Costa Rica

So .... 50% of us got up to put the suitcases out and take advantage of what was actually a very good breakfast and then off we went. First stop 8:30 for a second breakfast ( there's an awful lot of eating on this holiday! )

We were heading for the Tortuoguero Rain Forest National Park. Tortuoguero is most famousuitable for the long Beach where every year thousands of female green and leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs. It can only be reached by boat - a 1 hour trip up river to the economy lodges (no wifi or TV - hoorah ). The whole area is carefully protected and visitor numbers are strictly limited.

We had 2 days here - and what a fantastic 2 days they were. Although this is not strictly a specialist wildlife holiday we were very lucky to spot an amazing variety of animals, birds and plants. We saw capuchin,  spider and howler monkeYstrad and sloths, crocodiles, giant iguanas and snakes including a, luckily very sleepy, boa constrictor, toucans, macawso and several species of herons and egrets including a beautiful female tiger heron sitting on her nest and not batting an eyelid as the guides pulled the boats up to within inches of her.

Today is day 4 and is just a transfer day from Tortuoguero to Arenal, near the country's most famous and still active volcano. So what could possibly go wrong?

We had the return trip on the river, spotted another crocodile and back to the dock in perfect time. But shortly into the road trip the AC on the coach failed and proved to be not  repairable. So we stopped for lunch while the driver and tour manager phoned HQ desperately trying to sort out an alternative. Good news - there's  another coach available. Bad news, it's going to take a couple of hours to arrive. So with temperatures approaching 30° they decided to take us to a local fruit market and lay on a buffet while we waited (and waited and waited!)

Eventually the replacement arrived and we were on our way again. And here we are in a very swish hotel with stunning views of the volcano (and prices to match ). Just had a very nice dinner and chilling before a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow we have an excursion up to the Cano Negra park, near the Nicaraguan border and another river trip so loads of scope for further wildlife spotting. 

Night, night everyone.

In the rain forest the temperatures were up near 30° and, we were told, 75% humidity so, yes, very muggy!

Just been out for a pre-breakfast stroll and to try to get some shots of the volcano, but it rained overnight and this morning it's shrouded in cloud, but this is what it should look like courtesy of Google images! 

The grounds of this hotel are stunning, so I'll try to post some more pictures this evening after dinner. 

Micky - you'll  have the time of your life, it's an amazing country with so much going on and such a huge diversity of flora and fauna. So much more than the wedding/honeymoon and beach venue it's sometimes thought of!

One thing worth knowing if you're bringing cash. US dollars are pretty much universally accepted and  actually preferred to the local currency (colones). We made the mistake of just bringing colones and the exchange rate is not very good - you get billed in dollars and changed at 570 colones to 1 dollar. So bring a small amount of colonies for local shops and supermarkets but use dollars as your main currency.

Today is a rest day so a chance to explore the area around the hotel a bit more thoroughly. I just walked around the grounds before breakfast to take some shots before it gets busy.

Because it's so close to the volcano all the water is at a constant 38.4°C so warm enough to sit in comfortably! 

I've also just seen through the binoculars possibly the most beautiful bird I've ever seen - an American Swallow-Tail Kite - but you'll have to take my word for that because there was absolutely no chance of a photo of that one. 

Steve - the volcano last erupted in 1968 so it's pretty stable now but does still produce clouds of steam on a clear day ( which we haven't seen so far!)

One - oddly enough, I was talking to the chap behind me on the boat yesterday about his bridge camera. I'll have to have a good look at those when we get home.

Micky - all you really need in the way of waterproofs is a light jacket. On the boats they have ponchos (we got caught in a really heavy downpour on one trip and they were great.) There are umbrellas in all the hotels. You tend to get really heavy downpours for, maybe 15 minutes, and then it clears up and everything dries out very quickly. Which company are you going with?

We've had to work really, really hard at resting today! 

When we got back from breakfast the maid had already been in to clean the room and left us this very clever towel arrangement - real rose petals too!

Then we went down to the thermal springs. I don't usually do water, but this was too good an orrortunity to miss. At 38°C it's like sitting in a bath and never needing to top up the hot water. 

Even the volcano decided to play ball - well, almost!

This evening we're off on a night trek, frog spotting, although I think it's likely to end up more of a mosquito dodging trek.

We're heading up into the mountains and the Cloud Forest at Monteverde today, stopping on the way for a walk on the 1968 lava trails. You can hardly see the volcano this morning, it rained overnight and it's completely shrouded by cloud now.

Micky - you just need a couple of UK to US compatible plug adaptors. They work fine, though it takes a bit longer for kettles to boil than at home!

Well the journey to Monteverde was an adventure all by itself! The last 20 miles or so are along an unmetalled road, quite tortuous with several sharp bends and very steep. I was glad the coach driver was doing all the work.

There is a very touching historical story about the road. At the outbreak of the Korean War, 44 Quakers families left the US and made their way south eventually reaching the only place that allowed them to settle, here in Monteverde. It could only be reached on horseback and there was no running water or electricity. But they were made welcome. As a mark of gratitude the families proceeded to construct a wider track down to civilisation! One can only imagine the effort involved.

Anyway the journey was well worthwhile because we're now up in the cloud forest and the views are superb, especially down to Arenal lake from our room. 

Tomorrow we go into the forest and take the sky tram up the mountain, then 50% of us have signed up for zip lining. If we survive that we take the "hanging bridges walk", a system of suspension bridges up in the forest canopy. It's going to be a very exciting day!