Map of the Costa Rica Trip

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Say Goodbye John

Well, my last day in Costa Rica is just about perfect. I have been on my own for a couple of days after leaving my traveling group as scheduled. Today sky is clear at sunrise after wind and showers overnight. Bright flashes of lightning down the coast about three in the morning and the air is fresh now. Bird walk at 6:30, but it is still breezy, and not many birds are out. I enjoy the names of the ones that we do see - Melodious Blackbird, Broad-billed Ani, Plain Chachalaca, Inca Dove. After breakfast I meet a couple from the hotel for a horse trail ride with hotel guides - through the forest, then the small local community of Islita and finally a fast trot along the beach. She squeals when the horses poop; he likes to ride fast - opposites attract, I guess. Later I come back to Islita to stroll and take pictures and I like what I see. Most buildings have murals and art and it makes it feel special.

I called it a community because it is definitely not a town. Church, grocery store, cantina, football field, and a couple of galleries. Tomorrow morning is my flight back, but I am starting to feel comfortable here.

Rain

The rain on the roof sounds worse than it is. It comes and goes, following us as we are heading north. Every day has some rain but only a couple of downpours . Under a tin roof, you can't hold a conversation. The upside is the lush green vegitation everywhere. It is the end of the Rainy Season, which some Costa Ricans choose to call the Green Season. Tomorrow we head for better weather on the dry side of the country.

Do Not Look for Trouble

Arenal Volcano erupted suddenly and violently in 1968 and has been continuously erupting ever since, except when it is not. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, but it also has become quiet over the last couple of years, so nothing to see for us. Not that we can even see the volcano through the mist, but we are told that the view from our lodge is amazing.

In each room there is a card with emergency instructions that ends with:
Do Not Look for Trouble
Don't Panic
Always Remain Calm
Value Your Life
Words to live by under any circumstance.

Rain Forest / Cloud Forest

Sunday

Up early again to meet our group Leo (lay-o) is our guide and he picks us up at 7:00 sharp - then on the bus for a drive out to the coast. We are a small group of travelers from California, Upstate New York, Ottawa Canada, and Vermont (in process of moving to Costa Rica). First out to the coast for a walk in a coastal rain forest. On the way crocodiles are basking in muddy water underneath a bridge. They pose in a yin-yang arrangement for me.

Very hot and humid in the rain forest, but no rain and we have a nice walk.  Scarlet macaws flash overhead,making a racket. A brilliant blue morpho butterfly has a drab brown underwing and is almost invisible when it lands. Tiny poison dart frog is hard to see in the underbrush - about the size of my fingernail. How did Leo spot that? Spider monkeys scamper overhead in the high tree canopy. A column of leafcutter ants share the elevated path with us to avoid a flooded area. A sequence of experiences, but not so many photo opportunities,  so I try to absorb and remember. Eyeglasses fog over in the humidity.

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The coast is 5 minutes drive away and lunch is freshly caught mahi mahi, fruit juice, salad, and rice. We are in a small fishing village visiting a woman who prepared this great meal. Oh, and little coconut balls for desert. Then a three hour drive to the Monteverde cloud forest region.

  

The community was pioneered by American Quakers in the 1950's, and it is pretty remote. 5000 ft elevation at the end of a long partially paved access road. We settle in for the night and are up early for along walk in the morning. It is misty and drippy, but comfortable with a mild breeze as we walk through endless trees, ferns and mosses. The elevation and the mist create a separate environment that is not found just a little way down the hill. We hike on a path that has a lot of ups and downs and would be extremely slippery if it wasn't constructed with long stretches of concrete trail blocks or raised wooden boardwalks. Not one slip by anyone all day. The midpoint of the hike toutches the continental divide where you can see th e Pacific and the Caribbean on a clear day. Right. Much wind, rain and mist, but no oceans.

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Saturday

I got to San Jose last night after an easy trip connecting through Houston.  This morning I am up early with a dove outside my window (who-cooks-for-you?, who-cooks-for-you?).  Then out for a walk, but last night's drive into town from the airport is on my mind. I am paying extra attention at street crossings. Not that the drivers are bad drivers - just 'creative' and also maybe 'enthusiastic'. Those are words I wound use. I get to La Sabana Park and it's still early and not too crowded.  local football squads training and families out for bike rides. It's a big park and no doubt it was once grand, but now is a bit run down - rough pavement, boarded up bathrooms, that kind of stuff. Leaving the park, I amuse myself by photographing manhole covers along Paseo Colon.

This street is the local segment of the Pan-American Highway and it must be just about halfway from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Today big sections are closed for repair and resurfacing and this makes the drivers just a bit more anxious.

Nice walk through busy streets now that everyone is awake, and I'm on my way to some of the museums in the center of town. They are nice - Gold Museum, Jade Museum are modest displays, but beautiful stuff. What I am enjoying more, however, is the people watching. Not too may tourists except right around the museums, but a lot going on in the streets. Soon the clouds lower and look ominous, and I head back to the hotel as afternoon showers start.

Prep for Costa Rica

I'm trying to downplay my obsession with a packing ritual this time. In fact, I plan to be traveling light, but all that is relative since I always over-pack. Hardware is limited to a tablet computer and a small Panasonic GF2 camera and three lenses. But there is a bag of cables, batteries, chargers, thumbdrives, etc. - and that is pretty hefty. Oh, and binoculars, and a hiking stick/monopod. But relatively light. No special power adapters (CR is same power as US), no solar chargers (staying in nice inns), No backup camera (cellphone should manage). Weather is mild but a little rainy so clothing is pretty straightforward. There you have it.  

What the Flag Has to Say

The blue color represents the sky, ample opportunities, intellectual thinking, eternity, infinite and religious ideals and spiritual desires.White symbolizes happiness, wisdom, power and beauty of the sky, clear thinking, driving force of initiatives and the peace of Costa Rica. Red stands for the warmth of the people, their bloodshed for freedom, generous attitude and vibrancy.

 
As officially described, the coat of arms represent: three volcanoes (one for each of the three mountain ranges in the country) and an extensive valley between two oceans (Pacific Ocean and Caribbean) with a merchant ship in each one (representing the maritime history of the country). In the horizon a rising sun. All surrounded by a golden frame representing the golden bead (coffee). Two palms close the arms joined by a white ribbon with the legend "Republica de Costa Rica" in gold. An arch of seven stars represent the provinces of the republic. The arms are crowned by a blue ribbon with the legend "America Central"

The Mongolian Horse Trek Map

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Lisa's Thoughts

At the Hilton at Beijing Airport overnight, I am in limbo, neither home nor in Mongolia. I need to recapture Mongolia so I can leave this modern hotel that could be anywhere in the world and begin the emotional and physical trip back home. Mongolia was enormous wide grassy valleys rimmed with hills. The sound of fast poundinghooves became common. A boy just galloping for the joy of it, but more often to herd horses, sheep, goats, yaks, or cows. Unexpected rivers and curving streams cut through the valleys—the steppe. Small rounded white domes, one or two or a cluster in the distance—the nomads’ gers. All of this became commonplace in 10 days’ time. Riding 4 or 5 abreast, the horses nearly touching, I could look to the side and see 5 noses in a line. Thrilling to say to myself “I am riding a horse on the Mongolian steppe!” My horse Blackie with a missing ear; I was given some of his tail as a farewell gift. The boys—our wranglers—riding next to us, holding the lead rope and then proudly letting us ride on our own. Daylight until 10 pm, light at 4:30; a full moon on the horizon. Hot hot sun, sweat soaking us, flies thick on our hats and on the horses.

French cuisine served on a card table with often-warm beer. Lying in the tent in the evening listening to the boys, the guide, driver, and cook—our friends—playing cards until it was too dark to see. Sitting in the hot springs before breakfast, sun on the wet grass. And the wild horses! The takhi brought back from near extinction; champagne colored, the long curved distinctive nose—small groups of them on the hillsides in the early morning, grazing and moving slowly. All of these moments will stay with me forever. The hot, crowded city times will not.

Takhi

When I mentioned the wild takhi horses earlier, I didn't think we would see any on this trip, but I am wrong. Before leaving the US, we were able to change our itinerary to include a national park where the horses have been reintroduced. We were hoping to see part of the herd.  Starting out at 6 in the morning we look for groups feeding in the open before they retreat I to the trees during the heat of the day. It takes only 30 minutes of looking until we see them - moving slowly up to a ridge. They travel in small groups rather than a large herd. All the same coloration, soft brown against the lush green grass in morning light.



In a while are able to find another group and Lisa and I walk, following them as they graze. They sniff the air and maybe catch our scent, but they don't seem concerned. It a quiet moment but soon four vans of other visitors find us and our horses, and it is time for us to leave.

Unscheduled Rest Stop

4:30 - hot afternoon - middle of nowhere...

Timor may not be able to fix this one; he is putting his tools away. Got help from a trucker that stopped, but they were not able to get it going again. Cellphones work here and the call has gone out to find another car. We get back aboard and try limping along. No, this is not going to get us anywhere - maybe it's the fuel pump and Timor has no replacement. We have water, tea and snacks to ease the five hour wait until a new car and driver arrives and we are forced to say our goodbyes to Timor who will stay with his car until his son beings parts tomorrow. Very sad to see him by his car as we wave goodbye - it is like family.

Then three more hour drive and we arrive at our ger camp at 11:30. We had asked to stay at this camp because there is something special to see here tomorrow morning.

In the Shade

Morning. I ask for hot water in Mongolian. I tell the cook, in French, that Lisa likes her bacon well done. Italian pop group sings Hotel California on the Japanese van's CD player. Landscape looks like Montana. I am so confused. We will break camp later today and ride a short 3 hours to the end of our horse trek at a ger camp with hot springs. I am under the shade of a tree beside a running stream and it looks like it will be a hot day. Not a cloud to be seen. Mixed feelings about the end of this trek. My body is finding its rhythm, but my knees ache at the end of the day. I could probably go on for days, but look forward to a hot shower. The food has been great, but this morning I crave orange juice.  

GPS - where do we have to go today?

Lisa introduces Kindle to central Mongolia and we get a visit from a tiny tot riding bareback.