1915 Hotel Alajuela

... to show and I started to take off my layers of clothes... step by step I was able to see more of the amazing landscape. Many professional bikers passed my way, strangely always in the moments when the way was to tough for me and I preferred to walk. After almost 3 hours I arrived at the Ruins of the vally.. which was a pleasure.. walking around in the shadow, watching the parrots and enjoying the peace. Remembering how far I still had to go, I quickly hopped onto my bike ...

... a manual transmission) and was a big part of our vacation. We cleaned up, called a cab and headed to the Mall International In Alajuela. Our first stop was at Burger King. It tasted really good to sit down and eat a hamburger and fries. We shopped, although there really wasn't anything we found that was souviner worthy. The mall is nice, very modern and once we walked around a few times, it was time to ...

... Still alive so far. We had a nice authentic Costa Rican lunch at a little place called Neuvos Tierra. We had a nice salad and a chicken dish that included fried plantains, mashed beans, salsa, tortilla, and grilled vegetables. I noted that they don't have Diet Coke here. They call it Coke Light. Never know what you may find odd... We had a leisurely walk back through the "less desirable" streets. Personal safety is not a major concern ...

... flight to San Jose, departing only one hour late. San Jose, Costa Rica is ... well ... it's a city. It's a convenient place to get our bearings but I have absolutely no wish to spend much time here. We're staying at a bed and breakfast run by a gentleman who has been guiding travellers for 20 years. He is full of good advice and has been extremely helpful with ...

... caffeine to turn me into a jittery ball of rodent nerves, so I should be all right drinking the weaker stuff. On the recommendation of a previous CCS Puriscal volunteer who also kept a blog, we paid a quick visit to Galeria Namu, a tiny storefront stocked floor to ceiling with indigenous artwork. The owner is an Irish expatriate and former literature teacher who came here not speaking a word of Spanish or knowing anything about Native American crafts, but like ...

... after spending a lot of time alone, began actually being a guide and ambassador in a way for the hostel and the city. I met a couple married for 25 years doing an ATW trip and we went for a hike. I met a great group of Scots from Glasgow whom I spent a lot of time with for the two days I knew them. They were great and I would have traveled with them longer if I had time. Many people are surprised that I am traveling alone and it made me reflect on it the night before I left ...

... hear the plane on approach and moved towards the holding area for outbound passengers to try and stop thinking about the crash. When I approached the plane the pilot was a man which made me sigh in relief. The plane was very small but I treated this like an aerial tour. I was able to see quite a bit of the landscape on the way back to San Jose. The lush country side was beautiful from the air. As we approached San Jose the ...

... with her oar, and a nice burn on my thighs...well worth the fun and adrenaline rush!&#8232;&#8232;<br><br>Tomorrow after breakfast we pack up and head to Tirambina, which is a more rustic and remote preserve on the other side of the Rio Sarapaqui. I won't have internet access there, so my next blog won't be for a while. However, as a cliff hanger, here are the plans so far...&#8232;&#8232;Work in the field at Tirambina focuses on caterpillars feeding on Piper species. We will also be ...

... My hotel is $30 a night and the beer (Imperial) is $1 a bottle. The beer is in a self serve cooler and you just tell the manager how many you had when you check out. Is that cool or what?!? Oh, and the Internet cafe is $1.25 an hour. Unfortunately, I (1) forgot my memory card and cable to upload photos and (2) these computers don´t have a USB port anyway. So, no pictures yet. Sorry! I did get some awesome shots ...