Costa Rica 2024

I had a night with Montezuma's revenge. Woke up in the middle of the night and my intestines were determined to completely evacuate. I felt ok and eventually got back to bed. Woke up a couple of hours later with a diarrhea attack and did not make it to the bathroom. Washed out my clothes and eventually got back to bed again. Slept the rest of the night but when I woke up in the morning, Tim was in the bathroom. Ran downstairs to the hotel bathroom and ended up feeling pretty bad for about 30 minutes. Cold sweats and feeling like I was going to faint. Laid on the floor for a while and it eventually passed. Managed to get showered and get myself together to get on the bus. Feeling decent but pretty compromised and weak.  We drove for about 90 minutes or so to the first stop - a wildlife sanctuary.  It was very hot - about 94 - with crazy humidity. We had a guide who took us through and showed us all the animals and birds. My stomach hurt pretty bad but I was hanging in there. I ...

Today is my 67th birthday. Never in a million years did I think I would be celebrating this day without David. I've felt pretty emotionally centered most of the time here. Had a few hours where the tears didn't want to stop. Today was a combination of happiness and sorrow, for sure. Tim went and got me a beautiful latte while I was doing my morning shower. He hollered at me to wrap a towel around myself and come out when he got back. It was so sweet of him and his love is strong and solid. I appreciate his kindness so much. We had breakfast at the hotel today and it was delicious. Headed to the St. Elena Cloud Forest right after breakfast. This was a beautiful rain forest that was so densely populated with forest that you could see nothing but jungle from every angle. Our hiking goal today, per our tour guide Jimmy, was to see the rare Quetzal bird. This is the most beautiful bird in Costa Rica and it is their time to nest right now. We were unable to see one however. The chall...

 Another early morning. Suitcases had to be out of the room by 6:45 am which meant we were up and showering before 6 am. Trying to keep my backpack light which will stay with me today. The suitcase will stay on the bus he and ended up being ridiculously heavy.  Tim and I got our suitcases outside ready for pickup and headed down for breakfast. I found myself eating less than usual, probably due to the huge dinner I had the night before. I really don't want to go home with a bunch of extra weight but it feels inevitable.  After breakfast, we boarded the bus for the Mistico Hanging Bridges Reserve. This place is so beautiful that it will take your breath away. The jungle is everywhere but it is manicured to allow the beauty to shine. We wandered through at our incredibly slow pace, seeing everything there is to see. The suspension bridges were really cool, so much to see and appreciate.   After the reserve, we headed to Lake Arenal and boarded a boat. It was a pea...

Today was a bit more of a leisurely morning. The bus was scheduled to depart at 8:30 and we had plenty of time for a shower and breakfast. Tim was up since 4 am unable to sleep. But he is pretty incredible. Just keeps going and is never unhappy about anything!  At 8:30, we left for the Arenal Volcanic region to hike to the 1992 lava flows. The day was incredibly beautiful. Sunny with blue skies and we could see the volcano in all its glory from every angle. Jimmy told us that this was not to be taken for granted as it only happens about 20-30% of the time. The hike was easy and so beautiful. At the top, we could see the steam rising from the volcano on one side and the other side was a view of Lake Arenal.  Back on the bus after our hike, we headed to the sustainable farm where we were scheduled to have lunch. The group assisted in the harvesting of a few vegetables prior to lunch. Lunch was delicious and all the food we ate was grown on the farm. After lunch, we toured the fa...

Today was the day to say good bye to the Le Cameleon Hotel in Puerta Viejo and make our trek to the Arenal region. We had our customary breakfast by the water. I'm doing better at eating less and staying close to my normal food and I feel much better. The ocean was really boiling today and red flags are everywhere on the beaches. Not a day for the faint of heart to swim!  Got on the buses at 9:00 am and started our long day. Jimmy helped pass the time on the bus by sharing Costa Rican geography and history with us while we drove. He hung a map of Costa Rica at the front of the bus and used a laser to talk to us about all sorts of interesting subjects. I could never remember it all but I do remember him talking about the different Teutonic plates. And another thing that captured my interest was the building of a dry passageway across Costa Rica. With climate change, the Panama Canal is in trouble and boats are getting backed up there for months. The project for a dry passage way wil...

 Mar 4 - Day 3 Last night's dinner lived up to the billing. Got something called Churrasco Tico which is a slab of beef that is much like prime rib with an amazing sauce. It was absolutely delicious but I could not possibly eat all of it. I forced myself to only have a few bites of the passion fruit mousse. It was so sweet. By the time we returned home from the restaurant, I was so tired that I could barely move. I crawled into bed and slept eight hours without stirring.  We had a more relaxed morning today. Woke up around 6 am, showered and went and ate a leisurely breakfast at the hotel restaurant. We were sitting oceanside and it was simply gorgeous. After breakfast, we headed to Cahuita National Park. We hiked on a flat trail through the rainforest alongside the ocean, stopping often to see all the many animals and birds in the forest, as well as learn much about the Costa Rica ecosystem. It was so beautiful and I felt peace and contentment welling up inside me. Such soul ...

Day 1 - March 2  Today was a huge travel day. I got up at 5 am in California and my new boy friend, Matt, drove me to the airport. Nobody has provided taxi service for me for eons and I can't believe how sweet he was to do this for me. It sure was nice. The flight was on time and uneventful to Miami. I actually managed to get a bit of work done prior to getting on the plane. Had a couple of hours in Miami, grabbed a salad and met Tim. We boarded the plane for San Jose, Costa Rica on time again! The flight was also smooth and easy. But when we disembarked, the lines for immigrations were LONG. Took us close to an hour to get through. I was embarrassed when the border agent wanted to know what hotel we were staying at and I had no idea and couldn't figure out how to get to this information on the EF Tours apps. The border agent finally helped me. I felt old. Good grief. Wouldn't have happened if Joanne had been with me. We had paid for airport transfers for our hotel with EF ...