This afternoon, on our way back to San Jose, we visited the El Manantial Macaw sanctuary near Puntarenas. Due to the destruction of macaw habitat, and poaching for pets, both the scarlet and green macaw are considered endangered within Costa Rica. El Manantial is dedicated to conserving and breeding macaws with the purpose of reintroducing them back into the wild. I managed to snap a picture of this happy pair who are now free and thriving. Dad was particularly impressed with the two pairs of Hyacinth macaws that were seized and are cared for by the sanctuary. These giant purplish parrots are considerably taller than your average Labrador retriever. Do you see the fire red colour of those smiling macaws? Now imagine your father that colour, especially his back! We went snorkelling yesterday and he definitely got fried by the sun. Dad managed to get a deal on a full day snorkelling adventure out to Tortuga Island. I was, as always, sceptical--especially when I realized that the two young men that pulled up on their ATVs, munching on a bag of Cheetos, were our guides for the day. They led us down to the water. I wondered how we were going to fit 15 into the relatively small boat that pulled up--no problem three young ladies were "invited" to sit up on the deck in front of the driver. Then the safety instructions--wait there were none! Dad noted my concern and pointed to some life jackets hanging from the canopy. Once I let all of this go--magic! It was like a Disney movie. Dolphins leapt out of the crystal blue water beside the boat. We snorkelled in two different locations--there were so many brightly coloured fish--I'm pretty sure I even saw Nemo. Lunch was served under a canopy located on the white shell beach of Tortuga island. Dad's sunburn will soon be forgotten (we're treating is with aloe plant our host cut from the garden), but this magical day will not. We have met many wonderful people and have had unforgettable experiences. Our next adventure will be Turkey starting September 11th. In the meantime we look forward to heading home in the morning to catch up with all of you. You are always in my prayers. Love Mom
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Last night Dad and I headed out after supper to hunt for Costa Rican land crabs. It was a beautiful Costa Rica evening with hundreds of fire flies hovering over the meadow across the road from our jungle home. Flashlights in hand we scoured the dirt roads until we found our critter of the day. Only about four inches across she is know for her determination. Although she is a land crab she will head in a straight line through just about anything to bring her eggs to the beach. Today I mustered a little of this determination myself as your father and I went zip lining. Video will follow in the morning, but don't be disappointed that there is no screaming--I loved it. Prior to going I had a reoccurring dream that the instructor would take one look at me and say, "can someone get the heavy rope?" Well, that didn't happen. Pedro, who I'm pretty sure was assigned to babysit me, was charming and patient. We did nine lines and I learned something about zip lining--it's not the "zipping" that kills you--it's the stairs. My biggest near-death was on the last line. Somehow my speed got all out of control, my hand came off the line, I started spinning--Oh! Oh! Do you know what I did? I let the instructor waiting for me at the other end reel the brake out because he knew how to handle the situation--he understood the big picture. God lesson? Yup--it was for me. Hide me now Under your wings Cover me Within your mighty hands When the ocean rise and thunders roar I will soar with you above the storm Father you are King over the flood I will be still and know you are God Find rest my soul In Christ alone Know His power In quietness and trust When the ocean rise and thunders roar I will soar with you above the storm Father you are King over the flood I will be still and know you are God You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. Welcoming us to our three hour hike in the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve was a harem of White-lined bats. Fortunately, I am fascinated by these remarkable creatures as they are quite common in Costa Rica. Apparently, I can get fascinated by a lot of things when I have my camera in hand because shortly after trying to capture a band of about 40 coti (like raccoons, but cuter) with the go-pro we realized we weren't quite sure we were still on the trail. I went into survival mode and made your dad fill up his water bottle from the stream and wouldn't let him open his beer nuts in case we needed them for rations. Perhaps I over-reacted. We retraced our steps--we made it out alive. We continue our quest to eat local. Yesterday, after walking out to Cabuya Island, which can only be reached on foot during low tide, we bought delicious mango and pineapple preserves from a home along the road. Today we bought fish directly from the fisherman that hangs out near the beach in Cabuya . We have no idea what kind of fish it is, but it is a good thing it cooked up so tasty because we ended up buying a kilogram--our Spanish still needs some work! Our host exclaimed that we are like children--we want to try everything. We are taking that as a challenge. Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. You are always in my prayers. Love Mom We watched an army of tiny Cutter Leaf Ants for over 30 minutes today. You can do that when you are retired! Back and forth, back and forth, they carried a burden seemingly too enormous to bear--they never gave up. This makes them a very worthy critter of the day. It was going to be a capuchin monkeys but they pee on their hands and feet to mark their territory and eat our compost. To be fair, I think Dad picks our meals based on what makes the best treats for the monkeys.
Up until now we have been in the cooler parts of Costa Rica. Now it is hot, hot, hot! With the heat we have slowed our pace. To cool down we float in the Pacific (300 metres from our Jungalow), read in the shade, or swing in the hammock wearing just our underwear. We also went for a drive in the 4x4 to catch a breeze and see a two hundred year old Strangler Fig. Of course, we had to stop occasionally to let the iguanas cross the road. I managed to buy antibiotic ear drops using only spanish (yes, there is infection in Paradise). At least I hope they are ear drops because I'm putting them in my ear. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. La Fortuna waterfalls drops 75 metres into a dormant volcano. It takes 15 minutes to make your way down to the base of the falls and four hours to make your way back up-- maybe I'm exaggerating but several people who passed me during the climb asked if I was O.K. I'm pretty sure your father ran up! While we were there I heard one clever young man claim "When I said I loved water sports I used to mean boating". Everyone was very, very wet but the rainy season made the waterfall spectacularly powerful. Last night at the Soda our new friend mentioned that there was going to be a cattle sale at the stock yard this morning. As we left La Fortuna we were almost ran into by a cow running down the road. We figure she was actually, not figuratively, running for her life. That was probably the safest part of our trip. The road between La Fortuna and Monteverde is comparable to a trip across moon rocks. In places you drive in and out of the potholes with the shoulders cut away to nothing on both sides. Your dad did great. We are now in Monteverde. Our coffee/cocoa/sugar cane tour was an exercise in indulgence. Since it is off season there were only four of us on the tour. We definitely consumed the product equivalent of a full sized tour. Cocoa right out of the bean--amazing. They cautioned it might cause diarrhea, but so far so good! Settled in for the night as the sun sets over the cloud forest. Psalm 145:5 They speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty— and I will meditate on your wonderful works. You are always in my prayers. Love Mom. Favourite critter today-the Jesus Christ Lizard-Guide explanation"because he walks on water NOT because of what you say when he crawls over your foot"
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Ray & Diane
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