Hotel La Finisterra Playa Hermosa

... the cold showers here upon returning...<br><br>all in all it was a nice relaxing time. Every 3 weeks or so we get a couple days off, so we shall see where 3 weeks brings me next time!<br> <br>as of right now i am mostly using the lab/data computer...and as such, am unable to post pictures and stuff...but as soon as i can, ill have some wonderful tropical beach shots for you....they may not all be poscard worthy...but they are still fairly nice!<br><br>-R

... me this entire time. The oil capacity is 4L, which is a little more than 4 quarts,...the left over will be for the occasional top-off. I found a gas station in La Fortuna and told the guy in Spanish that I needed to change my oil...he looked at the bike and told me it was impossible!...but once I told him I had my own tools and oil and only needed a little garage space, he was more than accommodating. It was great! Thirty minutes later we were done! Usually I would ...

... and circles! Also, we bumped into a car accident on one of the roads down to the Coast, and as the cars were blocking the path we had to wait for over an hour. The funny thing is that in accidents here (even when there are no victims) the police has to arrive and take measurements and notes. It took the police guy one hour to arrive and then he was investigating the scene as if it was something out of CSI! By the time we reached the ...

... that Tamarindo was too over run with tourists and was not an enjoyable destination. It's true, there are many Americans and Canadians there, but the beach is beautiful and the food delicious, and I was more than happy to spend a few days there. We also took a surfing lesson, which was much less traumatic than my first lesson in Tamarindo, but still by no means "easy".

... which made pretty good Pizzas...we still love pizzas. One day we got energetic and hiked up a steep dirt road into the jungle. We were told to look for a path off to the left that wound through the jungle, but we couldn't find it. What we did find was a large padlocked gate with a hole just big enough for us to squeeze through, well I only just squeezed through it, Mandy made it quite comfortably. Once through, the path took us deep into the jungle. Here we saw our first sighting of ...

... 3rd time I've seen it on this trip). The atmosphere in 2nd class was really good, almost like being in a mobile market; people sprawled on the floor, a small shop selling food and snacks a few people walking around selling stuff (one bloke was selling a lighter that had a built in torch...I couldn't reist for 45c). By 12 I was starting to regret not getting a first class ticket (2nd class $1.50, 1st class $3.50) as sleeping was almost impossible on the minimallly padded seats ...

... time. Forgive me for getting annoyed every once and a while, but that's how it has to be :). This morning in Monteverde we went ziplining through the canopy. Also absolutely a must-do. It is exhilarating every time...maybe not for the guides, but it's fun for me! This aftertoon I have taken time to myself and been preparing for the wine and cheese party tonight. Costa Rica has great cheese and coffee, who knew? I did ...

... other trips around, leaving her bags with me every time, the girl finally left to catch a taxi to Nicaragua, and Sarah and I got on a bus to Tamarindo. (I was able to keep up the Spanish-speaking charade almost to the end, too, but didn't quite make it until she left.) The bus to Tamarindo turned out to be one of the very-economy buses common on the Nicoya peninsula, with very small, plastic seats and people constantly standing in the aisles and using anything they could ...

... foot iguana with a white head that shows up every afternoon for fruit. In the backyard, howler monkeys swing by at their pleasure. Just off the balcony there's a hornets nest that Marc seems particularly proud of. Underneath the roof overhang, just around the corner from our balcony bedroom there's a family of bats. Marc has two big black dogs, probably just to keep these other creatures in check. Each morning with a dog on his left and a dog on his right they swim into the Pacific ...