La Quinta Sarapiqui

... Their smell was unmistakable and it is often known as 'skunk pig' for obvious reasons. When we got back to the reception area there were three Peccaries just wandering around. Apparently they can be quite aggressive and supposedly people have been killed by large groups but I have to say they didn’t look too dangerous to me.

The tour came to an end just before a heavy downfall started so we dived into the restaurant and helped ...

Our final stop for the day was at the Britt Coffee factory just outside of San Jose. We had a quick tour and stocked up on coffee as well as chocolate snacks. It was $5 per 12 ounce bag of coffee which is quite a deal. Britt is known to be one of the best coffees in Costa Rica. There was a presentation on how the ...

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... nationalities is becoming more and more apparent. Sweeping generalisations here (and I've met many many exceptions), but if i had to put it down on paper...

1) Young Americans are loud and stupid. This increases exponentially with group size and youth. Along with Canadians (usually a bit better...) they often don't have a ****ing clue but will speak as though they 'know', and don't stop speaking either. As in Ever. Being the center of attention and babbling ...

... apples) but I had to settle on Ontario apples. To balance things, I bought some Costa Rican bananas when I returned to Ottawa. The next day should have consisted of a fairly dull 5 hour plan ride from San Jose to Toronto followed by the red-eye flight to Ottawa. Of course, travel plans are merely suggestions, subject to the whims of weather. The winds were odd in San Jose, forcing the use of an alternate, slightly shorter runway. This, combined with San Jose's ...

... spew from with in its depth. The smell wasn't all that bad, as long as the wind continued to direct the emission away from the platform. However every now and then the distinct sulphur smell enveloped us. A little like being surrounded by a mob lighting matches or cracking open rotten eggs around us.

We decided to forgo the old road back to the parking area and instead took a small meandering trail. The trail led us past a volcanic lake and through a unique ...

... highlight of the city). This museum also housed a Numismatic collection (old coins and bills) from Spanish times. Finally, I had some mediocre coffee from the Teatro Nacional, apparently the prettiest building in the city. Ok, so San Jose is much better than Managua and Tegus combined. I am also glad that I just planned to stay here for a day. Canīt wait to get to Panama now!

... At our guide's urging, we raised our oars and clacked them together in a toast to "pura vida" every time we survived a run of rapids. He asked us what we thought of the term, and how to say it in English. I tried to explain, in Spanish, that while "pure life" is the direct translation, there's enough of a cultural barrier that "un dicho equivalente no existe en ingles." You have a culture of "pure life," I told him; we have a culture of work. He laughed, but I wasn't kidding.

... from his mouth while he worked) came to our motel, diagnosed our broken water pump, ordered the part, and had it fixed the next day, all at a price that didnīt blow the budget. Alas, though, all good things must come to an end, and we pulled up anchor at Chilamate on September 19, hoping that the worst of rainy season was now behind us. Highlights - Having friends (at least we still hope it`s the case) like Meghan and Davis who allowed us to set up camp (in a cabin ...

... I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle it. But then I started thinking about how I am such a puss if three ladies somewhere in their 50s can outlast me. I got picked up at 6am (thats pretty damn early for me) and we took off for the forrest. Mema, Liz, and Ire are all really cool and we had a pretty good time on the ride finding out about each other. It was awesome to work on my spanish with them. They were quite good about correcting me ...