We got off the ship about 1300 hours and were going to take a taxi to the doubletree, but we were stopped by one of the ship's contracted van drivers and he offered to take us, so I tipped him $5 USD. The doubletree was very nice; a far cry from the accommodations on the ship. I got on the internet and tried to send all the backed up messages, …

What a great day yesterday. The Manual Antonio National park guide we had was great. He was very knowledgeable and most helpful. The park is quite large and well worth seeing and the coastal scenery is spectacular. This hotel is quite nice and above my expectations. Clean, nice, good staff, good food, REAL hot water! no real complaints, except …

We are on our way to Monteverde on highway 34 out of Quepos. It is a good road, but still has bumps and curves. It is bit harder to type in a moving car than I thought. We just past a big African palm oil plantation, and a shrimp farm. The shrimp farm owner maximized his use of resources by planting teak trees along the perimeter and along the …

What a day. Breakfast at the hotel was great. Louise, our waiter, took good care of us. French toast, 2 eggs over easy, toast, fresh fruit and fresh mixed fruit juice and coffee! I ate it all and got on the bus to the rainforest.

First was the zip lining thru the rain forest! What a hoot!! They strap you into a harness and hook you to a steel …

Let me update you on Monday evening: I stopped by the bar on the way to supper at the hotel and met an interesting character along with a nice young lady bartender. After a great dinner that Louise, our waiter, recommended, I returned to the bar to continue my conversation. The fellow tells me he is 73 and a former sea captain on commercial …

We just got back from the Arenal volcano tour. We walked up a private nature trail to the base of the volcano. It is 1700 meters high. We could only walk up the volcano about 300 meters, as per the law. Pablo was our guide and he showed us all the flora and fauna of the cloud forest. He found a hummingbird nest ..fantastic! A little later he …

Tortugero

Morning canal boat trip

Transfer back to San Jose