the green flash

tree blossoms in guancaste

mangoes?

pot farm?

This is a cashew fruit and nut. They turn the fruit into juice

Jurassic park was filmed on Coco Island, part of CR. The props all ended up at this rest stop at the Monteverde Cooperative More cas ice cream for me along with macadamia nut, which also grows here. There was an iguana in the t rex's mouth

crown of thorns

our lunch stop  They bbq'd ssteaks for us

costa rican candies

bridge over crocodiles

frigates

blue duck billed heron

bottle openers

the beach

6 th floor of our hotel. We had a 2 hour Happy Hour compliments of Caravan Drinks were tasty but weak

my  friend and I waiting for the sunset

as are they

I always thought the green flash was a myth but I saw it this time

I was sad to leave the fancy resort but on to the national park, which was most people's favorite. First stop, the ice cream store. I had cas, green guava. The grounds were lush with flowers and dinosaurs left over props from Jurassic Park Lunch was at a steak house. I ordered my steak medium and it came out very rare. One common dessert I learned to love was coconut fudge, a mix of coconut, brown sugar and orange rind. All cattle is free ranch and grass fed. The cattle are all the skinny, bumpy Brahmins as seen in India, which tolerate heat. Usually next to the cattle are the cattle egrets picking up the bugs the cattle attract. The egrets come from Africa. Not sure how they got to Central America.

We were to go on a crocodile river cruise but the shallow area that most of the crocs hung out was too shallow for the boat so we so them from the bridge. Number one question:  difference between  a croc and an alligator? One would see you in a while and the other later. Alligators are only in Florida whereas crocs are much more wide spread. Again thwarted by not having a telephoto lens. One thing I should have filmed were the Jesus lizards running on top of water. They look so funny.

It seems that most of the tourists that come to CR a stay close Manual Antonio Nat'l Park. Lots of traffic and touristy things. Our hotel was right in the park. We were told that the wildlife would be hanging around the hotel though all we saw are iguanas, bats and bugs. No monkeys on my balcony as promised. Our treat was to have cocktails provided by the tour company (they don't include alcohol or soda for other meals). Pina Colas mojitos and guaro sours were the favorites. Guaro is their version of rum. It was a pretty place. Our balcony had a burnt out light. We sat quietly outside listening to night noises.