Hotel la Diosa Cahuita

... or sloths.<br>Then we came across a sloth in a nearby tree, easy to photograph as they are not too speedy.<br>We came across the first park exit signs with 3.5km to go. Eventually when we are out of the reserve proper about 2km from the bus stop, we hear what sounds like a dog barking and see a pair of howler monikers high in a tree.<br>After that it was just a stroll to the bus stop and our first experience of bus travel for the 6km ride back to Cahuita.

... laecheln! Schaut selbst auf den Fotos.<br><br>Am naechsten Morgen sind wir wieder frueh auf den Socken, und per Kanu fahren wir langsam durch die angrenzenden Kanaele. Wir sehen auch hier einige Faultiere, diesmal aber in freier Natur, und viele faszinierenden Voegel und Reptilien. Wir lernen auch am Geschmacksbeispiel den Unterschied zwischen wilden und gezuechteten Bananen kennen. Interessanterweise haben wilde Bananen erstaunlich grosse Kerne (etwa so gross wie beim Apfel ...

... the total amount in Colones by 5 and you get a rough USD figure. So, a 10,000 bill (Colones) would be roughly $20.00 USD. I have always had a *************verting money but this isn't hard. It seems strange to eat and the check comes and the total is 18,500. Hmm, let's see, that would convert to be approximately $37.00 USD. I spent the afternoon writing postcards, I want to get them out in the mail tomorrow, it will be a surprise as ...

... watched in awe as the local kids dived off head-first. Some of the testosterone-fuelled tourists jumped off after about half an hour of deliberating but I was far too chicken to do it myself... I tried the rope swing instead! Much more gentle, although extremely ungainly. Anyway my arms and legs were in agony for DAYS after so I decided to just mong out for a while. Myself and the 4 girls I met rented an apartment in the town for a few days in the town and so I slept on a ...

... the soda of choice here so I had an orange drink too. After gathering everyone together, we got in his van, and drove and drove and drove. The websie for my first hotel, Hotel Buena Vista, says it's 10 minutes from the aiport, but it was more like 40. I was the second dropoff and when I got to Hotel Buena Vista, it was about 11:30. My hotel room was massive, nearly the size of my entire living room and dining room at home. I had a small ...

... On one end of town is Playa Negra (black beach) and on the other Playa Blanco (white beach) and everything in between is Caribbean inspired, lush and tropical. Most of the tourists here are Europeans....lots of German and French overheard. Today I took a boat out onto the water portion of the park, and went snorkeling. The reef itself wasn't very colorful, but the fish were spectacular. And the brain coral were huge. I am glad I made the effort. It was well worth the trip. So ...

... tried to get some shut-eye in the relentless humidity. It's pretty much 100% humidity all the time, and even the massive amount of rain doesn't do anything to cool things off. It rains on and off for most of the day, and we had 99 mm over the course of one day. That's about 1/5 of Edmonton's annual rainfall... I went out on turtle patrol on my second night, from 9-1. We walk 14km on the beach in the pitch black, with no lights to show the poachers where we are (we can use ...

... is more driftwood and dead coral right up to the beach. The coolest part, though, is the rain forest, which comes right up to the beach in parts, and has thousands of protected acres north and south of the town, including where I stared. The protected rainforest and animal preserve starts a couple of kilometers south of town down the potholed, unpaved, axle-breaking (I saw one such car) road. I was told that many of ...

... I had seen at the other beaches, and was far less crowded. Indeed, it appeared that most of the people at the beach were locals from the area, which gave it a far less touristy vibe than the other beaches. However, the sun was extremely strong, so we retired to the beach bar for a few drinks and lunch. The bar was pretty international--the bartenders were from Argentina and South Africa, and one of the other patrons was from Italy. Everyone ...

... do it again and recommend it to anyone! From Boquete, we headed northeast, crossing the continental divide of Panama and dropping along the Caribbean coast to make the trip into Caribbean Costa Rica. Within minutes of leaving the bus station, the scenery changed dramatically. No longer passing by cement-block houses, the road twisted past wooden shacks...a distinctly Caribbean feel. We stayed a few days in ...