Even the car drivers stop when we attempt to cross the road as pedestrians or let us out of junction or into queues when we are driving. I know we are lucky to Liv in 'Friendly Manitoba', where people are nice generally, but behind the wheel of a vehicle, the locals in Winnipeg aren't even friendly to each other, never mind foreigners (it's easy to tell a foreigner here as rental cars have specific licence plates), so the Manitoba's I know and to a certain level the Brits, back in UK, could learn a lot from the hospitality, genuine happiness and the overall feeling of just being a nice person that you get from being here in Costa Rica.
We had a nice rest the last couple of day - visiting a local market, eating some nice local food and watching a Saturday afternoon tea dance in the town square. It was an easy couple of days and a chance to catch up on admin. Now though we are on the road again.
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| Bye bye Bez |
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| The local market |
Hannah rose from her slumber early this morning and so we took advantage, heading out to pick up our 2nd rental car. We were upgraded from the basic model to a 2,4litre diesel Mitsubishi 4x4, with good AC and enough room to hang a dolphin. It brought us the easy 200 odd kilometres south, down the Pacific coast to where we now sit. A humble little Airbnb that is perched high in the hills overlooking the coast.
It is the greatest Airbnb we have ever stayed in, with infinity pool, outdoor teak stained deck and modern, fantastic furniture. It was built by Antoine our host and his lovely wife Marie, a French couple who moved here a few years ago and now live in the even better and bigger lodge, a short walk away on the same hill. We sat this afternoon in the pool, watching the sunset and listening to the sound of monkeys howling in the near distance. Its a good drive up a steep track to get here, but worth every effort. We fully intend to spend a lot of time in the pool, enjoying the views over the jungle below and mellowing out whilst our little monkey catches up in her sleep. She will also love the pool as she has with every one we have used so far on this trip.
In the first couple of days here we have had a blast. A couple of good afternoon storms with thunder and lightning cleared the way for clear and reasonably cool evenings. We sleep with the doors open and bug nets closed so as to allow the cool night air to come inside as well as keeping the big flying insects out. I walked about 5 minutes this morning before realising the twig in my sandal was in fact a big live beetle in for the ride. He was fine once I let him out.
After yesterday's storm we thought we would try to see 'The Whale tail', a beach within the local wildlife preserve, that because of the rocks, forms two Sandy beaches at 90 degrees to the normal coastline. It is only visible at low tide and you can walk out onto it with the sea lapping up to your left and your right. However, the preserve closes at 4, so when we arrived and tried to sneak in, the bloke at the gate said, 'It's ok, just come in for free', we were very happy. A good hour or two spent walking right out to the tip of the tail whilst Hannah ate most of the sand off the beach was a fun way to spend an afternoon.
As well as that we took a trip further south to take a boat tour of the mangroves. Ling our guide and boat driver showed us birds, bats and a huge family of white faced monkeys who spent about 20 minutes climbing right up to the boat and when they saw Hannah thy started to goad her, standing just a couple of feet away bouncing up and down on a branch as they stared directly at her. She stood on the boat and giggled insatiably at them. I think she and the monkeys have an understanding!
Just before the end of the trip we saw a 3 toed sloth up an tree, but it was a little disappointing as it was just a ball of fur. But then up another tree a few feet away, a huge sloth, hanging from the branches in a typical slothy style, exactly what we hoped we would see. An amazing animal to see so close up in the wild and along with the Howler monkeys, who when Ling revved the boat engine, howled back at the noise, was one the highlights of the great day out.
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| Sloth!! |
The day wasn't over though as after yet another Hannah nap and a big afternoon storm, we headed to a local restaurant called 'Citrus', where we had a wonderful meal of salmon, scallops, gazpacho and kimchi.
We have also enjoyed a trip to lovely little waterfall, located near to a local soda. We took a little walk to the falls, once we got past the guard gesese and rounded the third oldest tree in Coats Rica and enjoyed a very pleasant huor swimming in the pool at the top of the falls, before returning to the Soda for lunch. Hannah was being a bit crazy and so the nice lady serving us our food asked if she could look after her, while we ate. So she did. She too her to meet the other two kids whose family worked and loved in the soda. as well as sharing their toys with Hannah and a visit to the kitchen to sample some of the fresh fruit, all while me and Buffy enjoyed a good lunch. I told you the people here were nice!
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| Hannah's lovely baby sitter |
Our final evening at this place was a trip out to yet another stunning beach. This one involves a little river crossing to get there, but once there it is amazing . W wonderful curved beach backing onto the jungle and with a few huge caves that have the surf from the waves crashing through them . We ventured inside the caves as it was low tide and the temperature and humidity went through the roof. It was boiling in there and with the loud crash of the waves and the strong current of he water it was a slightly surreal and scary experience. After a good look around we headed back out to the beach to enjoy one last sunset on the Pacific coast as tomorrow after a few dips in the pool and saying goodbye to Antoine and family we are heading west and toward the Carribean coast for the final few days of our trip...
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