We left Canada in the nick of time ... snow was starting to fall and the weatherman was threatening sub-sub-sub zero temps from our December 27 departure date to well into the New Year. Although the thought of traveling around Central America was a bit out of my comfort zone, it was good to know that we would be accompanied by Bernie's brother John and his wife Linda for the first two weeks.
Costa Rica is an amazingly lush, green country. Palm trees, banana trees, hibiscus plants, and orchids abound in this tropical paradise and I never got tired of seeing them all. Wow, it makes the Manitoba growing season feel pretty chintzy. We tried to explain to some of the locals that while we were enjoying plus thirty temperatures, Canada was having minus thirty degree temps. Not surprisingly no one took us up on our invitation to come for a visit. Besides trying to persuade locals that life in Canada is not all cold and snow (and may I add, every time we said we were Canadians, we received the most favourable responses ... good, eh?), we went on a number of nature walks, (one during the day, one at night, and one in the rain), snorkelled, and enjoyed the local beach or hotel pool.
Our travels took us from the Pacific coastline of Quepos and the Manuel Antonio Park to the cloud forest in the mountains near the town of Monteverde to the volcanoes and natural hot springs of La Fortuna. So much to see ... so little time!
