Arenal erupts

Arenal full moon 7:32pm

driving is a risk.

San Jose last night 5.27 Fri.

Friday 5.27th written in San Jose, Costa Rica 3km from the airport. Tired and beaten up from travel. Where do I start the ending? Im flying home in the morning. Its been a lovely – very lovely adventure. Yesterday I didn’t get to write as the car did need a new battery. Imagine my ‘joy’ to discover after working on it all day wednesday and sitting sweating like a pig all afternoon guarding the charger to awake Thursday and hear the car barely even make a noise. (wed. it did nothing) so the Thursdays minor growl was an improvement but it didn’t instill me with confidence that the car was ready to drive cross country today. Thursday - At breakfast I met up with Larry (from NY) and April (from California) to discover they wanted to go into Cobano to cash travelers checks. (8km) perfect! I needed a new battery. April turned out to be a Godsend. She is from a family of mechanics and speaks Spanish fluently. We drove straight through to Cobano and found the battery store. The local distributor was there in his truck delivering at that moment and had my exact one, so all the stars were aligned. April jumped in and started the project while the local Costa Ricans 'helped' in small spurts. It took about an hour total. (cost: 20,000centavos - $42us)

Then after the new battery and April’s getting cash we drove over to the coast @ Malpais and Playa Santa Teresa for lunch. Delicious tuna steak. But the show stopper was when larry and april laid down in the tide pool deck. They wanted to get closer to the water. Larry was swept out to sea and covered by two separate waves before he was able to get back out. No permanent damage suffered. Very funny to see his head bobbing around, he laughing, then another wave crashing over him.

Today, Friday - I left about 10:30am from playa Montezuma for the ferry boat in Paquera– going to Puntarenas. Then drove to san jose. (at one point I got lost and stopped to get directions.) let’s call him renaldo since I never did get his name right. Renaldo was at a bus station just north of punteranes. Waiting for a bus to san jose. I gave him a ride and he directed me on where to go. He was traveling the 3 hours by bus to visit his wife in the hospital. I ‘understood’ him to say he was a new father. ("me papa") But, I ‘could’ have misunderstood. He was a talker and spoke only Spanish so our conversations were a little one sided. I managed to find the hospital and a hotel before it got too dark.

Now my eyes are closing on me while I type. Had a fun time. Ill write more later from home. I got lots of great photos and enjoyed everything. The coolest thing was definitely the volcano. I had several killer meals; lobster, marlin (3times), sea bass. No bad meals. The funniest thing was when larry was swept away into the ocean to drown. We laughed about that all day. Well, ive bent your ear enough. Im dying to sleep.

Xo skip

foods of Costa Rica

Wed 11:14am - 5.25.05

while waiting for the auto battery to re-charge so i can drive... i came in and loaded some software for uploading photos. it only took an hour but now i can send again!!! here is a small sample platter of where i am. now that i have it working i will get you more shots.

the hammock is calling. (if the darn car will start) the cell's were all 6 almost dry. i rolled it down hill but it still just wouldnt give me anything. no worries, i dont need to drive till friday. i can figure it out by then. (maybe it needs a nap?)

xo skip

6:08pm. i borrowed a battery charger from some friends i met. (this after having 4 people help me push it twice.) then i sat and watched it charge for over 3 hours. i promised i wouldnt let someone steal his valuable electronics. if it starts again in the morning ill drive it to the gasolineria and have them check the battery. i don't want to have it go dead on me again in the mountains or on my drive to san jose. (the gas station is 8 kilometers away over the mountains)

FINALLY PHOTOS!!!!

Volcano at night. -skip



around the country...


enjoy C.R.

volcano photo

Volcano Arenal, Costa Rica

Wednesday 5.25

Montezuma, C.R.

Well darn it. This no picture situation is just not cutting it. If a picture is worth a thousand words then I owe you a book or two. After my nap I went to pick up my clothes from the wash lady. Yes, I did some wash! After a week even I need some clean shorts… I visited a little open air ‘restaurant.’ Frijoles, rice, salad, mashed potatoes, pork chop and a Pilsen beer. (a plato tipico – typical plate.) you can get this with chicken, beef, pork, fish, whatever meat. I didn’t have dinner. My breakfast of fresh fruit and wheat toast with coffee held me over till late. Tonight I had a snack I had been saving. On the northwest corner of Lake Arenal is ‘Tim’s Panaria’ a german bakery. I stopped there yesterday morning on the drive down to grab some breakfast. I ate the cinnamon roll and a fresh yeast roll during the drive. But I saved two coconut pastries. These were comparable to the old ‘Bama pecan pies’ I got as a kid. (individually wrapped small pecan pie deserts) only these were not wrapped. These came right out of the oven. Standing 1 ½” high and about 2” across, a pastry shell filled with coconut pie. Lightly glazed to a caramelized finish and moist inside with huge chunks of coconut. I saved them till tonight only because I had no idea just how good they were. Now I wish I had bought a dozen… I measure the distance from here back to the bakery at about 60 miles. It would take over 5 hours to reach it. Boy was I naive when I planned my driving down here. The map is not a scale for travel. Towns marked are often nothing more than a name on a map – no town at all. Often a small store and a couple of houses. Road signs are impossible to follow. I was lost 4 times driving from Jaco to Arenal. The roads are much worse than advertised. Any wash out, pot hole, bridge gone, earthquake rippled problem is merely marked by a sign and then a simple pole driven into the road to show you where the ‘problem’ is. Nothing is fixed. You are just given a warning. (this is why they say don’t drive at night) there are almost no guard rails anywhere. If you see guard rails you really must be in danger. Now complicate this by not being able to read the signs. (I had a gentleman explain to me last week in La Fortuna that I was going the wrong way down a one way. Thankfully his hand gestures were ‘kind’ and his pointing was a direction and not a wave.) it’s a very wild ride.

This morning at breakfast a large blue bird, resembling a blue jay on steroids, with a head dress on, landed on the table and ate food from my hand. The waitress explained that they eat sugar. You can pour out a package of sugar and the birds come and eat it. (I saw one swoop down and steal a single packet of sugar. Then he flew up on a telephone wire and ate the sugar.) this is a strange land. Dorothy we’re not in Kansas anymore.

Well im into my second book so I need to take off. Sorry to bore you with no pictures.

skip

Montezuma, Costa Rica

Tuesday 5.24 / NO PHOTOS to post from here. Internet prohibitive / primitive /3kbp sec.

I am still in Montezuma, Costa Rica. I have decided to stay here and rest for a few days. This is a sleepy little village on the pacific coast, out on the end of a peninsula. I drove down to Puntarenas and then took the ferry boat over yesterday. It carried about 20 cars with room for more. Three decks for about an hour – arriving in Paquera. Then 44 kilometers drive over more mountains. (there are mountains everywhere I’ve been.) Im staying in a little hotel just off the beach. I was given the choice of with/without air conditioning, with/without hot water. My room is $40us per night with/with. Not much to do here so I’ll stay and do nothing. Perfect pace. Wed & Thur. Are nothing days. Friday I will drive back to the ferry, then on to San Jose for the night. Saturday I fly home.

Today I got the perfect hammock photo, several beach shots and worked in a nap. (while shooting the hammock there were two guys chopping down coconuts. The owner told me it’s a hazard because if they fell and hit someone it could kill them. They chopped one open for me to drink the fresh milk. Im not starving yet!) Tomorrow I ‘may’ hike up to see the waterfall. I ‘may’ lay in the hammock with my book pretending to read.

I have no phone, no tv but finished book one today and started book two. I have done no shopping and frankly don’t know when I might fit it into my schedule…

Dined on lobster last night. ($13us)

I hope all is well back in the world?

Xo skip
________________________________________________________
P.S. things you can’t see in photos but really need to:
volcano shots,
beach shots,
lobster,
hammock,
coconut,
me,
howler monkey,
the roads!

P.S.S. I got stopped for speeding on the way over from Arenal to Puntarenas. Just like a scene from a B movie. “you can pay me cash now or “have- a- problem,” lose your passport and be stuck waiting for the banks to open…” ($40us – no problems.) this all garbled between his limited English and my impossible Spanish. While he stands in the roadway. Cars zipping past. No problemo! He was super friendly and smiled and I WAS speeding. No ticket and his kids get new shoes. Doing my part for local economy.

Monday 5.23 Montezumas revenge...

Well i left the volcano in Arenal, Costa Rica and drove 'toward' Monteverde. but, i ended up in Montezuma. (my plans changed over coffee in a german bakery on lake arenal) i had to drive a few hours around lake arenal all the way down to Puntarenas where i caught a boat across the bay to Paquera. then you drive 47 kilometers around/through green tropical jungled mountains to the beach - Playa Montezuma. the last 7 kilometers were dirt. (not gravel) the ruts and potholes were the worst ive seen yet. perhaps this is why this place is 'undiscovered?' (it's the first time where they had posted speed limit signs and i was already doing half that speed.) i had occaisions to use first gear downhill. this is remote. even by costa rican standards.

i had a crust of bread and scalding hot coffee at 7;15am today and nothing since. so, im going to run now and find something to hold me over. no promise on any photos from here. this dial up connection is so slow it took 20 minutes to log on and get to my page.

im running out now to explore the town, eat and get that book read. will give you a more full report tommorrow.

ciao. skip

Sunday 5.22 Volcano Arenal, Costa Rica

well i made it and it was clear! i got some killer shots of the volcano. unfortunately the little internet cafe wont be able to let me post any photos. this dialup line is going so slow it would take me all day to set up the software on here and it just keeps locking up. -it´s giving me some warning in spanish and i keep deleting it... ´

i left Jaco at about 11am yesterday and drove straight through as fast as my little 4 wheel drive could carry me. i wanted to get here to scout out the volcano before dark. it rained thick and gray the last two hours so my hopes of seeing anything were growing slim. then as i rounded the Lake Arenal the clouds cleared and the sun came out to reveal the volcano. it stayed clear all night and i got some shots of eruptions - sounding sort of like a mixture of thunder, explosion, jet engine, rumbling and air forced through a large pipe. this all at the same time. - some ´explosions´ are accompanied by smoke or lava spilling down the side. in the daytime it looks like ash or smoke rolling down the mountain, but at night its like a huge smelter pouring buckets of red hot molten fire. you watch the top glow and a small mound forms then it runs down. i saw one ´eruption´ where it exploded into the air. a large wet fireball blown up over the top of the cone. i drove around the rutted, potholed dirt roads till almost midnight finding different spots with competing angles. i was worn out.

this morning at 5am howler monkeys began screaming right behind my open window. a small band live in a tree just outside my room. you can hear them screaming to each other through the valley. ´they are reported to be heard 3 miles away.´ my bed of 70 feet was well within range. so, yes i got up and took some shots of those too.

now im downtown la Fortuna, near arenal. its raining so i will just relax and work on that book.

in the morning i plan to drive back around the lake to Monteverde for the rainforest visit. no other plans now. stay tuned because i dont know what im doing.

from the Volcano. 'skip

Sat 5.21 - Jaco & going to Arenal, C.R.

Today I take my final photos of the surfing. I hope the sun’s out and the 12’ waves are here!

Also, I check out of my hotel and drive to Arenal for a glimpse of the volcano. (some others here at my lodging say they have been there 4 times and never seen the volcano because of clouds…. Wish me luck. it might take 5 hours to drive the short distance. traffic, mountains, bad roads and possible rain all against me. also, i dont know how the internet will be in the little village. this speedy 150kps has not been great. the first day took over an hour just to set up my blog on this one machine. (i may not be able to post photos from there?) yesterday it took over an hour to send all the photos because the 'speed' was so slow. we shall see.


I only wanted to include a few beach shots today. Can you pick your favorite view from the beach. I can.

Warmest,
Xo skip

Friday 5.20 Jaco, C.R.

Well im wiped out. Bone weary. Where to start…. I was robbed today. My camera is broken. (other than that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?) but im safe, fat and sassy! I started my day taking photos of the surfers over on Playa Hermosa. There are signs posted: “don’t leave anything of value in your vehicles.” When I returned I noticed my little black ink pen laying in the dirt by the vehicle. Silly me, I thought, how lucky that I dropped that and no one picked it up. Then I noticed the doors were unlocked… that’s not how I left this! They stole my raincoat, and my short sleeved blue denim shirt. (so, I am hoping they are burning in Hell waiting for that rain!) fortunately they didn’t break a window to gain entry. Nothing else touched. My 6 year old khaki hat sitting on the dash… count your blessings! (don’t leave anything in your vehicle)


My camera is digital and has a little viewing screen. It seems to have shorted out. I cant review anything. This is not a deal breaker. I just pretend im shooting film and keep shooting. I had all the settings locked-in so nothing is ‘really needed’ from the viewing screen. I’ll muddle on. (photos are what I do…)

The good news is; it didn’t rain till dinner time. I was enjoying a thick, lightly seared, very freshly caught, huge cut, of Tuna when a downpour struck. Now im back at my hotel and ready for bed. Tired. (I didn’t finish all the tuna)

After the surfers, the robbery and lunch I drove back to the Crocks. I wanted to see if it was just a fluke that I saw some… no, they’re still there. Some guys showed up with chicken which they threw down onto the throng. magically they swam from both directions of the river to fight over the fresh yardbird. Sunning monsters up and downstream slithered through the thick sludge into a mud wrestling mass. (12’ long monsters.)

That’s it. I ate. Now I sleep and repeat.

Tomorrow I plan to take more surf photos and then drive further down the coast. (I’ll not leave ANYTHING in the auto. Maybe leave the windows down?)

Hope you are safe with your windows locked!

Xo skip

PS. Saturday I plan to start by taking the last set of surf photos and then driving to Arenal the volcano. (rumor has it there is a hurricane off Nicaragua which will make 12’ waves Saturday. We are all pretty excited about that!)

pss. today my camera is working again! two days of 'trying' to keep it dry. also, i have tried to limit my airconditioner use to stop all the fogging of lenses. its a rain forest, beach, and surf spray environment.

Thursday 5.19 Jaco, C.R.

I decided to stay here in Jaco. I drove down to Playa Hermosa. It’s a deserted surf beach. Or, you could say a very pristine private beach without the hassle of a city, food, or lodging… they have a surf shop, a couple of open air dive bars and a few places to stay. But it’s not my center of the action spot. I am comfortable here. I can always drive back for more photos. (it’s about ten minutes down the beach)

Hermosa

Jaco (note the ‘city’ and “overdeveloped crowded conditions”) I found the difference to be Hermosa has surfers ~ 30ppl. And Jaco beach has ‘tourist’ ~ 100ppl. Neither crowded by my jaded - recently in las vegas for work standards. Jaco has more selections for food. (since I am not a surfer, but DO eat – I will stay in Jaco)

I’m afraid I didn’t do much today. I had breakfast, lunch, dinner. Took a splendid nap and watched some surfers. (I did drive up onto the top of the mountain to get the two beach photos.) Now it’s 9:30pm and im writing in my little dear diary. Oh, and worse yet – I ate both lunch and dinner at “pancho villa” restaurant, and had the same thing! Marlin. At lunch I had it with lots of lemon butter and drowning in garlic. For dinner they grilled it. You cant see how thick the hunk-o-marlin is, but I couldn’t eat it all. About $6us. (I’ll explain the dollars in another writing.)(when I figure it out.)

Marlin grilled to perfection. Mixed veggies, mashed potatoes.

going out

(not me in the air!)

surfer dude (note: the large waves and close sets. Plenty of good surf today)

oh, it rained again this afternoon during my nap. Made it very easy to relax and not be afraid I was missing something….

Having fun. Sat with the hotel owner, the mgr, and their friend tonight, for a visit. He’s Italian, she’s dutch and the friend was from ‘somewhere.’ My lack of Spanish didn’t come into play. They all chatted in their own language and I smiled. It was a nice visit.

No plans for tomorrow. If it rains – I’ll nap!

Enjoying. Xo skip

ps. 8:47am its SUNNY! i awoke to the sound of no rain... slight breeze, sunny and going to be hot. will run back for more surf photos and then the 'tram.'

Wed. 5.18 Jaco, Costa Rica

Wed morning 8am. Im a new man! Ive eaten, slept, eaten again… now I will go explore the region. My plan today is to keep my little hotel room here in jaco. $40 us with a great airconditioner, refrig in room, color TV (which I will never watch) hot water and clean. Its central to everything I know about the country now. Hopefully I will drive down the coast and find an ideal spot to move to. Or not. You may expect some beach photos later.

Last night I went to the lobster house for dinner. it sits on the ocean with waves crashing just off the deck. I ordered a salad and fried squid for appetizer. But there was so much calamari I couldn’t eat anything else. Well, OK I did have a wonderful banana flambay for desert. They dimmed the lights in the restaurant and did some flaming fire trick, pouring molten burning liquid in my face before bathing my banana’s and ice cream. Splendid! (might go back there just for the ‘picture’)


note: there ARE crocs here! The guidebook mentioned a river I would drive over which although not marked by signs, “you will recognize because of tourists hanging over the edge taking pictures.” I found it. Naturally I assumed like every other croc hunt I have been on – there wouldn’t be any. Wrong again. I counted twenty I could see at one time. Big ones up to huuuuuuuge ones. Its tough to guess there size but they were very big compared to me. (im thinking of going back and doing the crock tour – where some guy will feed them or wrestle them or some crazed thing. I was happy just to see them and use my long lens for a photo. 300mm) I would like to get closer for a better photo – about as close as I can throw a baseball. (don’t worry mom I will not be getting close to these – they are NOT cute.)

it rained this morning about 2am. I woke to a torrential downpour. The ping, ping, ping off a tin roof noise. (think golf ball size hail onto a storage shed and you about have it.) Fortunately there was no thunder so I went right back to sleep. Now, today I see dark clouds on the horizon so I am packing for the rainforest.

I stopped at a typical Tico spot for breakfast. I was needing a cup of coffee and found a small open air restaurant favored by locals. (solo gringo) I just followed another man through the line and pointed at things. I ended up with beans & rice, sausage, potatoes, plantains. Oh, and two cups of Costa Rican coffee – very mild and sweet.

Its going to be a long day, so I have to run now. Have a great week! Don’t worry about me, they have an ‘all you can eat’ special at the lobster house tonight. (yummmmm)
Xo skip

i'm in Costa Rica now.... let the mystery begin!

well, the talk about the roads was not an exageration. they are 'rustic' and crazy. i made it without being crushed or pushed over a mountain. suffice it to say - imagine any car chase scene with no guard rails and then play bumper cars on it. i drove about 50 miles and it only took me three hours. its almost all straight up or down with winding switch backs. i thought i was lost but only because i never saw any towns listed on the map. (i guess i blinked each time?)

im in Jaco on the pacific coast. i got in right at dusk. i am on my way now to find that perfect lobster dinner! i hope you are enjoying your vacations too.

day one and totally wrung out. will write more tomorrow.

xo skip

Costa Rica and other crazed things

Well ive done it again... i got tickets for a trip to Costa Rica. i still dont speak spanish. i have no reservations. rather no hotel reservations. i have slight misgivings about my very sudden departure. where will i go? what will i do?

my 'plan' is to rent a 4 wheel drive and go to the coast. find a hammock and fall asleep with my book. stay there till i finally read something - then move down the coast. ultimately i will go to see the volcano Arenal. everything ive seen printed guarantees it to be a must see location.

well, thanks for dropping by. check back later to see some photos from C.R.


email me at http://www.skipsphotos.biz