Adios Costa Rica
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
1
22
Trip End
Jan 20, 2009
San Jose,
Province of San Jose,
Costa Rica
Monday, December 8, 2008
I'm going to start with the weather. WET. If it's not been raining it's just stopped & if it's just stopped it's just beginning again! It's rained so much picturesque, inviting, calm streams have transformed overnight into angry, raging torrents sweeping anything that dares to stand or cross it, tourists, trees, 20,000 homes & locals all included. Even the engineering genius of the 757 didn't dare land/take off for a short time. But this morning after 17 days we´re sitting outside under blue skies in San Jose soaking up every ray on offer with fingers crossed that my blotchy skin will benefit. It turns out I'm allergic to something in CR, rain, rain forest or simply just CR, add to that an acute case of ¨travelers burn¨out, a broken into hotel room which rewarded them with our laptop, mobile, torch & my much needed rain coat & an increasingly cynical attitude, enforced greatly by the police as they requested a $200 ¨administration fee¨ for a crime report, which we turned into a $200 ¨reward¨, only for the safe return of our laptop
Green tree frog, San Jose
. Sadly no return of the laptop to report but we did get a stamped & signed ¨fee free¨ crime report. And in case your wondering, all 10,000 odd pictures were backed up on our portable hard drive, which is now transported from safe to safe like gold bullion.Decision made.
So now with VERY broad smiles we can confirm we land back in, what I read is a snowy, freezing UK, at 10.30am December 15th 2008 after spending 6 nights in San Francisco spoiling ourselves at the Orchard hotel, Union Square & paying some much needed attention to my neglected wardrobe!
But it hasn't all been bad,
- Michael´s had a fantastic time diving at Cocos, I think he´s blogged you on ALL the details!
- I´ve taken myself off to Parque Nacional Cocorvado, on the Peninsula De Osa, southern CR. Famously described by National Geographic people as ¨the most biologically intense place on Earth¨. Squawking scarlet macaw´s were early morning visitors to the almond trees that fringed the beaches, along with monkeys, Baird's tapir´s, toads bigger than my fist, shy blue crabs, toucans, tiny hummingbirds, electric blue butterflies, a distant sloth, humpback whale, whale shark, giant trees & plenty of unpleasant biting sand flies!
- I´ve slept soundly through CR´s largest earthquake in years. A sizable 6.2 on the Richter scale.
Mud glorious mud!
- We´ve had great fun zip lining through the rain forest canopy at the base of Volcano Arenal, central America´s most active volcano.- Enjoyed eating huge amounts of gallo pinto, stir fried rice & black beans with fried plantains.
- I´ve been to watch James Bond. Did not disappoint with the usual car, plane, street, roof top, opera, posh hotel fight scenes or Bond girls but what struck me was how very little dialect there really was.
All we have left to do now is pack.....It will be a pleasure!
See you all very soon,
Lots of Love
Suzy & Michael
¨The Gringos¨
