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. We set of to the south to Puerto Viejo, near Panamas’ border. We did some shopping in Limon, the major harbor from which the agricultural produce is shipped to the Atlantic hemisphere. We bought dirt cheap a big pineapple and some wonderful tasting banana’s, ripened on the tree. It cost some time as you cannot leave hear the car unattended.
The road was terrible. Enormous potholes, each big enough to wreck the suspension of a car, littered the roads. Cars suddenly moving to the other half of the road to avoid the potholes, causing dangerous situations. We definitely would not expect this in a country like Costa Rica
After checking in, in the hotel –at candle light as there was a power interruption- we went out to explore Puerto Viejo and it turned out to be a paradise for hippies, rasta boys and alternative music. A backpackers paradise. We had our meal there. Next day we loaded my scuba dive gear and found the diveshop. However, no diving today and most likely next day again, high waves and bad visibility. I like diving but not too fanatic, especially not in bad circumstances. It was time to do something else and next was the chocolate tour. We first saw some interesting things like this ants nest 
and this beautiful flower. 
Chocolate was originating from this area and till 30 years Costa Rica was the second cocoa exporter in the world. Then a blight, a fungus, ravaged the cocoa plantations and export became zero. Now only some isolated tree survives, with minimal yield. The fungus is still around. Anyhow there were enough left to demonstrate the traditional way. They eat chocolate very often. Cocoa grows in large fruits 
from the stem, the size of a big coconut. When opened, you see It contains about 30 seeds, in a white jelly substance. 
That white substance is deliciously fresh and fruity. Then the beans are fermented for a week, 
then dried for a week. 
Or dried in a big machine if weather is not sunny
. After that the beans are roasted for 20 minutes, 
then peeled. 
The dark nuts are pure chocolate. 
They are finely grinded in tool that looks like a meat mincer. 
The brown chocolate is warmed up, 
then to this mass 
is added sugar, milk powder and cinnamon. 
This is thoroughly kneaded by hand and the shiny black, fatty mass is then spread out on a wood dish, 
cut into pieces. Enjoy! It is really delicious. We got the chocolate with us in plastic bag and –surprise- it did not al all melt in the hot car.
We continued the guided tour and saw little, wild bananas. There are so many bananas here, that these are left for the birds. Of course we see many heliconias
The flower is inside the red protective leaf. We pass along a bamboo bush, the fastest growing plant. It is a noisy plant. You can hear it grow and if you press you ear against the stem, you hear the water flowing. It is really amazing.
Then we see high in the trees a sloth
, slowly moving 
. Beautiful flowers of the musa,banana family show their colors. 
. And everywhere ornamental plants, widely sold in Holland. The Ceiba pentandra is a protected tree, long ago widely used for top quality furniture. 
. Another nice colored heliconia shows off. 
. I like this climber that lies flat against a tree. 
. In this nest was a hummingbird.
There was a shaman house of the Bribri indigenous people. It was built in 4 days by experts of the tribe. They were fierce fighters and were a problem for the Spaniards. They had powerful weapons and knew how to use them.
.
In Costa Rica thousands of perfect spheres were found, some as small as an orange, other 2 m big. It is not known which people made those stones. 
There was a noni tree (morinda citrofolia)as well, with its jelly fruit. 
. It is famous for treating lots of severe diseases like cancer and it is now researched as a cure for HIV. At last we saw a strange insect nest
After that we went 
to Puerto Viejo again and had dinner there 
. Back in the hotel it’s worth it to make a picture of the shower. It was a kind of electrical heater for the water. That is OK, but the wires were taped together and you touched the electrical wire while showering. It must spectacular to die in electrical sparks while showering. 
Next day we have a relative quiet day. We travel to the south, direction Panamas’ border. Lots of vultures are cleaning up the waste. We go to Manzanillo, famous for the lobster. And indeed, the restaurant offers a generous portion lobster
. Further, the famous beach should be wonderful, only if it was not so dirty
. Then we go to Punta Uva, 
where another dive centre is. 
However no joy, no business today. 
The beach however is a fairytale beach. As everywhere, here are beautiful flowers as well
Upon returning to the lodge, it is time to write something for the homepage. At dusk we go for the last time to the beach. Mariska shows 
her paper crown 
and we enjoy the evening at the beach . Mariska makes a sandcastle
which she
decorates
with seashells
Next morning it’s time to leave to the north again, direction Nicaragua. A last picture from the Perla Negra resort, and off we go. Our first stop is in Cahuita, a sleepy backpackers village, 
with a coral reef. 
we are on our way from Puerto Viejo to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, might be confusing and en route we pass a yellow river. However, crystal clear water mixes in from the side. 
We arrive in the Ara Ambigua Lodge, a paradise for birdwatchers. After installing ourselves in the lodge, equipped with airco, we make a stroll and indeed see lots of birds.
It starts raining and the day starts with rain as well. The hotel has wireless internet, and so the laptop goes with us at breakfast. It is great that the US financial markets are open, so it’s time again to try our luck with options. It is always again a great challenge. Not to bad results today, during breakfast we realized 450 USD profits with call options on Ryland Inc.
The day starts with rain –not to strange as we are in a rain forest- but soon it clears as we prepare for the trip to Fortuna. At last we catch some birds with the camera. They are difficult to photograph. It cost a day patience and an powerful zoom objective to have any chance to get a brilliant picture. But still we manage to get some nice pictures of 
a golden hooded tanagar (tangara larvata) and a Tassarini’s tanager(ramphocelus passerinii)
. This bird has a very bright red backbody, like fluorescing. At last we take pictures of the paradise garden
of the lodge 
and of our cabina 
. The road leads through a magnificent rolling terrain to Fortuna.
Fortuna is one of the highlights in Costa Rica and very touristic. A 400 years dormant volcano erupted 30 years ago, killing 80 people and since then it’s one of the most active volcanos in the world. Every 10 minutes or so an eruption and in the night the lava can be seen glowing. There is one problem however, the top is mostly shrouded in clouds. So it was upon arriving and next day as well. We checked in, in the Eco Arenal lodge, situated on a large well maintained garden. The bed was as usually decorated with a towel in a fancy form, with flower petals
. We made a trip to get an impression of the area and meet near the volcano a strange animal, a white nosed coati (Nasuna narica) 
Pizote called by the Indians. 
It has a long
and flexible snout.
We see the sunset in the west
After a healthy breakfast the girls like to swim first. And after part of this story has been uploaded on the internet, we go out for another trip. This time we go chasing for the famous Costa Rican frogs. Mariska is tired and falls asleep when we like to stop at the Danaus ecologic centre. It is secondary jungle and full of interesting species. First we see a red bird eating from a banana, a cotinga 
shows its color. Other banana loving birds show up.
And, as a surprise, the Passerini’s tanager again
Then we “catch” an agouti, (Dasyprocta punctata) something between a rabit, a rat and something else with a nice fur 
and then another one
Then a Black cheeked woodpecker showed up
(melanerpes pucherani). After passing an exuberant flower
and another in Mariska’s favourite color rose
. A more golden flower was visible in the shadow
. Everywhere beauties could be discovered, which each could have a place of honor in a classy flowershop. 
. Butterflies kept catching our attention
, like this giant Great Owl
(calligo eurilochus). And this butterfly, the Mexican bluewing (myscelia cyaniris) looked brilliant blue from one direction 
and white from another direction
. And why is the name of this flower Lady lips? 
. Mariska ordered a picture from this flower 
and close to it our first Blue jeans Dart frog 
(Ranita venemosa rojazul in Spanish).
This plant would be a hit as ornamental plant. 
Leaf cutter ants (atta cephalotus) were transporting leaf cuttings to their underground nest. They are cultivating fungus on the leafs, used as food. 
Then, a special moment, our first Gaudy Leaf frog (Agalychnis callidyras) 
It was too hot to move, the frog must have thought 
so we had the chance to take some pictures
A beauty indeed
and as there is a chance this is the last we see, we take more pictures
. Then we spot another tiny bluejeans frog
The poisonous lad was not afraid of us and was a willing photo model. 
He even looked curious 
. Suddenly another agouti showed up.
At last we saw a variegated squirrel.(sqiurus variegatoides) When we were on the way back we still could not see the volcano’s top. We finished the afternoon with a visit to the hairdresser and a delicious traditional dinner.
The currency in Costa Rica is a strange story. The currency is the colones, about 777 against the Euro, FX markets, but NOT according to local calculations, then you get only 700. However all the prices for anything related to tourism is in dollars. And as we have no dollars, we pull colones out of the ATM, at least we try. And this is the first time in many, many years that the transactions usually bounced. Only a few times we were successful. Usually the ING card is rejected, only one time it worked out successfully. The prices in the tourist segment are pretty high. What to think about a walking tour in forest for 10USD. By the way, most ATM’s offer USD as well, but until now we could not pull the dollars out the machine. The credit card is widely accepted.
The last full day in Furtuna starts with a surprise. The top of the Vulcan is just visible 
and has a few traces of smoke
.
We take some pictures of the pool at the lodge where Mariska had so much fun. Fortuna has some world class Spa’s. All powered by hot volcanic water. We spend the day in Baldi Hot springs, a classy spa with about 16 pools, with crystal clear water, varying ferom 38 till 68 degrees. That looks more to slow cooking and is too hot to be comfortable. Included was a copious buffet lunch. We spend the afternoon with swimming and playing 
in the biggest cool pool. 
Three very long and highspeed tube glides completed the fun. A real adrenaline shot was experienced when shooting down into the water. We made a long walk 
in the fairytale like garden
. There were all kinds of fantasy structures, 
usually serving as waterfall or watercurtain.
| Click on a picture to enlarge | The pictures you see after clicking on the small thumbnail
pictures, are shrunk to 5% of their original dimensions If you like to see a picture in full glory, send an email! |
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