Snowbirds

Costa Rica is such a safe, relaxed place that we are surrounded here by people who are escaping the winter in North America - mostly Canadians. In fact when I told a local driver that I was from London he immediately asked "Ontario?" Many of them are getting ready to head home in the next week or so after 8-10 weeks here. Had never thought of Jimmy C as a snowbird but I guess his annual February trip to Thailand would count!
There also a lot of Germans settled here running local businesses - including our hotel, the local bakery and the hotel and flying service that run the ultralights. Even learned this morning that Michael Owen and the Beckham's have a house near here and that Mel Gibson has just built a beachfront house on a private stretch of the coast north of Samara - didn't realise it was such a fashionable place.
Have also been able to keep up with the Premier league which is very popular here - great result today for Man City and I know Bernie will have enjoyed Birmingham's win - just hope that Arsenal can take care of Stoke later on.

Earthquakes & Tsunamis

Woke this morning to news of the huge earthquake in Chile and the tsunami which is threatening the whole Pacific Rim. I guess it will be some time before we hear how badly it has affected Chile, but there have been major alerts across the pacific and massive coastal evacuations in Hawaii where they expect the tsunami in the next few hours.
There was an initial warning here to expect a 2m wave at around 10.30 but this was eventually withdrawn and everyone went back to the beach!
After all the kayaking that I have imposed on her, Linda's treat this morning was a flight over the coast and the mountains in an Ultralight - actually an Autogyro with a German pilot. She got a great view of the beaches and the coral reef offshore and quite a few photos, including a video of the landing - shot over the pilot's shoulder.
We have settled into the local routine without any problem - early morning swim followed by breakfast then an hour or so on the beach, a bit of shopping or internet, lunch, siesta, a dip in the pool and then back to the beach again as the sun goes down. After dinner there are the reggae or salsa nights at the beachfront bars. Its a rough old life, but someone has to do it!
Have tried a couple of the local restaurants - had some tremendous Tuna last night - but have also enjoyed being able to cook for ourselves.

On the beach

Arrived here - Playa Samara on the Pacific coast of the Nicoya Peninsula - on Tuesday morning, which was a day early for the apartment we had booked. Just proves that I don´t even know what day of the week it is - which many of you have thought for sometime.
Found a very nice B/B for one night - La Mansion run by Marlene McCauley - an American lady from Arizona whose husband Alan is Irish and whose daughter and family perform in a group called Celtic Spring - Irish music and dancing - of course we got to watch the DVD before we left. Probably the best breakfast of the trip, and amusing to watch the long suffering Tica who did all the work for her 'mistress' even down to changing the channels on the TV, while Marlene sat with her feet up. However it was a great place and one to go back to.
Moved on Wednesday to our apartment at the Belvedere Hotel . It's good to have a bit more space after all this time on the road and a reasonable kitchen so that we can cook for ourselves.
Playa Samara is a beautiful beach and great for swimming, kayaking and snorkelling as the bay is protected from the sea by a coral reef. This means that there aren't any surfers here - which is probably good news.
Have decided to stay here until after the weekend when we will move back inland to the volcano at Rincon de la Vieja. We toyed with the idea of going over the border to Granada in Nicaragua for a few days but decided that we are enjoying the beach too much!
Swimming each morning at 0630 when the temperature is already in the high 20's and then laying in a shady spot during the heat of the day. Need to work on the tan before we meet up with Linda´s cousin in Mexico!

Back to sunshine

When we got to Monteverde on Saturday evening, the sun was shining and it was a lot warmer. After an early start on Sunday morning we managed a four hour hike through the Cloud Forest, which really is an amazing place - even greener and wetter than the west of Ireland. Every surface is covered in various levels of growth, from mosses and algae to the hundreds of epiphytes growing on every plant and tree - everything trying to compete for light through the canopy. There are even native orchids growing on some of the plastic fence rails.
We walked on our own and it felt like we had the place to ourselves. We had not seen a lot of wildlife in the first couple of hours but as we came around a bend in the trail we spotted the irridescent green/blue colouring of a male Resplendent Quetzal.
This a real rarity even in the cloud forest and a bird that Linda was really keen to spot since it was one of the reasons for us being here in the first place. A couple of years ago, she had picked up a book at the St Giles' bookfair, written by an American Ornithologist about his attempts to sight the Quetzal in Guatemala during the Eighties and this led directly to our decision to come to Central America.
After lunch, we spent the afternoon at the Orchid Garden where they have more than 400 species of native orchids - less than a third of the total orchid species here in CR. Most of them are so small that you need a magnifying glass to see the flowers clearly.
We did a hike in one the Santa Elena reserve this morning - much smaller but even quieter and then had a lazy afternoon preparing for our next move. Tomorrow we are heading for the beach at Playa Samara on the Pacific coast - time for a bit more relaxing in the sun!

Who said the roads were bad in Ireland

Since leaving Tortuguero - where all our transport was by boat and we didn't see a car for 5 weeks - we have experienced some of the worst roads that Costa Rica can offer. Even on the main highways you suddenly come to a shuddering halt because of a pothole which covers two lanes and is deep enough to bury a couple of bodies.
However on Saturday - having given up on the Arenal Volcano, we decided to cut our losses and took the cross-country route to Monteverde - instead of the 140km drive around the lake. This involved a short bus ride to the lake, a 30 minute boat trip across the lake and then a journey in a 4x4 over dirt roads and up and down some very steep climbs - despite only being 35km, the journey took nearly 2 hours and even in the 4x4 we needed a couple of attempts to get up one of the hills.
I'll never complain about the roads in County Clare again - well not for the first week or so anyway!

Linda says...

So that's enough about us. It would be really nice to hear what you are all up to!

An expensive kayaking trip!

According to the plan, we were up, packed, breakfasted and ready to check out at 0730 this morning - just in time to be picked up for our kayak trip on Lake Arenal. Slightly offputting that it was still raining, but we knew we would be getting wet anyway.
It turned out to be a great trip, the rain was only intermittent amd the wind and waves only affected one leg of the trip. However we had some great bird sightings and were able to get very close without disturbing them. Saw Ringed, Amazon and Green Kingfishers along with Snowy and Great Egrets, and three Great Blue Herons - including one which was being harassed by an Osprey! There were also Northern Jacanas, a flock of Whistling Ducks and Scarlet-Rumped Tanagers. However the real surprise was a Limpkin which is very unusual for the area.
Unfortunately, in my rush to get the binoculars from the drybag, I managed to drop my sunglasses and Linda´s watch over the side and was too slow to catch them. Guess that will cost me when we get somewhere with a proper jewellers!

There´s a volcano out there somewhere!

Since arriving in La Fortuna on Wednesday, we have still to catch a glimpse of the Arenal Volcano which dominates the area. It has been hidden in the clouds and mist and by the rain which has fallen almost constantly.
It has made it hard to enjoy the tours - our walk over the hanging bridges in the rain forest on the volcano´s slopes yesterday morning was very wet and all the wildlife was sensibly sheltering from the rain.
When we got back to town, we decided that the only thing to do in the rain was to buy a day ticket to the Hot Springs resort and we spent the rest of the day relaxing in the thermal pools - there are 25 of them ranging from 32-63deg C - and trying to avoid the temptations of the three pool bars and waterside restaurants. Definitely felt cleansed and relaxed by the time we left.
It was also a great place for people watching - although we left before the main tourist rush in the early evening when they arrive in coachloads.
We´ve just cancelled our volcano climb for this morning and are hoping that the sun will come out later today as forecast. Planning kayaking on Lake Arenal tomorrow and then moving on to Monteverde and the Cloud Forest.

Fellow Travellers

As one travels around Costa Rica, there are constant reminders that you are in North America´s backyard .
From the tour operators who price everything in US Dollars and charge extra if you want to pay in Colones, to the hordes of US and Canadian tourists all around.
On our trip from San Jose, we were joined at one of the hotels by a blonde Florida bimbo - with husband and 4 bags in tow- who looked as if she had just stepped off the set of Miami Vice. In addition to complaining loudly about most aspects of the journey, she kept us all waiting at the rest stop because she was shopping in the souvenir shop and then asked a stream of inane questions of the driver which didn´t help his driving on the mountain switchbacks.
Then, as we sat in our Hotel lobby yesterday evening, we overheard another guest complaining about how poor the roads were and how long it took to get anywhere and then badgering the receptionist about how he and his wife could drive both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of CR and see everything in the 4 days that they had allowed to see the whole country!
Interestingly China is making a big play here , signing major new trade agreements and financing the construction of the new National Stadium.
My new best Tico friend - Javier - who has been our guide for a couple of tours here in La Fortuna probably explained the changes best when he told us that in addition to English he also spoke Japanese, some German and French and that at the end of this season will be taking Mandarin lessons. Although in his 20'´s, his card describes him as a ´Professor of Biology´but he says he earns more money as a guide than as a teacher.

Wlldlife spotting

Forgot to mention that our time at Jalova did allow us to see a wide variety of birds, reptiles, insects and monkeys.

There were Howler, Spider and Capuchin monkeys living around us in the rain forest which were rarely happy to see us and usually reacted by screeching, throwing things or peeing on you if you stood in the wrong place. We saw tracks of many other mammals - Jaguars (of course), Tapirs, Coati, Agouti, White-tailed and red Brocket deer and raccoons - but only saw the Red Brocket deer. We did see an Agouti a couple of times in the garden of our cabin at Punta Uva.

There were quite a few reptiles starting with the big crocodile which lived on the beach by the boat landing - where we also saw evidence of a couple of other crocs preparing their nest sites. There were lots of Eyelash Vipers, a few pit vipers, a coral snake (which crossed the trail just in front of Linda - I'm sure she'll show you the video some time) and a Boa Constrictor which was laying on the trail digesting its lunch. There were also Green iguanas - including a group of youngsters living on the edge of the base, lots of Anoles and Whiptails and - of course - a few gekkos as well.

During the wet weather we could hear the Marine Toads and frogs calling at night and there were a lot of toads around the compound. The smaller frogs were harder to see, but we did see the red-eyed treefrog, and some of the others saw poison dart frogs as well. We were outside the marine turtle season but did see one Green Turtle which had come up to lay its eggs at the wrong time and was predated by a Jaguar. There were lots of river turtles on the canals and the occasional caiman.

There were not as many insects as we expected although there were some large spiders - Brazilian Wandering spiders, Golden Orbs and even a Tarantula or two. A few scorpions - including one on the end of Linda's bed and quite a lot of ants and mosquitos.

Since the bird surveys were one of reasons for being there, it was great to see such a huge variety. I think we managed about 24 of the Survey species - including 9 egrets & herons, and 6 kingfishers. We also saw 3 types of toucan - with amazing colours; flocks of parrots; a whole range of waders, terns and gulls; huge flights of Brown Pelicans - up to 51 in one formation; along with Trogons, orependulas a variety of antbirds and treecreepers and two types of woodpecker - including the one that they based Woody on! In addition to the Black and Turkey Vultures, we also saw Ospreys, Kites, falcons and various other Hawks.

As we head off for the mountains, I hope we will add to the list and perhaps see the elusive Quetzals when we get to the cloud forest.

Does Jinty have a twin sister???

One of the volunteers - a lady from Essex who is taking a career break from working at the London Stock Exchange - could be Jeanette´s twin sister. She was so alike in so many ways that Linda spent the first two weeks calling her Jinty! Only those who know Jeanette would really appreciate this but it was quite scary to imagine that there may be two of her wandering the planet!

Our rainforest experience

Difficult to know where to begin. As I said at the outset, the accommodation was basic but pretty much what we expected. We were in a dorm with 6 bunks - although luckily one was unoccupied and in recognition of my elderly state I was allowed one of the bottom bunks. The mattresses were a little on the thin side but we were generally in bed early and up most days by 5.00 am or earlier. The food was plain but ok - the amount of salsa, ketchup or soy sauce used at a meal was a good indication of how well - or not - the camp duty team had done.

The biggest challenge was probably the communal living part - being in close and continuous proximity with 25 - 26 others! While the volunteer group mixed very well and there were no clashes of personalities, it was very different from the last 8 months or so in Ireland when it was just two of us in a fairly remote location. I think that 10 years or more at boarding school taught me a lot about living with others and Linda had similar experiences when she was in the Merchant Navy. Unfortunately many of our group seemed completely oblivious of the other people living in close proximity - particularly for those who may have been sleeping or relaxing!

The group consisted of 4 Americans, 3 Europeans, 3 Colonials, one Costa Rican and 15 Brits. There were only 5 over 30, with the majority being under 25 and three under 20. It meant that conversation was littered with words such as "awesome', 'cool', 'chilled', 'lush' etc, and was all at a volume that was better suited to a parade ground than the living room.

Amongst the characters, we had - in addition to the Essex lady of a certain age referred to previously - a young scandahooligan affectionately referred to as 'boy' - a bit like Cheetah in the Tarzan films; a couple of people seriously commited to conservation; one seriously committed to loud conversation; a young 'good ole boy' from Georgia; a couple of perennial students; a couple who were in their gap years before, during or after their university degree; and a number who seemed to be hiding from the real world having left behind their careers in journalism, construction, engineering etc and looking for something more meaningful. There were some who had clearly worked hard to save the money for the trip and some who were relying on the generosity of others - usually parents.

Despite all these differences, we bonded well as a group - partially as a result of the limited management ability of the Field Coordinator who single-handedly managed to lose the goodwill and support of the volunteer group by the end of week 2. She compounded this by failing to address the problem until the end of week 4.

Most of the difficulties were due to teething problems at the new base and to the management failings which is a pity as I think it showed the organisation in a bad light. I am not sure that I would ever consider this type of trip again - and if I did, I know I would be doing it on my own as Linda has made it clear that she wouldn't be joining me! However, it was an experience that we both enjoyed - even if we are not keen to repeat it anytime soon.

Back in San Jose

Just arrived back here after 6 days on the Caribbean coast at Puerto Viejo and Punta Uva. Stayed at three different places which became more "rustic" and remote - with plumbing which was challenging.
The night out in Puerto Viejo with the rest of the team was great fun - we ended up at one of the local hotspots where it was Ladies Night - free drinks for the girls and guys not allowed in until midnight. Great fun and a bit of dancing to the early hours - unfortunately a bit too much for one of our girls who ended up having to explain to the local constabulary why she was hanging over a fence on the way home. We left them all the following morning - after Linda had given them her suggestions for hangover remedies - and headed down the coast and found a couple of quieter places where we managed a bit of swimming and kayaking over the coral reefs. Had planned to go back for some snorkelling but the weather changed on Saturday and we didnt fancy fighting through the Sunday morning surf.
Managed some great meals however - particularly in a place at Punta Uva called El Refugio - run by an Argentine couple - which was open to the forest on three sides. definitely our best meal in CR so far - think it will be hard to find anything better.
Found a private bus service for the journey back here - Interbus - which was a bit more expensive than the public bus but took us door to door and was airconditioned as well - think we may be using them a lot over the next few weeks.
Planning our travels for the next 4 weeks in CR and heading up to La Fortuna on Wednesday to see the Arenal Volcano and then on to the cloud forest at Monteverde and Santa Elena.
Have decided that 4 weeks here will be enough and have booked our final two weeks in Mexico - flying up to Cancun for a few days with Linda's BMW driving, CC & coke drinking, Canadian banker cousin and then on to see the rest of the Yucatan.

On the beach

The rain forest expedition is over - more on this later - and we are now on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca which is one of the big surf resorts. It is a very busy place but we are only here for a couple of days - to allow time for laundry, internet, telephone and banking - and then we are heading down the coast to Punta Uva - much quieter with a coral reef for snorkelling and kayaking and a bit of sitting in the sun with a cold drink watching the waves!
So far have managed a couple of cold beers, some fresh fish, and quite a lot of reggae. We are here with some of the others from the expedition and big night out planned for tonight - perhaps even some Salsa!
Will try to report tomorrow - if the head allows.