Where is Dando?

  At Christmas time we were not able to get into the world famous Manuel Antonio National Park due to capacity constraints and it being the holiday season.  We opted to return back to the Pacific Coast before heading out of the country back to snowy New York. As with many parks in Costa Rica our bags were searched for 'contraband' food items as carrying any type of food into the park will attract the wildlife and make for uncomfortable encounters with them.  We had already experienced that at Cahuita National Park with the monkeys! The park not only had some really nice hiking paths but many pristine beaches for folks to lounge at and go swimming in the warm waters of the Pacific. The three mile, very hilly, trail around Punta Cathedral Peninsula was always a stone's throw away from the ocean.  How gorgeous! There were many outcroppings of rock that the waves constantly crashed into.  As we were there a bit late in the day, we had the place all to ourselves. Alo...

 We really did not know what we were getting ourselves into when we signed up for the 11am guided hiking tour to the summit of the Turrialba Volcano. As it turns out there is only one certified guide for the hike and he only does one hike per day as they take a bit over 4 hours to complete.  One other couple, our age, also signed up.  They were from Switzerland and spoke primarily German but they were also fairly fluent in Spanish and English.  This was good as our guide spoke no English.  Christian and his wife Andrea were very gracious in taking in all the cool information the guide had and summarizing it in English for us. The crater to the left is still the active one as the other two have simply become lakes. This is a picture of 'Base Camp' where our hike began. Our day started out by driving 5 miles straight uphill, you guessed it, on an incredibly bumpy and potholed road.  Our guide actually passed us on his commute vehicle under the roof.  We ...

 The coasts here in Costa Rica seem to be a bit hot and muggy for our liking but we had to see some of the Caribbean coast before leaving and found the town of Cahuita to be very nice.  A bit touristy but we did find a grocery store that catered to some of the comfort foods from back home.  We made it a point to only rent places that have AC when on the coast so when we are not out doing things we can be a bit more comfortable. Signs in Costa Rica announcing the name of a town are often done in colorful cement letters.  When we arrived, the T had fallen and was on the ground.  The next day we found someone had propped it up.  The locals take care of their towns here. Once again, we found a fabulous house to base our adventures out of. The thatch looking roof was actually made from molded plastic that had supposedly been recycled. These two 'perro amigos' kept us safe and loved.  No names for these two but we did hear about a rescue sanctuary for stray ...