Ok gang, let me add a few things about Costa Rica.
Not knowing much about this place I decided to collect a lot of information from the Internet and other forums dealing with Travel in Central America. My primary concern was the driving in CR, the rules being somewhat different but not by much. Secondary concern was humidity and its effects on my gear. I searched for the traffic rules and read them, I purchased a good amount of Silica Gel packs to keep my equipment dry.
Once there, I realized my primary concern should have not been a concern at all, no one respects the traffic rules! The roads are so bad and full of pot holes that driving in zig-zag fashion is the only way to stay safe. Everyone does it.
The hotel we stayed at, the Natural Lodge at Cano Negro Wildlife Reserve was beautiful and empty. Save for a German couple we were the only people there. It was Winter in Costa Rica, also known as the Rainy Season. Vegetation was ever so green that it really hurt our eyes just by looking at it. In our room we were greeted by a huge moth, about 6 inches wingspan. Later we had a different kind of visitors, a huge female spider carrying its babies on her back, tens and tens of them. Took them out to fresh air and they left us alone. We arranged a tour of the Cano Negro lagoon and lake for the next morning as well as a trip to a local butterfly farm.
The trip to the lagoon and lake was great, despite the intermittent rain. We came face to face with a cayman, with the Kingfisher birds, with the Jesus Christ lizard that is able to walk on the water, with a few monkeys, a three toed sloth was lazying up in a tree. Fascinating!
The butterfly farm was great, we saw many butterflies of wild colors and saw also the Morpho, a gigantic butterfly with bright blue wings. Seemed unreal! Ernesto, our guide for both trips that day, took us to the heart of the little village, showing us all the little stores, the school, the soccer field. What impressed me the most was the Costa Ricans' friendliness and hospitality. They will bend backwards to make you feel welcome. Also, the lack of any piece of garbage was pretty amazing! During our entire trip I don't think I have seen any piece of trash or garbage laying on the streets, except for an empty bottle of Sprite left behind on a trail by a group of young American hikers. That was picked up and disposed of properly by our guide.
Ok, I'll be back with the next two days' experiences in my next post, sometime later or tomorrow.
PS: I uploaded a few shots in my gallery.
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