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.

_

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.

</p>

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.