No, this is not one of the creatures from Costa Rica. This is a dinosaur that was at one of the rest stops that we stopped at. I just wanted to get it on the blog so that Joan's grandson Grayden can see it. We're now on the west coast overlooking a beautiful beach on the Pacific ocean. We have AC in our room. The first time since day one. Normally not a big deal but the last place we stayed at in Guanacaste had fierce winds, I mean we're talking about 50 to 60 MPH! The whole cabin shook and I didn't get a wink of sleep. Other than that, the stop was great. We stopped first at a thermal pool where we slathered on mud then settled in to the thermal pools... Very thereputic.. and relaxing which was a good thing since the next activity was a zip line cruise through the canopy. A real blast especially at the last line where we had the option to hang upside down with no hands! Of course the Gopro went dead one leg before then so I have no record, you'll just have to believe me. I even got a second chance to go down and gave Joan my phone to video it but we missed that too due to technical difficulties (not Joan's fault) I'll just have to live with the memory and no documentation. Life could be a whole lot worse. Got lots of other video though so should be able to upload that when I return. Boy do I have homework. That's it for now.

The creatures we've seen come in all shapes and sizes. From spiders and tiny bats to howler monkeys which as the name suggests make  lot of noise, usually earlier in the morning than the alarm.

We are now in Buenavista and the climate has completely changed. It is much dryer and here on the mountaintop the wind blows like mad. Check out this sunset!

Well there's too much to post but here's a sample. We've been to a cacao far and learned all about chocolate. It's production is really involved but we got a chance to see it made and participate in making our own the old way which was difficult but tasty.
We also visited an organic farm an learned a lot about their techniques. Plus we made a yummy drink from fresh sugar cane which we had to crush ourselves, no easy task.

Day three started off with a great white water rafting trip. I used the new gopro to capture the action and it worked great. I'll never be able to upload any video since uploading a picture is next to impossible with this wifi connecton which is ironically called "speed!" This is a picture of the waterfall that is the beginning of the Sarapiqua River wherewe rafted.
We walked through the rainforest and got a talk on the wildlife that is being studied and protected in the rainforest. A discussion on bats with an actual look, feel of a few that were caught while we were there.

There is so much to see here and the OAT team helps to make sure you experience the most you can. We have visited a local potter who crafts everything by hand incuding every step from mining the clay to firing the pots. His stuff was beautiful.

Today we visited a school where we danced with the kids and we visited a local family and had lunch. They introduced themselves to us, The Mother with her three daughters and two Grandchildren. We stayed for lunch and showed them pictures of our families. They ave pet birds that live in their yards. While touring their farm, the mother gave me her Machete. On the way up the hill she had me cut into one of the trees and we watched as sap ran out. It's a rubber tree in a part of their ranch that is left wild. They got their land a part of a lottery years ago.

• That's all for now. We've seen so much more but need to save some for stories when we return.

Ok Now were talkin'. Today was filled with all kinds of fun stuff. We left the comfort of our hotel in San Jose and hit the road. First stop the National Theater. It's really beautiful and real San Jose treasure.
From there we hit the road and travelled up into the mountains to a coffee plantation. I had no idea coffee production was so involved. I'm surprised coffee isn't $20 a pound. I had to but some and have it shipped home so I should be able to share some when I return.
We also stopped at the waterfall that is the beginning of the Sarapiqui River which we will be on tomorrow for our white water rating trip. Should be fun.
The bad news is the wi fi signal here at our new residence is very poor and I can't seem to get pictures to load. Too much data.
You'll all have to wait to see them. I think between Joan and I we have some good ones to share.
That's it for now. Early day tomorrow morning (6AM!) gotta go!

Now we're talkin'

OK we're here. The flight was smooth and the weather is great. This first hotel in San Jose is really nice. The rest of the trip will be in places a little less so (no air conditioning) but still quite nice. Not much to report today. There is a cool tree out in front of the hotel. I've attached a picture. Tomorrow a tour of the city and visit to a coffee plantation.