Re-arranging My Age Time Zone

This post finds us in the interior of Costa Rica, near the Monteverde Cloud Forest. We spent our first full day hiking through the many trails in the reserve. Not a lot of 4 legged creatures but we spotted plenty of bird species, lots of tree moss and made our way to a lovely viewpoint of the Continental Divide which extends through the centre of the country. It was a clear sunny day.....shady in the cloud forest.....but the lack of clouds at our higher altitude made it look like just like a rain forest, rather than a misty cloud forest. The following day provided an opportunity to pretend we were young again. On the one year anniversary of my first skydive........2 mile free fall in 60 seconds (120 mph) with my tandem guide before he pulled the rip cord.....it was time get Pocahontas up in the air on some zip-lines. We waited until arriving here because the longest zip-lines in Latin America would be on our doorstep. We did 10 zip-lines in total with the 2 longest being just under 1.6 km from end to end. I did both using the 'Superman' option where I was connected to the zip-line cable by my back centre rather than my hips, while my partner opted for the conventional zip-line trip. We both did a rappel from a high platform and I finished the day with a Tarzan swing which had the best adrenaline rush when stepping off the platform and dropping 45 metres before the strong rope propelled me forward just before approaching ground level. It was a lot of fun and our aging bodies had no ill effects the following day.

We departed Santa Elena the same way we came in with a van - boat - van trip to the Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific coast (our 3rd water involved transfer in a row), although instead of a small boat it was a ferry crossing the 40 km wide Nicoya Gulf. The ferry provided a smooth passage, the water protected from the Pacific waves by the peninsula, with many scenic islands along the way. Following a mostly pot-holed, gravel road to the coast we made it to our Santa Teresa destination. The ocean was only 100 metres from our room so we walked down to the beach to see magnificent clear sky sunsets both evenings.....the second time accompanied with adult beverages. The beach closest to us was Playa Carmen, a well renowned surfer beach. Several trips to the beach saw it filled with surfers, newbies and well tanned locals, so other than a short foray into the crashing surf, we opted for the calm waters of our hotel pool, while mingling with the 90% younger crowd at dinner time.

With a plan to finish our Costa Rica time along the Pacific coast of the Nicoya Peninsula, with no coastal road bus access, we decided to rent a car for the first time on this Central America adventure. Not sure why we did since after seeking advice we still decided to avoid the rough, gravel road along the coast to head back inland, and then back again, to proceed further up the coast, just like the local bus does. In any event it allowed us to find lovely accommodation away from the beach towns with great views down to the ocean. We settled in the tiny village of Playa Negra at a fascinating in-progress resort. It must have been designed by a brilliant architect, using local tree limbs and concrete to create beautiful surroundings, including a waterfall pool and a comfortable spot for nightly fire pit gatherings. They are still working on more small buildings so it will become even more popular over time. All the nearby beaches appealed to the surfer crowd more than us so we spent less time there than at our incredible property.

We have now moved further north up the coast to the busy beach town of Tamarindo. Developed in the middle of a crescent shaped, light brown sand beach, with lots of bars and restaurants close to the ocean, it will be quite a change from our recent digs. It will still be a relaxing finish to our time in Costa Rica.

Monteverde Cloud Forest - many beautiful flowers along the trails that get watered almost daily by the surrounding mist from the Pacific clouds.

Looking along the Continental Divide from our trail viewpoint

Crossing another hanging (suspension) bridge while walking through the Cloud Forest.

All geared up for our virgin Zip-line adventure. My previous research had identified this particular place as having the longest zip-lines in Latin America so why not start with the best?

Pocahontas on her way. Always a good idea to let your partner go first to test out the line......and hold onto the camera to hide your personal fear from being displayed.

Playa Carmen (near Playa Negra) watching the sun go down and the surfers getting in their final licks.

Back to Playa Carmen the next day to enjoy the solitude and lovely sand beach.

Another trip to the beach to watch the sun go down. It never gets tired.

A turtle conservation project with some World Wildlife Foundation funding and now operated by school children. The eggs of 3 different turtle species (including Leatherbacks) are being protected until it is time for them to hatch and make their way to the ocean, 20 metres away.

A view towards the pool from our balcony at the gorgeous La Tica resort which was not expensive but did require a vehicle to get there. There were 4 side 'sitting' pools that all drained into the main pool.

The fire pit at La Tica where they were burning scraps from their ongoing efforts to expand the facility. The following night they needed to bring in extra seating to handle the crowd that came in just for dinner.

Our foray earlier today out to the Tamarindo beach while waiting to check in. We will definitely be back.

Spending Time in the Wild

Tortuguero village, on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, was unlike most places we have come across on our adventures. First of all, it is not the easiest place to get to. There are no roads leading there and so your choices are to fly in or arrive by boat.....it's really only by boat since those departing the airport need to take a boat to get to the village. We chose the latter since that is the way the locals do it. From San Jose we took two different buses to get to the small village of La Pavona and from there we took a one and a half hour water taxi through a small river and canals to reach Tortuguero. Being the dry season, the initial river level was low so we had to carry our backpacks an extra 500 metres on a path along the riverside to get to a point where the 20 person boat could handle the passengers and luggage with enough river water to handle the weight of the boat without bottoming out.....which we still did a few times, requiring the captain's assistant to enter the river and push the boat into a slightly deeper river channel. The extra time on the river was not an issue however because there was lots of wildlife to be seen along the way, primarily monkeys and colourful birds. The village itself was a pleasure to walk around.........no motorized vehicles of any sort so every one of the small streets was pedestrian friendly. All of our Tortuguero activities centred around the National Park. One day we took a small boat tour, with an Ontario family, through the many canals and rivers to observe the wildlife which included many types of birds, monkeys, large iguanas and caiman (small alligators). Another day we hiked in the NP, and while we still have not seen the elusive sloth, we did spot a small but dangerous pit viper snake which scurried across the trail just in front of us.....which perhaps led us to watching the ground from then on instead to searching tree limbs for sloths. We were a month early for the leatherback turtle nesting season but there was still evidence along the seashore where we noticed some broken egg shells from last season. We did venture over to the Turtle Museum for an explanation of the life cycle process, and also got to enjoy wonderful seafood once again while being on the coast.

Following a similar exit from Tortuguero we ventured back to the interior of the country, this time to the small town of La Fortuna, close to the Arenal Volcano, one of 6 active volcanoes in Costa Rica. There were a variety of activities to choose from and we embraced several of them. We started with a Hanging Bridges sky walk which involved a 6 km hike through the jungle at the base of the volcano leading to 4 long suspension bridges at the canopy level. The views were lovely but we didn't spot as much wildlife as we hoped, so perhaps we should have hired a guide to assist us. Another day we did some more hiking at the base of the Arenal Volcano, walking out from the Arenal Observation Lodge and museum) and then back again along a different trail 4 hours later. Wilmer (nicknamed 'Jungle Man' by his peers) was our excellent guide for the day. Beyond a special side trip to see our first sloth high up in a tree, he had a keen eye for spotting wildlife, leading us to agouti's (rabbit-squirrel cross), coati's (raccoon family), a beautiful red eyed leaf frog, howler and spider monkeys, as well as many different bird species including toucans, wild turkeys, tiny blue dacnis (tanager family, bright fluorescent blue) and oropendola's (bright yellow tails). To top it off, on our way out of the park after sunset, he spotted 2 different snakes crossing the road and stopped the mini-bus both times to track them down and bring them back for our group to see. The first was a 5 foot long very venomous fer-de-lance and the second a more colourful but smaller coral snake (less venomous). We finished the evening with a stop at the Tabacon River hot springs, naturally cooked by the geothermal volcano heat.  Wilmer used some volcanic ash that he collected on our hike to create mud masks for our faces while we relaxed in the 30C river. It was a long but very rewarding day.

We have one day left here and then we will take a 3 hour jeep-boat-jeep from La Fortuna, across Lake Arenal, and then on to the Monteverde Cloud Forest where we will do some more exploring.

The end of our 500 metre walk along a river path to a spot where the water taxi could handle the 20 passengers due to the lower than normal water level in the river. It wasn't too bad for us backpackers but the ones travelling with rolling suitcases took a lot longer to arrive. A second boat had to be enlisted to carry the luggage rather than adding even more weight to the passenger boat.

Taken during our one and a half hour boat ride down the river to reach Tortuguero. The wildlife along the shore entertained us, making the trip seem shorter than it was.

Our arrival in Tortuguero village. We stayed on the top floor of the white building on the right so our balcony, that we shared with a young Ontario family, provided a frequent hang out spot to make new friends and observe the river traffic below. The Caribbean Sea was only a 100 metre walk from behind our building.

A young caiman spotted from our small boat during a canal tour. The larger crocodiles stayed closer to the salt water.

A bright green basilisks lizard spotted near the riverside. They are also named the Jesus lizard for their ability to walk (run) on top of the water.

Upon our arrival in La Fortuna we found we had a great view of the active Arenal Volcano. Up until 2010, small orange lava flows could be seen most nights from this spot. The volcano has a sealed top rather than a crater meaning there is more to come, which is the reason hiking anywhere near the peak is forbidden.

Our self-guided jungle walk near the base of the volcano took us over many hanging (suspension) bridges with most of them over 100 metres long. All the others covered a small valley so no stairs were involved. Fortunately this one only required steps down and not up.

Our first sighting of the elusive sloth which tended to hang out during the day high in the rain forest treetops. The best shot we could get was through the guide's telescope.

Our guide Wilmer, who lived up to his nickname of 'Jungle Man'. In this particular instance he had gathered up some lava ash lumps and then used a rock to crush them. Later, at the hot springs river, he mixed the ash-sand with water to create a mud mixture which he then applied to our faces in an attempt to remove all of our wrinkles, or at least slow down the process. It kind of worked.....with the mud on our faces, it was hard to see any wrinkles!

The red eyed leaf frog which sat on his leaf patiently under the spotlight while we all took our pictures before we moved on. Unlike some other bright green frogs the Gaudi's are not poisonous.

Pocahontas in the Tabacon hot springs river after her mud mask had been applied. After 15 minutes when the mud started to dry out, our faces all took on a very pale ghost-like appearance in the darkness.

Pura Vida

The simple translation of "pura vida" is 'pure life'. However in Costa Rica it is a common phrase used by the locals to indicate 'life is good', a mantra we try and live by, and which the laid back life certainly is down here. Part of that has to do with the humid 30C heat which makes you slow down naturally when moving about. It is a horticulturist's dream to see how rapidly plants grow and flowers bloom. Any land that is not managed (cities and villages, or active farms) quickly turns into jungle which embraces the numerous wildlife populations.

We started our time in Costa Rica staying in the capital city of San Jose. San Jose is in the centre of the country at a higher elevation so the temperature was quite tolerable, in the 25-27C range with low 20's evenings. The downtown area had many pedestrian friendly streets allowing easy access to many of the interesting sights. Highlights for us included a tour of the National Theatre (opera house also used for special gov't events; where the floor of the theatre can be mechanically raised to be level with the stage) and the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum which provided a history of the country and many ancient artifacts. A stop into the Central Market was also a treat as it is in every city to watch the locals shop for food and to try some unusual snacks from the food stalls.

While we were in San Jose, Costa Rica's capital we decided to take a bus to the Irazu Volcano, the country's tallest volcano, and hike to the crater top, which is close to 11,000 feet above sea level. That sounds like an ambitious hike to most but we are veteran hikers, filled with wisdom from our previous experiences....the bus dropped us off in the parking lot with only a 500 metre walk (not hike) to the crater top. My stealth research had also suggested taking an extra layer along since it was cooler at the higher elevation. I took several thin layers and a small pair of gloves in preparation for the cold, but it turned out all I needed was a short sleeve shirt.....good thing I didn't have to carry the extra layers very far! The crater had a 1 km diameter with a small lake at the bottom with glacier-like colours. The views along the accessible side of the rim were lovely but it turned into a relatively short visit for a long bus ride.

From San Jose we took a bus to the Pacific coast and spent 4 days at a guest house with a fabulous deck view of the jungle below us and the ocean beyond that. Every time we sat on the deck we were entertained by the wildlife in front of us.......from agouti's (tropical rodent that looks like a rabbit – squirrel cross) down below our cabin to monkeys jumping from one tree to another in front of us. The highlight of our stay was the Manuel Antonio NP (wildlife trails and wide sandy beach). We also went to a fun Superbowl party at the crowded Jolly Roger pub (where the pub entertainment outshone the game highlights) and to a smaller secluded sandy beach that our hostess recommended.

We are now back in San Jose but only for the night. We head out early in the morning to catch our first of 2 buses, followed by a water taxi to reach Tortuguero National Park where we will hang out for a few days.

San Jose's Post Office building surrounded by newer, less impressive architecture. Everywhere we travel the national post office buildings demonstrate that they were the central source of information flow long before the internet and daily newspapers emerged.

There were many lovely public art pieces around the city, including tasteful graffiti and wall murals. This particular piece was located close to the Cathedral.

The reception area of the National Opera Theatre House. Interestingly, there was a side room where the gentlemen went to discuss politics which was deemed beyond the scope of their female partners.

A beautiful gold artifact displayed at the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum. There were many pieces like this in the museum which was owned and managed by the Central Bank of Costa Rica. There were seriously thick vault doors into the museum for good reason.

The Irazu Volcano main crater. The crater rim was just over 1 km in diameter to provide a bit more scope. It's last series of eruptions occurred in the first half of the 1960's, once on the same day that John F. Kennedy visited nearby San Jose.

Happy hour two for one drinks at the Mango Moon bar near our guest house where we watched a perfect Pacific sunset from our table.

The common deck in front of our room at the Teak House. We spent lots of time out there being constantly entertained by the monkeys leaping from one tree to another, especially the tiny, young ones testing their agility skills.

While in Manuel Antonio NP we spotted this white-faced capuchin monkey with her backpacking baby.

A lovely small cove beach down the road from our guest house. It was protected from the Pacific waves making it an ideal spot for young families......and seniors.

My perfectly seared, rare Ahi tuna dinner that felt like I was slicing through butter. Seafood is often our staple when we are anywhere close to the water.

Taken from my bus seat while crossing a river bridge close to the ocean. I noticed people on the bridge taking photos on the way to the Manuel Antonio NP area so I was well prepared for the return trip. There appear to be at least 12 crocodiles in this photo but perhaps you can spot more.

Breakfast with Papa Francisco

Once again we find ourselves tripping over a spectacular event that was totally unexpected. In Thailand we discovered the Songkran Festival celebrating the beginning of the Thai New Year which has morphed from pouring water over Buddha's to cleanse them to an all-out fun water fight for several days where everyone, locals and tourists, get wet. In Australia we tripped over the Byron Bay BluesFest where we got to listen to Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, the Zach Brown Band and other bands we were familiar with in a crowded but lovely outdoor environment. In India it was the Holi Festival, their beginning of Spring festival where everyone has fun throwing bright coloured Bindi powder (chalk) at anyone nearby creating a tie dye (head to toe) atmosphere for a day, and obediently ends at 6 pm. On all occasions we immersed ourselves into the local culture of these places and had a blast.

Upon arrival here in Panama City we quickly realized that something special was happening with many groups of young people walking around wearing the same coloured shirts and signage welcoming some dude called Papa Francisco. It turned out we were 2 days into the 5 day World Youth Day festival, a Catholic celebration held every 2-3 years around the globe.........and attended by the Pope. On our first day we tried to walk around the older Casco Viejo neighbourhood but found it barricaded off to all traffic. It turned out Pope Francis was conducting a special mass for the clergy in the Cathedral. Fortunately for us, the mass ended shortly after our arrival and 10 minutes later the Pope's motorcade passed right in front of us.....and the 3 to 4 rows of vocal supporters standing in front of us and on each side of the road......... so we got into the old city as soon as they opened the barricades. On Sunday I got up early to attend the Pope's closing mass wrapping up the WYD Festival with 700,000 people also thinking it would be a good idea. The organizers were well prepared for the crowd, with many large screens placed at various intervals within the park, and a good sound system, so that everyone could easily view the celebration. I estimate I was about one km from the raised main stage which I could barely see in the distance (but only 50 metres from a large screen). It was difficult to not be in a good mood for the duration of the festival, especially watching the many groups of young people from different countries around the world......we even saw groups from Iceland and the Cook Islands.....all wearing their country colours, singing, waving flags and enjoying themselves wherever they were in the city. It was a very special event that I will cherish for a long time.

We spent all day yesterday exploring the amazing Panama Canal. The day started early taking a ride on the Panama Canal Railway which took us from Panama City on the Pacific side to Colon on the Caribbean side with views of the canal (and the jungle) along the way. We made our way back south by bus to spend time at the Miraflores Locks where we were able to watch massive container ships (5,000 vehicles or large containers, $300-400K fee) or small sailboats ($2,000 passage fee) moving through both lanes of the canal in a continuous stream. We saw the same ship we took a picture of near the locks of Colon in the morning pass through in the afternoon. The Miraflores Visitor Centre was also excellent, featuring a museum, theatre and small grandstand area for viewing. Not all the WYD participants were on their way home as we anticipated so it made for a very busy spot but our afternoon arrival (recommended) worked out in our favour as the crowds thinned out after initially being surprised by the line-ups. The Canal is an impressive piece of technology, especially the newer locks (rolling lock gates, side water pools to recycle and speed up the water level changes) which were added in 2016 to accommodate the even larger Panamax ships which are charged $500-800K to pass through.

Today we took it easy in the 32C heat and walked along the scenic waterfront promenade which extends for several km's. It provided great views of Panama City's towering business and condo buildings in Central America's most modern city. Tomorrow we say goodbye to Panama and head to Costa Rica where we will spend much more time.

Panama City's Cathedral Metrolipano in the old town of Casco Viejo. We arrived shortly after Pope Francis had finished serving mass to the Catholic clergy. 

The new alter in the Cathedral that the Pope had just finished consecrating. Everyone seemed excited to touch the alter with rosaries or their hands hands.

A colonial municipal building in the Cathedral square.

Some church and convent ruins within the old town.

Pope Francis in his Pope-mobile on his way into the the Closing Mass. I'm pretty sure he gave me a personal wave but he turned the other way by the time I took the picture.

My view of the Papal Mass. the main stage is in the lower right side of the picture, just right of the American flag (elliptical shaped stage top).

A nice lady from the Cook Islands (tiny South Pacific islands) who gave me permission to take this picture. She was holding the table for her group of 14 who were all similarly dressed. It was her 6th World Youth Day journey and she was acting as a chaperone for the younger group.

Taken from a picture of the Panama Canal's Miraflores Locks. The older locks, which we viewed from the Visitor Centre grandstand are on the right. The 2016 locks on the left are 40% longer and 60% wider to accommodate the newer and larger Panamax ships. We didn't notice any ships going through the newer locks since non-Panamax ships are not inclined to pay the $500-800K fee). The pools on the right of the new locks are used for recycling water in and out of the locks to speed up the filling or draining time. The lock gates also roll across which saves time.

Smaller boats....tug boat and tour boat.... could fit into a lock with the larger vessels. The small grandstand announcer told everyone that this particular ship was carrying 5,000 vehicles and the canal fee was $350K. It seems expensive but that works out to $70 / vehicle and would be much less than the cost of sailing around Cape Horn.

Panama City's architectural award winning twisted tower. It has 53 floors and handles wind better than most skyscrapers.

A view of the towering waterside condos while walking along Panama City's promenade.

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Jimmy Buffet had it right when he wrote this song about escaping normality and just enjoying life. We have now settled nicely into our travel happy zone, with warm weather, lazy days and fun activities.

We have just wrapped up our 3 week stay in Belize, with our final 7 days in the laid back seaside village of Hopkins. We stayed in a nice cabana with a small pool several metres from our deck and four other neighbour cabanas. A friendly couple from Parry Sound, Ontario were in the cabana next to ours and we quickly embraced the friendship, joining each other for many great trips during the week......Placencia (beach town) together with the Monkey River (where Caity enjoyed a one month U of C program studying howler monkeys), Dangriga town, a bioluminescent experience in a lagoon along the Sitee River and a fishing/snorkeling trip back out to the Belize Barrier Reef (near South Water Caye). Our fishing trip was very successful, reeling in 15 cowhead porgy keepers between the four of us and a stingray that gave me quite a battle, earning it's release following the photo op. When we were back on shore our guide filleted 6 of the porgys for us (each fish could feed 2 people) and that evening we hosted a fish bbq dinner for our other younger cabana neighbours......3 mothers from Alaska on a girl's trip and a couple from Denver. We were also treated to an evening of drumming and dancing by the local Garifuna  people at a local restaurant. With Hopkins being a fishing village we enjoyed fresh seafood throughout the week, and in our spare time enjoyed time around the pool or riding bicycles along the beachfront road. It was time to leave when Pocahontas had half her body covered with mosquito and sand flea bites!

Bus service in and out of Hopkins was complicated so we booked a driver from San Ignacio to Hopkins and enjoyed his local knowledge along the way, especially during the scenic Hummingbird Highway section. Fortunately for us he was also available to drive us today from Hopkins to the Belize City airport so we gained some more Belizian insights along the way. 

We are now in Panama City where we will spend 5 days, exploring the 80 km Panama Canal half the time. After being spoiled by English speaking Belize we will now have to reboot our limited Spanish vocabulary.

We had the Green Iguana cabana for our one week stay at Latitude Adjustment in Hopkins. The pool was a wonderful way to cool off at the end of the day.

The beach area, two hundred metres from our cabana. Similar to the cayes, the beaches were narrow but extended quite a ways along the seashore.

Enjoying our time at the Coconut Row beach bar. Perhaps some company could use this shot in a commercial!

During our boat tour along the Monkey River we came across these Fish Bats resting under the curved trunk of a riverside tree. We stopped a bit later along the river and did a short walk through the jungle watching and listening to the black howler monkeys interacting with one another.

Arriving back to the Placencia harbour. The majority of boats either went out on fishing or snorkel / dive trips.

Walking along the Placencia beach and it's colourful cabanas.

Out for dinner with our Canadian cabana neighbours and listening to some Garifuna drumming, with some local youngsters dancing to the rhythm. The Garifunas (West Africa heritage) were the original settlers of Hopkins.

Pocahontas enjoying her prize. Thought I would post this picture in case she tries to tell anyone how much larger it really was! It was still a very nice catch, large enough to feed two people.

Reeling in my stingray who gave up quite a fight. Before reaching the surface I was imaging a massive sized fish.  Our wonderful captain-guide Noawel held him for the picture and then cut the line to release the ray.

The 6 porgy's we elected to keep, leaving the rest to Noawel and his son, who filleted them for us. The fish had been kept in a bucket with water and ice while we were on the boat so a few of them took on an unnatural frozen pose. They tasted wonderful that evening straight off the bbq.

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