Hotel Playa Hermosa

... Five hundred yards is equal to the length of five football fields. Just imagine paddling 500 yards duckdiving your way through six foot sets. Boca Barranca is a humbling wave but worth the price if you're in the right place at the right time. Pura Vida!

... try out their English. The staff took us on a tour of their school and we learned how Costa Rican schools operate. Read about it on Avispa's Adventures Web site, www.avispasadventures.com, under "Community Involvement." Without a doubt, this was one of the highlights of our trip. We got in the narrow covered boats for our water trip in the Palo ...

... then scouts ahead again. It is very persistent. We also did a zip-line tour over the canopies, which gave a dramatic birds-eye view of the forest. The rest of our time included the Orchid Garden, the cheese factory tour, World of Insects, exploring town and more yummy food. We stayed at Los Pinos Cabanas, which was fine. It is private, with a full kitchen, but I recommend it only as a second choice.

... cool...), we checked into Ranch Grande hostel which is owned by an American or Canadian or something of the sort. The place is OK, with rooms apparently clean and spacious, and the beach is only 50 metres away...however several horror stories relate to this place: - Cockroaches immediately infest the place the moment you turn the light off (as Steffi found out when he left his luggage open during dinner) - the towels they gave us had ...

... we were met with a champagne welcome. What a way to start a holiday! We had dinner and drinks and enjoyed the tropical air. We also were excited to greet my dad and Melanie who had arrived on a different flight. Too much excitement for one day, we went to bed early. Friday Feb 1st, Orientation day. Ryan and I had a lazy day (really not wanting to hurt ourselves before the wedding). They had an orientation at ...

... Hermosa) to no avail, and it was the same case in Quepos, so our video camera remained out of action for the majority of our time in Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio National Park is situated just south of Quepos. The road to the entrance is a narrow, steep road with spectacular views of the jungle and the Pacific Ocean. To enter the park you have to cross a small creek about 3 metres wide. Shoes off, cross the creek, shoes back on. There are a number of jungle backed beaches in the ...

... kip. Every 3 hours the ferry would dock and a few people would disembark and even more would get on. The shouting seating manager (big fella, not to be trifled with) chastised people who were taking up too much space (me included) and miracuously everyone got a seat. Finally to everyones relief we arrived in San Carlos at 5.30 am (pitch black). Me and the really nice couple Anne-Marie (Irish girl who comes from near Doneghal but lived in Madrid for the last 5 years) and Antoine ...

... my own right now, I couldn't imagine having been with someone for the last 3 years and now getting married. To each his own, I suppose. They are doing things I won't do for a while. Anyway, neither here nor there. I'm having a blast, and that's what matters. It's just so odd, they are so young. Lalala. Going to set up for the party now before the bakery closes and I can't get cake for the birthday girl. Back again once I am in Quepos.

I finally made it out of Puntarenas. I just got back from Playa Hermosa/Jaco. I loved it. The beaches are different there. There is big black sand and pebbles. And it was soooooo hot and humid. But the fauna is greener and bigger and beautiful. Oh and did I mention there was a Surf Competition in Hermosa. It was pretty interesting. Lots of internationally known surfers, of course I had no idea who anyone was but they certainly were fun. I stayed in a little tin roof shack ...

... quite the same as ours. We were able to find the water-taxi across the estuary at the north end of town fairly easily, and we were dropped off at the beach on the other side with the instructions to go "That way. 30, 40 minutes." before the kid motored off again. We stared in dismay at the completely deserted beach in front of us, and, since we really didn't see another option, started walking. And walking. And walking. Walking in sand carrying packs is not easy at the best ...