Albergue Volcan Turrialba

... rafting company could try to gain a few more of our colones (Costa Rican $). Finally we were on the return trip to our B&B to get our stuff and hit the road for San Jose. After some debate we decided to return the rental car upon our return to San Jose and then went to our hotel, which my cousin had reserved. It was pretty hard to get Doug to say goodbye to Carmen, I think he fell in love. I've always said he needs a ...

... the left..." As for moi, I was singing along to the tunes and wondering how much it would upset the two of them if I went to sleep. I didn't see the big deal and knew it would be OK. I dispensed a few words of wisdom to Doug by declaring that he should simply focus on the white line (or edge of the road when the white line was non-existent) to his right, which would assist him seeing the road in the event of oncoming cars with bright lights ...

... to our lodging at El Silencio del Campo in La Fortuna around 7:00 that evening and Eliomar at the reception desk already knew about us and talked about David like he was an old friend. He informed us that our cousin was taking a massage currently. No suprise there! He also told us that my cousin had been ziplining earlier in the day!!!!! It seems that my cousin had taken Doug's pleas to heart and had stepped outside his comfort zone. We ...

... around every bend. Next week we go into an extremely remote part of northern Panama to try to get enough data on the migratory fish diversity to stop 5 dams planned to be built near Bocas Del Torro. So hope you are all ready for some more stories for the ages. I have only one photo to offer for this blog but it's the money shot I suppose. Hope you all are on solid ground and enjoying whats left of your time before I come back to haunt you this summer.

... finished our tour and waited patiently for the bus to scoop us up. Considering the rain and the lack of transportation, we decided against visiting the volcano at the present time. It is actually the least visited volcano because it is so difficult to get to. Back in Turrialba, we checked into the interamericana for another night while we waited to meet up with our friends. that night we visited the local Barber and Dan had his first ever clean shave with the ...

... 1.10 USD). The people from Alto Katsi used to work in the plantain fields in the area. Now they are all out of work because of the flooding. And, according to Danilo, they used to ...

... of them wore uniform outfits, guaranteeing that no one felt above or below the other. Education is highly valued in Costa Rica and that was evident through the manners and respect they paid to one another and their mothers. We passed hill after hill covered with plastic sheeting. Later we learned these were tropical plant farms. The crops are covered at different times of the year to promote optimal growing conditions. After a one hour drive ...

While Ellen toils this week in Toronto I'm in Latin America, a guest of the Costa Rica Tourist Board. Three American journalists and I were invited to do a familiarization trip focusing on extreme sports. I could have written about what it's like to rappel down a seventeen metre waterfall, get tossed out of an inner tube in class IV rapids, or whitewater raft down the treacherous Pacuare River. Instead though, today's lesson will focus on ...

... speaking country. Xinia tells me that here, only a man's umbrella is "el paraguas"; a woman's is "la sombrilla" (which according to my Spanish-English dictionary is "parasol." Granted, they are used as sun shades as often as rain shelters. This gender distinction serves as an interesting counter-point to the apparent lack of an equivalent for "purse," that is, a single word for a type of bag carried only by women.) Kids get free breakfast ...

... of forest that I have ever seen. The trees looked picture perfect, three dimensional, with vines hanging down. Parts of the river went through rocky canyons...sometimes the rocks were streaked with brown and green, sometimes they were very tall, and nearly vertical. We rafted through rapids from Class I (very easy), to Class IV (moderately difficult). Dad would be comfortable though...the guides were skilled, and the river was more technical than ...