlooking us.  We saw two pair of another  similar, but sleeker bird, as well as a large variety of colourful birds like tanagers.  Every time I turned around, there was another interesting new bird in the trees and flowers around us.
  At dusk, it became almost unbearably loud, like a very high-pitched machine or the sound electricity makes in high voltage wires.  It seemed to echo through the forest, and you could hardly talk.  I first
blamed it on some workers cleaning a cottage nearby, but after exploring, discovered it must be some kind of cricket or similar bug.  It did die down eventually, but there was a continuous hum all night.  In the evening we sat on our veranda being entertained by the many geckos catching bugs, some half their size.  We all agree this place is stunning and exceeds expectations.

Sunday, March 9. Come to me my precious
Today was designated a relaxing day, but with high expectations.  After all the birds we saw in a short period of time, I was excited to see what we might see today.  I woke up at 6am due to the heat and the noise of cicadas or whatever was making the loud sounds, and decided to get up and wonder around.  I soon discovered that the creatures here are like me, seeing no need to get up early.  I did spot two toucans, a woodpecker and two morph blue butterflies, but it was pretty quiet.  Finally, two
howler monkeys dropped by to have breakfast in a tree beside our parking area.  For mostof the day, there was very litle wildlife until mid to late afternoon when many small birds dropped by.  It was too hot to go walking up and down the steep road to our place, but our veranda had a nice breeze that
kept things pleasant, and we always had our little pool, which was a little cooler than the ocean.  After dinner, which we always eat outside, we were visited by a giant grasshopper, which hopped around a lot and freaked out the women and the geckos, which were smaller.  A bright green praying mantis also hung out for much of the evening.  My friend Wade would have freaked out as well.  Then while playing cards, there was a big splash in the pool beside us.  We got a flashlight but saw nothing.  Some claimed they saw something swimming but there was no water marks where it would
have left the pool.  It might have been the wine.  This morning I saw a piece of fruit at the bottom of the pool which was not there yesterday.  My theory that the splash was something falling from the
trees may have merit.

Monday, March 10 Ah, the sound of the jungle, chainsaws!
It's 8am as I write yesterday's blog.  I stepped outside at 7:15 to see a truck full of workers in the parking area, waiting to start their day.  Today, they plan to cut back a lot of the trees around our cabins, and tomorrow they will do the same across the road.  The chainsaws were whining at 8
o'clock exactly.  The very trees that attracted birds the last few days were topped.  I exect a noisy day with no wildlife sightings.  After breakfast we decided to go for a walk to a pool and waterfall nearby.   It was another hot day.  While it is quite pleasant on our patio, with a nice breeze most of the time, when you go away from it, you feel the heat.  We had to walk down the private road from our cabin
to the front gate, a very steep hill with loose gravel.  It took a while because of all the photogenic plants and birds along the way.  Then we had a five minute walk that took us through a liitle village.
The little houses were all open, with no sign of doors.  People sat around everywhere, there was clothes hung up on lines filling the little yards.  It was clear that these people had very little and lived very conservatively.  At the pool there was a waterfall running over a rack wall, but due to the dry weather, the volume was far less than what we saw in pictures.  There were others there.  Jo and I did
go in the pool, which was refreshing.  A few local boys were playing on a rope swim, but because
they had an audience, I think they wanted to show off.  One boy of about 14 years old climbed up a tree which grew over the pool.  He crawled over the limbs like a monkey.  It seemed like he was twenty five feet up or so, and many watching were nervious that this was an accident waiting to
happen.  However he jumped, and when he resurfaced, people cheered.  Our walk back up the hill was slow and hot. Sister G said she had never been so hot before, with sweat pouring down her face.  Later in the afternoon, Dave, the owner droped by. He is in real estate, and Deb, his second wife, comes from Alaska, where she was a downhill ski racer.  Dave agreed to book us a snorkeling trip, and invited us to join them on Wednesday for a trip to a secret beach they always go to.  He could not give us directions and said we had to be blindfolded, including the driver, in order to keep the lovcation a secret. Our efforts to rent a car a day earlier, because the steep terrain made walking everywhere impractical, failed.

Tuesday, March 11. Too many visitors
After breakfast we walked down the hill, across the highway onto the beach at Playa Dominicalito.  We didn't realize that the beach was so close to the end of our private road.  The beach was awe-inspiring!  There were only a few people on the entire beach.  We walked along the water towards the town of Dominical, about three kilometers away. At one point, we had to go back up to the highway
for a distance, and scramble over the rock outcrop sperating the two "playas".  It was already very hot, and by the time we got to Dominical we were drenched.  The town attracks a large hippy contingient and the shops, hostels and accomodations looked rustic, to be polite.  Along the beachfront road, there were tables lining the narrow gravel street selling wares.  We stopped in a little place for fruit smoothies.  The rest of the group were so hot and thirsty, that they drank two in a row.  After walking around some more, we stopped in at Tortilla Flats for lunch and drinks, before taking a taxi home.
At night we sat outside playing cards, like every other night.  A number of huge bugs landed on our
windows and screen doors, including a large cicada, some green bug, and a stick-like bug.  There was
 also the usual large group of geckos.  After our game, I looked up at what I thought was a gecko in
the roof above Jo's head.  After closer examination,we found that there was a snake!  We have no idea  what kind it was, but a number of Costa Rica's 190 snakes are venomous.  It was creepy and we spent the rest of the evening inside.  Our theory is that with all the tree pruning arou d us the last few day, many of these things have been displaced and disturbed.
Incidently, yesterday Dave was telling us about a renter who was in one of the cabins just below us.  They had cut down a palm tree in front of the veranda, but left the trunk, with a cavity on the top.  One day, sitting with his coffee, he saw a boa slither up the trunk, go into the cavity, and come out with a racoon or coati, which it then fed on,right in front of him.  Hesaid it was disgusting, but fascinating at the same time.  Another time, Dave was leaving our cabin, and found a boa going across the road.  So, yes, there are snakes here, but we don't want them visiting us!

Wednesday, March 12. Water day?
Our rental car, a Rav4, arrived this morning.  We are mobile!  Strangely, it was delivered to the cabin, but the gas light was on.  Fortunately, there was enough to get to the nearest gas station.  Dave West invited us to join him and Deb, his wife, plus some other Canadians staying in one of his places, to "secret beach", an unmarked beach that locals don't want gringos to know about.  It was amazing.  Miles and miles of sandy beach lined with palm trees.  You had to take an unmarked rough road through fields to get there.  When we got there, Dave had already set up two large umbrellas and lawn chairs.  We spent a nice afternoon getting to know some other couples, all from Canada, as well as playing in the surf, which was higher than usual.  I even saw dolphins jumping just beyond the breakers.  Dave and Deb are very social people and were fun to get to know.  No one knew them prior to coming to Costa Rica. deb, despite being in her late sixties, is a very active woman, enjoying surfing and skiing in her native Alaska, where she insists on spending part of each summer.  She also insisted on teaching sister G and BIL how to boogie board.  When we left, Dave and Deb agreed to
drop by before we left on Saturday to collect on a beer I owed them.  We had dinner at home and sat
around reading on our ipads and readers, glancing up now and then for any sign of  a snake.
 Suddenly, the strangest thing happened.  Water started falling from the sky.  In fact it poured.  We had to go inside because we were getting wet from water bouncing off things.  Through the pounding of the rain, we heard the distinctive loud roars of howler monkeys near by.

Thursday, March 13 feeling like a sloth
It was an early morning,as we wanted to leave around 7am to go to Manuel Antonio, one of the most visited parks in the country.  Unfortunately, Jo was suffering from stomach cramps, and couldn't keep any food in, so she decided to stay home and recover.  The three of us drove to the park, 42 km. away.  Dave, as well as a website I consulted on tips for going to Manuel Antonio, said when we arrived near the park, to ignore all the people directing you into their parking lots and drive right to the end of the road, because the closest parking lot almost always has spots, and if not, you can use the turn around at the end to go back.  It turned out the road was very narrow, with big trucks blocking traffic, and no place to turn around because of trucks. We ignored the people directing cars off the road and continued until we got trapped near the end of the road and had to back up.  We had little choice but to turn into the last lot, near the gate, which cost 3,000 colons while the lots a few hundred yards back charged 2,000 colons.  So much for listening to the experts.  We chose to take a park tour guide, providing it was in English.  We had to wait 15 minutes so they could add other couples to our tour, most who spoke Spanish, so that the guide sometimes said things in both languages, but sometimes got caught up in Spanish conversation that he forgot to translate.  However, he showed us wildlife through his telescope that we would not have spotted.  t the end of the day, we saw five or six three-toed sloths,lazier than their two-toed cousins, white throated capuchin monkeys, squirrel monkeys, racoons, several types of lizards, bats, and red-eyed frogs sleeping under a leaf.  It was hot again, 32 degrees, and we were soon drenched in sweat.  After out guided walk, and hike we did on our own,  we could not resist cooling off in the warm surf.  The park and it's three beaches were gorgeous, with
a variety of rain forest trees and the beaches were magnificent.  We were in the park, half of which
was closed off due to path reconstruction, from 8:30 until about 2:30.  Then we went for a liquid
lunch, fruit smoothies.  I think I have become addicted to mango smoothies.  When we returned
home, Jo was still not feeling well.  Before dinner we were entertained by the acrobatics of a few howler monkeys.  All in all, a great day, ... For some of us anyway.

Friday, March 14. Getting more than you bargained for
Jo was still not feeling ill today, but there was improvement, and she was determined not to miss today's snorkel cruise.  We had asked dave to book the trip for us, and in an email, he had mentioned a $50 less than the full day trips advertised on line.  We drove the short distance to Uvita but when we  wanted to turn off the highway we were blocked by police.  They were running a national marathon using the road we needed to get to the tour location.  After a short delay, I was allowed to turn onto the road filled with runners. As I did, one police was waving me on and another was blowing his whistle and yelling at me in Spanish.  I didn't know if I should stop or go.  Then it dawned on us that there was a gap between some runners, and they wanted me to hurry before more runners came.  After we parked,some ten minutes late now, the tour operator came up to us, told us to move the car from the side of the road into his enclosed parking lot,  we were rushed along to sign up, pay, and get outfitted with flippers and life jackets.  We had not discussed prices with Dave when he made the booking, so when they asked for $125 per person, we almost choked.  That was a lot for a half day trip, but since we had no tine to rebook with anyone else, we paid it without saying too much, but feeling a little duped.  It turned out the trip was a full day excursion, complete with lunch, and was worth the cost.  However, we made a mental note to not assume when it comes to prices.  Also, in the rush to get ready, and hustle down the road to the boat, fighting through the crowds watching the race, and then have them quickly take our bags for loading on the boat, I suddenly could not remember what I did with my camera.  I took it with me to park the car, and could not remember what I did with it.  I thought I might have left it in the car, which we did not lock on the advice of the
rental company.  I asked the tour guides if they could call their office and make sure they secured it.  I would have felt sick if it was lost.  Soon after we departed, they opened up the hold for us to retrieve any bags we wanted, and there was my camera.  In my haste, I must have handed it in along with the
beach bag we had.  The excursion was wonderful.  We saw a pod of dolphins swim with us, and one of the three places we snorkelled exceeded my expectations.  We had lunch on an island used by the university for nature studies, and we found a green vine snake as well as some bats in an abandoned cabin.  Jo enjoyed the snorkel but made good use of the washrooms at lunch.  On a sad note, BIL purchased a new camera for this trip, complete with zoom lens. Somehow, during the boat ride, water go inside the camera.  By lunchtime it no longer worked.  He put it in a bag of rice for a few days and we hope it will recover.  In the meantime, it looks like I am taking telephoto pics for four.
For dinner we went to a local restaurant Dave had recommended because the food was good and the music was great.  The local group's manager was a manager for Martha and the Mandellas and another famous group.  His wife, a violinist, played backup on many famous artist's recordings.  The place was awesome!  The food was really good and we loved the music.  A great day again, but we were wiped out!