And the Rest of the Caribbean Coast...

It´s been a few days since we´ve had access to a computer....but, we´re still here. Let us play some catch up!

From Puerto Viejo we rented a motorbike for the day/night and scooted farther south down the coast to Manzanillo, and then backtracked to Playa Uva where we found a great bungalow to spend the night. Our tiny abode was nestled into the jungle, however, the ocean was in full view as soon as we stepped out the door. Beautiful.

*Allow us to backpedal and mention that this day in particular turned out to be continuous string of challenges. We woke (me quite pathetic with not only a sunburn, but the first twinges of Montezuma´s Revenge, which fully developed throughout the day) to find a couple of minor possessions had been taken. Just a flashlight & our new giant bottle of clean water. Obviously not a huge deal, but still...NO STEALING!!! Despite our efforts in prevention, Ray later joined me in the sunburn department...and our bike feeling a little left out got a flat.

Over the following two days we took a handful of buses to the small river port of Pavona, where we hopped into a small boat that puttered us down the most amazingly beautiful canals and rivers to the village of Tortuguero. Tortuguero, which literally means turtle place, is best known for it´s hordes of hatching turtles (unfortunately, it is not currently turtle season). However, the area instantaneously became our favorite thus far....it is amazing! Toruguero is only accessible by plane or by boat, which creates the notion that you are in an secret haven. No cars and an abundance of wild life....can´t get much more remote. We spent the next couple of days exploring the Parque Nacional Tortuguero, which is completely riddled with monkeys, crocodiles, various lizards, birds, you name it. We took a 5:30am canoe tour, followed by a hike later in the afternoon. We were required to rent rubber boots for the hike, if a snake strikes it´s most likely to strike between the ankle and the knee.....comforting. Beautiful beautiful beautiful...We would recommend this area to anyone.

After 3 days and 3 nights here, we bused back to San Jose in preparation to head NW. We connected once more with Jairo & Maria, who took us to an amazing restaurant with the most incredible view of San Jose. We feasted on authentic Costa Rican cuisine while a handful of teenage traditional Costa Rican dancers provided us with energetic and colorful entertainment. A WONDERFUL night....thank you again Jairo and Maria. This morning we hopped back on a bus to La Fortuna, a town at the base of Volcan Arenal. We have an incredible view of the massive volcano from our hostel window....surreal. We will be hiking the base tomorrow afternoon, followed by dinner and then a dip in the natural hot springs.

XOXO

K & R