on constrictors, deserts and baby waves

I'm sitting here, by the pool at 6:30 am looking at the jungle , waiting for something to pass by. yesterday a huge iguana walked here, looking at the jacuzzi. 

the day before yesterday we left monte verde and drove down the bad roads towards manual antonio. the 1st part was a descent from the high mountains with a glorious mountain and pacific ocean views. but most of the way was on a lovely coastal road. we had a lunch stop of the usual and saw a big iguana (not as big as the one we saw here) and alla got lucky and was given 4 mangos from an orchard workers. those are mangos that fell to the ground, he just handed her a bunch of them. he must like curls.

we stopped on a bridge over a river where crocodiles lay on the bank and some in the water. i counted almost 40 of them, just waiting for a tourist to fall. on the bank there were some iguanas and birds. one iguana charged at a bird and almost got it. the birds walks so close to the crocks, crazy birds.

manual Antonio is much warmer then the other places here. we came in before check in time, so we placed our begs on the side and headed for the ocean. wow, the water is so nice and warm, with fun big waves and the shore is sandy and pristine, with the jungle all around, and the hotels do not stand out in the sky line. this beach as some islands near by. we splashed for an hour, then headed back to find that most activities begin at 2 pm and now i was shortly after, so we planned our next few days, got an ice cream cone and discovered that most places here are tourist places, more expensive and not as good in general. why do they think i want a burger in costa rica?

in the evening, we hopped on the bus and went to the very fancy gaya hotel. were a car took us from the gate to the hotel!!! , this is not were we stayed. but they have a spa here and Alla enjoyed a massage and facial , while i read in the lobby. after that we enjoyed a yummy desert/ the restaurant chef went out to ask us how we like the lava case. fancy place.

after a luxurious massage and check restaurant, the obvious next step is to  take the bus home. but the bus didn't come, so we started walking and hitched with a french guy that kept complaining of a corrupt police force.

yesterday we began we a kayak tour in the mangroves, at damas estuary. right at the beginning we spotted a boa constrictor on a bush. we saw more iguanas' crabs, a sloth, several herons, ibises, bats, sand pipers, fly catchers, king fishers, grackles, butterflies, a possum and all four kinds of mangroves (papaya, mango, guanabana and pineapple). kidding. its white, black and i forget the other 2 kinds.its was a relaxed kayak tour, we went on various channels in the estuary and very narrow one where we had to use our hands to traverse the mangroves and was probably a hundred crabs on the many mangrove roots.

we napped for a while, had an over priced lunch an headed for a surf lesson. we did some ground practicing, then headed for very large waves. for the big waves which came in threes. we swam below and let them pass, wait for some baby waves, then tried to surf them. it took lots of tries just to get on the thing. many just to lay there on the board without falling off, but finally we did it, we managed to stay on the wave and head to shore. what an awesome feeling. but after every success attempts came several failure, we get up too late, to early, to close to the edge, to close to the other edge. it has to be right or you simply don't move. but most of the time passed battling the huge waves.  the waves got higher and higher and we cut the lesson short, since there were no baby waves. we will continue today in the after noon. but hell ya, we were surfing.

a day of fun awaits us....

pura vida from Manual Antonio park

on howlers, rice and beans

i am sitting here at 5:540 am , and once again the impressive volcano is completely invisible behind the clouds. the huge mountain is 1 K away from us, but we cant see it. how ever, there are many bird species creating a nature orchestra.

 

yesterday, we awoke and had a traditional costa rican break feast for rice, beans, fried plantains, yuka (some kind of potato). ,but first we had a Delicious fruit plate of fresh pine apple, water melon, bananas. this is how i should eat every day. we got on the transport bus and arrived at the sky adventure center. we began hiking up the mountain with a guide. it was a nice day, no bugs and no need for bug spray in this time of year and the guide explains about all sort of unique trees and their usages.we reach the 1st of several hanging bridges, those are wobbly a bit and are place above deep canyons and let you see over the canopies. interesting variety is on display below and above us. birds are everywhere with interesting collors. the tanager is so far my favorite, with a dark blu\black color and a bright red patch in the wing.  we see many sub species of humming birds and hear monkeys, howler monkeys. we start to look for them and follow the sounds and they move from tree to tree and finally spot a small clan. we see them, even a little one, move from one tree to the next, but it is hard to see them, all the way in the top of the tree. we spot a big toad, a lizard moving fast under a bush. warblers are nesting by the trail and we saw the chick inside the nest. a view points lets us see lake Arenal and the clouds slowly uplifting from the volcano.

we return to the jungle and reach the half way point, for a nature break, and even here, there is a big wooden resembling beetle in the urinal!!, i hope it was doing number 1. this was no dung beetle mind you. on the out side, i spotted a common sight of Alla glancing in the mirror. Alla misses no chance to verify the hair is not freesy.

 

we passed by a couple of nice waterfalls and more bridges. there are lovely spots of red flowers that are in stark contrast to the green all around.on occasion, we see butter flies, including the famous blue one, that looks like an owl when not moving. we ended the tour with a butterflaryum for a few more easy to see butterflies. a very nice 3 hour hike left us hungry and just in time for a typical costa rican lunch.

this time it was beans with rice, plantains, yuka and yummy fish, served with a freshly squeezed fruit juice,...so good. and as we sit the clouds finally reveal the entire volcano. i quickly take photos before the clouds set down again.

 

just before going up the sky tram, we saw a bug green lizard shaped like two leaves, the ridges are looking so real. then we went up the mountain with the tram at canopy height seeing very nice views. now it was zip line time. we have done several Ziplines in the past, but this was higher and faster from the rest.over deep canyons, with clear sight to the mountain , the lake and the vast jungle all around above the canopy. best Zip line so far. to relax after the exhausting effort of sitting down while gravity does all the work, we had a crepe.

 

we returned to the hotel after seeing a turkey high on a tree, turkies here are smaller, and can actually fly!. transportation here is minimal in the evening , so we hitched our way in to the town of furtuna. we were furtunate to quickly catch a tourist family. Fortuna is a small town, but liely. it has a dominating church and a lovely grass square swampled with local kids flying kits by day, or some projectile eminating various lights at night.we skipped the tourist traps and headed for soda (local's restaurant) ara. we got the traditional costa rican supper of yes, rice +beans, plantains, some yuka and banana salad with fish. we strolled in the town and sopped at Pops of delicious ice cream and returned to the hotel, early morning the next day..

 

the next day, we woke early, and got on the bus for a fun day. the 1st stop, canyoneering. that was after a quick stop for empenadas. canyoneering. we learned how o rappel, then began our path in a creek, following it for a couple of hours. during the hike, we rappeled 4 time, two short ones, and 2 really high ones, where we rappled half the way and were then asked to grab the secondary rope and let go... gravity does the rest as we plummet down and stopped by the guide. what a rush!, there was also one hole that we jumped into head height level water and at one point, the guide dammend the creek, we set down on the water fall below, and he move, letting a tzunami flash flood overtake us , that was fun. the guide is doing par cour and he jumps from banks to banks, on rocks with such ease, while we slowly make our path in the creek, its an impressive sight. at the end, after 300 hundred stairs climb,d with a costa rican breakfast, i am sure you know what it is by now :) and some great tasting fresh juice.

 

we get back in to town and head for action#2. we stop on the way at a fruit plate and i get a fried plantain plate snack. 20 minutes later, its rafting time.

 

as rafting goes, this is not on my top 5, its a level 2-3 ,but the water is not high enough and we are slowed down by the rocks, but the water are also warm, so its fun to splash and be splashed on. we get to ride the bull, meaning seating on the front on the boat, feet out in some of the rapid, and swim next to the boat in the deeper sections. we finally spot a sloth, sitting on a tree doing nothing, Turkey vultures, herons, king fishers, fly catchers. the guide stops on a bank, digs around and finds a poisonous frog, a tiny thing the size of a quarter. we get to hold it in our hands, but don't lick it... at the sopping pint with great pine apple, 3 cows stand very close and wait for fruit left overs, this is a popular spot for them and they eat the bark of the pine apple and water melon, a very sustainable practice. i go to the side to extract some liquid residue and see another of these poisonous frogs jumping around.

 

not long after, we reach the end of this two and a half hours raft, fun experience after all, due to the animal part and the other couples with us on this raft.

 

with dry clothes, we had for a little ranch with great mountain views, once again the mountain was not visible in the morning, but it is now in the after noon. great views and also beautiful birds. we get some traditional costa rican lunch, with a shot of some local moon shine , and enjoy the sun set views over the volcano. we then watch a demonstration of ancient (60 years ago) sugar can making process and get to sample the raw juice and the freshly made sugar.

 

we get back to the hotel and plan to return to town that night, but crash till morning.

 

 

on Panama, humming birds and a single letter

I am sitting out side at 6:30 AM, stupid work habits, got used to waking early. i just saw a bug hummingbird and a small one, perhaps the kid, green grass, red leaves bushes and the jungle is in front, and the huge Arenal volcano is somewhere above, behind a veil of mist.

 

around 28 hours ago, after finishing last minute work for work and school. we went to sleep at 2:30 am, planning to wake up at 3. never trust an exhausted person to set the alarm.. we some how woke up at 3:50 and were out the door in super rush 15 minutes, driving faster then usual, not parking in the economy lot, skipped go , did not collect 200$ , and made it 5 minutes before the 1 hour cut off time (only to find out the cut off time was 30 minutes...). with poor food choices here i got something at the local Oils R us and slept through the 1st leg of the flight.

 

almost 2 hours layout, and a healthy but not filing chilly, i prefered that over Alla's Crepe (yes, i said no to Crepe) and packed Panda express for the plane, i don't know why i eat more in airports. i slept most of the way of the 4 hour flight and soon the rugged costa rica appeared below a layer of clouds.

 

we waited for a long time for our suit cases and most of the people on the plane moved on. we started walking around looking for my brother and i noticed Alla's polka dot pink suitcase of the baggage claim from Panama!, i was not aware we just went there, perhaps i slept longer then i thought.

 

well, we made it out side and saw the guy with our names on it, that sign had 3 names, one of them was suppose to land minutes before us. we didn't see that flight on the landing monitor, that was odd, so we looked at the reservation to see if there was another lay over and then we saw it. San Jose CA (not CR) , one letter different. it hit Us, Shay went to the wrong airport!!!!! this is no joke. and this is not a movie. at this time, due to the time different, we knew about it before he even landed. we called the landing authorities and explained the situation. i just want a recording of him landing and saying, oh shit!!!.

 

well, he was supposed to join for several days, so now he will stay in stead in California and we will enjoy Costa Rica.

 

we laughed here, as this type of mistake is more fitting for me to do.

 

we began the drive to Arenal volcano at the happiest country in the world (per the local signs), enjoying a very rugged and very green country, palms, plantations and hills. twice we saw a blooming yellow tree, those stood in incredible contrast to the green all around. it rained on occasion but the weather is nice and warm. after a few hours we stopped at a place for lunch. so much better then plane food. a on a plate (a wooden board , with a big leaf on top) we got, rice black beans, fried plantains , corn + something, a salad and a steak. we begun digging in. i cautiously tried the fried plantains (its a kind of banana) and it was yummy. i tried the something next to the corn and it didn't kill me, was kind of plain. i checked ,it was squash, which makes this my 1st time eating squash and not returning it (also 1st time plantains..) . next to us, they place bird feeders and humming birds of all sizes, some purple, some green, some with white tails came can enjoyed lunch as well. we passed through the town of fortune, and checked in at the erupciones bad and breakfast (breakfast soon...).  a quick shower and we headed for a hot spring resort.

 

what a beautifully place. this hot spring is semi man made. the hot water are coming down from the volcano which i still cant see, stupid mist. the hot river was adjusted in to several small hot creeks, they adjusted the water levels with mini, almost invisible dams, to control the water levels and create dozens of water falls, in between these water falls, they create tiny pools, most are the size of say , a home pool, but they look natural, with palms and other jungle vegetation all around. you walk at night with just a bathing suit in the little lit trails and discover more of these tiny pool, soak for a while and move on. some are very hot, some are more mild. bird sounds are all around and frogs as well i think, we see none of them, only hear. this placed is packed and yet the spreading of trails and pools make each of the pool a secluded piece of jungle paradise.

 

the water here are not sulphur, they feel like regular water, no oily feeling.

after a while, it was dinner time. i prefer local food usually,however, this was a quality Italian buffet, so no complaints. yummy fuchsia with olive spread, stuffed pastas, carrot salad, pine apple, fish are some of the things i sampled. Alla ate like she hasn't eaten for days and the deserts were good too. bloated, we went for a second dipping session then we hitched our way back to the hotel , for a much needed sleep.

 

and now its time for breakfast, a day of adrenalin awaits...

Mattan Movie

For Mattan's birthday we made a movie - a short 30 + minute feature film- a collection of his journey

 

enjoy...

 

http://youtu.be/ro3xH56kEKA