February 10, 2013

After a beautiful morning in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, we packed up and were on the road by noon.  We headed to the town of Samara…

The roads are mostly dirt in this area.  Not too bad until we came to a river over the road…. Scott drove across first – then I crossed on foot.  I must have looked pretty funny with my helmet and gear on, holding my chaps up as I waded across in my bare feet- ha ha!

We stayed at the Flying Crocodile Inn… a very eclectic hotel.  Whoever built it had a great imagination!!!  I didn’t really get the name of the inn until one of the gyro-copters took off!

Scott spent time talking with a group of German men staying at this inn.  They all are retired from the Merchant Marines and had sailed through the Panama Canal before touring Costa Rica.  Observation on my part:  When girls get together, we share pictures of our kids on our phones with each other…  When guys get together, they share pictures of their cars, motorcycles or snowmobiles!  What is up with that?!  🙂

February 10, 2013

Our drive today was adventurous to say the least!  Six hours on dirt, crossing five rivers – dumping the bike and us in the river once.  My boots are waterproof – and once they are filled with water, the water stays put.  I know this now to be true.  After that river crossing, we came to another river.  This one I waded across, and didn’t even bother taking off my boots.  Unfortunately, when we dumped the bike, Scott’s bag was the one water side down…

Some of what we saw today….

We turned onto what we though was the right road, but soon ended up on the beach!  The sand was a little too soft to make it, so we backtracked….

This is what we rode on most of the day – not very wide for two lanes!  We are covered with dust after riding today.

We are in Montezuma, Costa Rica, in another eclectic hotel, Amor de Mar.  There are hammocks (my favorite) hung between the palm trees on a nice green lawn next to the ocean…. perfect place for a nap!

February 12, 2013

Hiked up to a waterfall this morning and took a swim – it was very refreshing! Scott startled an iguana and watched it literally walk across the stream on top of the water.

The ride was easy today – all pavement except for about 5 km.  We decided to take the ferry across to Puntarenas – avoiding the 5 1/2 hour drive around…

Very unique place for dinner – we couldn’t resist stopping.  As we waited for our meal, I checked our computer…. we were amazed to see the drama unfolding in Big Bear with Christopher Dorner!  Kind of crazy to see home all over the news!

Found an inexpensive hotel for the night, and on the road again tomorrow!

February 13, 2013

Short ride down to Manual Antonio National Park – the most visited park in Costa Rica. Too many hotels to choose from! We found a little hotel on the beach, Hotel Verde Mar, that is reasonable.  Finding good food at a reasonable price is a challenge in Costa Rica…. but after a few disappointments, we did enjoy Emilio’s Cafe with a great view of the country.

February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine’s Day!  We were up and at the National Park entrance at 6:45 am this morning.  Our efforts were rewarded with empty trails and lots of monkeys! (Sorry – no monkey pictures – I was having too much fun watching them swing through the tree tops!) Though it was early, we soon became drenched in sweat from the humidity.  We saw huge blue and orange butterflies…ROUS… (actually, I think they are called paci)…. lizards and iguanas….a raccoon…a two or three-toed sloth (couldn’t get close enough to count her toes!) with her baby and beautiful beaches.

Here is what the trail looked like when we started out….

Here’s the trail on the way out…..

So glad we got out there early!!!! 🙂

Hasta la vista!