As we age and experience more in life it is harder and harder to have new experiences. This trip was full of delightful firsts. Here is a list: First cup of coffee First hanging bridges walk First guided tour First hummingbird sitting on my finger First Tucan in the wild First time seeing monkeys in the wild First night hike
Interbus in Costa Rica is a great way to get around. The drivers are multi-lingual (although all encouraged me to practice my Spanish, as have most Costa Ricans), courteous, and good,safe drivers. The trip from Tamarindo to downtown San Jose took a little over five hours. Even the paved roads (except the new toll road) are bad and I am
The food at Rip Jack is delicious. I went back in the evening after watching the sunset, for dinner. I had the mahi mahi with some sort of mango and wine sauce that was terrific. I think I need to add “sauces” as my next cooking goal. I splurged and got a flour less chocolate cake for dessert that was
I went to yoga at a hotel, Rip Jack, just down the road from Las Tortugas. The class stared at 8 am and because there is a private yoga retreat there at the moment, Annie’s regular class was held by the pool. She did a nice job asking everyone what there issues were and tailored the class to some of those
There is some sort of turtle study group just a block from Las Tortugas that takes trips to a beach not far from here to see the turtles come out of the sea at night to lay eggs. The black turtles are large, I would guess three to four feet. They make their way out of the water, way up
I heard from Fen, the woman who lives in Winnipeg, that people go out on the beach early in the morning and help the tutles that hatch to the ocean by smoothing out the footprints they sometimes get hung up on. This beach is a nesting and hatching ground for the leastherback turtles, a huge animal that can weigh up
A Canadian couple, Fen and Ray, are also at Las Tortugas. I met Fen the first night at sunset when we chatted about not liking our “Rancho” rooms. The guide, Jonathon, was also there, drumming up business for the estuary tour. This morning I rode to the canoe entrance site with Fen and Ray. Two other couples were also on
The cab driver of the cab I hopped into didn’t know Panacea de la Montana and had to call for directions. This place was recommended to me by two of my yoga students. The place is a good 10 minutes up the hill from Tamarindo, away from the high energy, wind and heat. Mary, the proprietor, was kind enough to
I walked the beach of Playa Grande to the water taxi that shuttles people across the estuary to Tamarindo. The guide at Las Tortugas, Jonathon, said the walk would be about 25 minutes. To the estuary it took me 45 minutes and then it is another hot 10 minutes to the town of Tamarindo. By the time I got there
Some of you have asked me about the way people live here compared to Ecuador, the prices of things, and the amount of English spoken. So, here are some of my thoughts. Ecuador and Costa Rica have some major similarities. Both countries have a “back in time” feel. There is a disregard for safety, although, there is more safety protocol