Wednesday – Saturday, Feb 26 – Mar 1. Traveling every other day is a drag. Yesterday afternoon on the hike out of the waterfall I was bitten badly by some very nasty mosquitos. Today (Sunday) I’m still putting on anti-itch cream.

Wednesday morning some people went on a nature hike. I passed. On the way to our next hotel we tried to find a local festival, only to discover it’s only open in the evening. We proceeded south towards the western coast on a busy highway, stopping at a restaurant for a late lunch. Spaghetti.

Our final resort was a very large development with hotels and condos. Two beaches, many pools. Very hot and humid. I walked to the furthest beach, hoping for a good sunset that never materialized. Others took the bus, which I thankfully rode back in. Dinner was outside. Buggy.

Thursday was a outrigger canoe trip on the ocean, with a beach-picnic destination. I passed again. Didn’t want more bugs, a hot sun, and a picnic meal. I’ve never liked picnics. Because of the precarious nature of canoes and ocean, I wasn’t going to bring a camera. So I just walked around the resort a bit. In the late afternoon everyone made their way to the nearer beach for a beer and another chance to see a sunset. I swam a little. This one was more interesting.

Friday we departed for San Jose and our final night. On the way we cruised a tidal river that had crocodiles and an abundance of birds. It was perhaps the most rewarding event in the whole trip for me. Worked on my birds-in-flight skills. Afterwards we sat through traffic for what was a supposed to be a 90 minute drive. Three hours later we arrived for a 3PM lunch, 5 minutes from the hotel. Our Farewell Lunch was in an Argentinian restaurant. It was a silly event to close out the trip.

I left Costa Rica on Saturday in a very routine fashion.

Observations: This was a “Learn and Discover” trip to see how Costa Rican’s vacation. At every hotel it was more normal to see Costa Ricans than people from the USA. We did not experience the parts of Costa Rica that other visitors rave about when they come. I would not come back to where we visited, but I can certainly imagine how nice it would be in other parts of the country. Rafting, horseback rides, boating, zip lines, beaches, all are great fun for the vacationer.

Tuesday, February 25. Horseback ride to a small falls. Walk to a larger falls, where we swam at its feet. Another walk to a series of hot springs of differing temperatures and depth, with the option to apply mud. I dipped my feet into 113 degree water, briefly. Didn’t use mud.

Monday, February 24. Long bus ride to the western part of Costa Rica. Vastly different climate. A “dry” rain forest at this time of the year. Shifting from 80 degrees and 80% humidity to 90 and 50%. Stopped at a cocoa farm for a loooong tour of their spice garden/cocoa trees and a demonstration on how cocoa is refined. Fun guide. They don’t convert their cocoa into (milk) chocolate products. Lost my interest right there. A single tamale for lunch.

Very nice Hacienda resort. Lots of activities available, which we’ll have little time to participate in. Sounds like they have birds. A good sunset.

Sunday, Feb 23. A longish drive to the northern border to cruise the Rio Frio. Great day for some photos. Some very aggressive spider monkeys leapt aboard the boat, driven off by splashing water on them. Not nice monkeys.

Drove up the road to the Nicaraguan border crossing, where we could easily see folks walking off into the forest to avoid the checkpoint. Buses stood by to take paying migrants south.

Had a fantastic dinner of Churrasco (steak).

Some of these photos are from the day before.

Saturday, Feb 22. Against my better judgement I went on a nature hike while rain threatened. To be fair, the choice was hike or sit in the bus for two hours. I’ve hiked in the rain before and know what it’s like. As usual the rain began to really come down at the furthest point. Nothing to see, nothing I really wanted to see. A companion (not the brightest bulb in the box) found a run-over (dead) coral snake and picked it up to show everyone, which got a stern lecture from the Trip Leader about the dangers of touching deadly dead things. In all, a bad morning.

After lunch half of us went on Zip lines. Nine lines. It was a little different than the one I did in Guatemala. Also, the thrill appears to be gone. But it was done under heavy clouds without much of a view. One woman realized on the first line that she was terrified. Literally shaking. Had to be helped down the rest of the lines. It was alarming how panicked she was.

Minutes after we finished, the clouds opened up. The hotel, for reasons beyond understand, has no canopies covered the walkways. Crazy. Shortly after we arrived, the power went out. Not only for the hotel but for the entire town. We raided the gift shop for snacks. Power came back at about eight.

No photos to speak of.

Friday, Feb 21. The school is brand new (2020). Heavy fortified. I mean heavily. Cyclone fencing, Barbed wire tops, doubled metal gates at the entrance, etc. They have a problem with child abductions. Excellent facilities for only 120 students. Four teachers for basic learning, plus a dedicated special needs assistant who roams. Full kitchen. The kids have very nice backpacks and pencil cases. These are well-cared-for children. My balloons were a big hit.

After stopping at a market for food, visited a family. 450 sq ft home, built with government funds after the family bought the property. Large outdoor kitchen. Nice meal. Cute kids.

For dinner we went to a karaoke sports bar with an indoor soccer field (6X6 teams). Adult players, very good.

Thursday, Feb 20. A nature hike was scheduled for the morning. I’d been following the weather and knew that rain was headed our way. I was therefore on the fence about going right up until the bus departed. The walk included an 850 foot suspension bridge, which sounded exciting to maybe hike in the rain. So I got on the bus, but then hopped off when it indeed began to rain. Took a nap. When I woke up the rain had stopped and the clouds had thinned a little. I was able to get some so-so photos of hummingbirds. The grouped returned, saying they had seen no animals in heavy rain.

During lunch it rained buckets. Intense.

We departed after lunch for our next hotel/resort. Saw a sloth along the way, maneuvering the bus into various positions to get a good look. It moved!

The new resort, which has seen better days but is still adequate, has seven pools, some containing hot mineral water. It’s built on a hill without elevators, which is a problem for some people. We’re at the top, the restaurant is at the bottom. I got the feeling that it’s not a tourist resort. More for Costa Rican locals. (We’ve learned that our route doesn’t touch the really popular spots for foreigners. Fine with me.)

Wednesday, February 19. Things are looking up. In the morning seven of us rafted down the Rio Sarapiqui. Some of the rapids were great fun. It’s rated grade 2/3, probably closer to 2 than 3. There were short cascades, followed by calm stretches. I’ve never done rapids that lasted more than a few seconds. These rafts had foot holds (Stirrups) that really helped stability. Lots of wildlife to see. Shame that I couldn’t bring my camera.

The afternoon included an optional tour of a pineapple plantation. I passed. Spent the day searching for birds. A caretaker pointed me to one fantastically beautiful bird, but other than that I had to just sit at the bird viewing bench where they put out food for the birds. Seemed a little like cheating. It’s still too dark for my camera, which is only substandard for it’s poor low light capability. I need sunshine.

Rained like I was in a tropical forest in the early evening. Wonderful sound.

Tuesday, February 18. Drove over a mountain range to reach the eastern lowlands. Spent at least two and a half hours learning (in exhausting detail) about producing coffee, from the field to the packaging. Since I get headaches just smelling coffee, it’s not going to be the highpoint of the trip. It was interesting to note the similarities with wine producing.

The road was straight in no direction. Light traffic. There was always some house or business along the route. Amazingly, just as we crossed the mountain top, San Jose was still visible in the distance. It’s not a big country. Stopped at a nice waterfall.

Lodging is a very remote rustic resort, offering all kinds of nature activities. Surrounded by pineapple fields. Dinner was local fare that seemed pretty normal. Nothing unusual.

Monday, Feb 17. Toured the rather small but handsome 1897 National Opera House. Material imported from Italy. Artwork done in Italy, depicting incorrect Costa Rico landscapes. I took some nice photos of the statues. Then we meandered around the downtown while Catalina (our Trip Leader) talked about the country.

Lunch was fine. Spent some time at a shop that makes masks. Saw artwork that glorified oxen and agriculture. All in all, not much going on.