Villas Lirio Manuel Antonio National Park

... The trip took us through acres of Palm Oil plantations, I recognised them from a previous trip to Borneo adn wnadered what had been felled to make way for this hideous crop. We also had to cross over a very rickety and rusty bridge. Next to it a brand new bridge was being constructed but it was not finished and for the moment this single lane bridge was all that would take us over the river below. There was no traffic light system so you just had to wait for a break in the ...

... the pool and Peter, David and I are just hanging out with drinks in our hands (in the pool.... yeah - life is hard). As usual once 4 p.m. comes around so do the Capuchin Monkeys. A sight we never get tired of. Evelyn and I are playing volleyball in the pool until dusk and then Evelyn made a great French Onion Soup for dinner. We watch some Planet Earth on DVD and fall asleep.... another day in Paradise.

... sympathy from me if it goes pear shaped. Rant over, but never knowingly stay in a resort hotel -OK - particularly if they pretend to be eco by encouraging you to reuse towels (after they put in a/c, a swimming pool, numerous toilets, TVs and swept away the forest in the first place). Friday sees us on the first bus (7.35!) to the Park & the beach before our afternoon transfer to San Jose.

... the women. Why are American women so bossy? And loud? It's so unattractive. Give some of them a uniform and omg... talk about the Helga syndrome. I try to retain my boarding pass as I recall that last time I went through one of these checkpoint Charlie's that I left it in the tray with my laptop. You'd think I'd remember such a rudimentary step of passing through the x-ray machine after doing it say four thousand times already. Somehow the TSA ...

... After about 1 hour when we reached the top of the Manuel Antonio peninsula there was a sudden break in the rain, and strong warm wind started blowing much to our happiness. We just stood on the path drying our clothes off and enjoying the warmness. However we did keep commenting "this must be the calm that preceeds the storm"! There must be something very true about sayings, as after a few minutes of warm winds a strong storm unleashed with lighting ...

... and expect any of it to dry by the time you'd like to wear it. 4. Do not wash white clothes with an aqua-marine towel, even though it's all cold water, and expect that your white clothes won't look different when they come out. 5. Bring another shirt next time, or go buy one before the next time you do laundry. ;-)

... 41-year-old mother, has told me that I play with the kids far more than the other students they've had stay with them. (They've had a few doozies, apparently -- one young woman didn't return home until 5 one morning and was seen kissing some young man. It all worried Inez to death.) Dylan and I play Jenga (or, more accurately, we use the blocks to make bridges and stores and I learn lots of new words each time). We also play ...

... and therefore much more visible than in Corcovado for example which is a vast area. We had fabulous views of 2 and 3 toed Sloths, Capuchin. Howler and Spider monkeys, iguanas, coati and agouti. Louise was playing fetch with a crab (don't ask!) on the beach when suddenly an enormous iguana raced across the sands thinking she was providing a free snack. I haven't seen that girl turn and run so fast since she pursued Take That's limo up  the drive of Sopwell House ...

... had to leave the following morning that we arrived, but the rest of us signed up to go white water rafting on the Pacuare River. Being the middle of the rainy season, it turned out to be some pretty good rafting. The river has class 3 and 4 rapids and is rated one of the top 10 rivers for rafting in the world. Nobody fell out of our raft, although there were some close calls, so I guess it was a good day. It was by far the best rafting that I had ever ...

... Gabriella's leaving party is also a success, as we all get pretty much drunk and end up dancing to cheesy old tunes. And so the days go by, sunbathing, boogie boarding, walking in the rainforest, spotting animals. All mixed with a cold beer or two. And I will continue to look for the elusive paradise. Next up is Puerto Jimenez and Corcovado National Park in the far South-West. It's probably not paradise, but I still have high hopes for the place.