Costa Rica 1992, Outside Manuel Antonio Park

      Our small cabin in the settlement just outside the park was extremely humid and sticky, but it did feature a little fan, that made it a bit more livable.  After a bit of a rest, we began to explore the area.  We walked along the beach along the shore of the Pacific and came to the shallow river draining into estuary, where you had to wade across to be in Manuel Antonio Park.  It certainly felt like a unique entrance to a park (Photo Below).  We didn’t enter, saving the exploring for the following day.

    In our walk, we did begin to see a lot of exotic birds.  We spotted the local variety of Nuthatch, flitting around in a thicket, but unlike our Robson Valley species, this one had white and black stripes and a rust-colored back.  We also spotted a pelican and a Frigate bird flying along the Pacific shoreline.

    By 7:30, we were exhausted enough to go to bed to read.  Our little cabin featured no media or other distractions.  When we finally turned off the light, the sound of crickets and frogs, began to be drowned out by loud rock and roll from a disco or some other nightspot not far away.

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Costa Rica 1992, Heading to Manuel Antonio Park

      The next morning near the Tourist Information Centre we bought some bottled water and groceries for our trip to Manuel Antonio Park.  We ate our breakfast at McDonalds, after which we walked, lugging all of our luggage, the 18 or so blocks, through crowded and chaotic streets to where the buses were parked.  The bus we wanted was scheduled to leave at 11:00.  It took us some time to find where the tickets were sold and where the bus would be.

    While we were waiting, a guy approached and warned us to watch out for a man he inconspicuously pointed out.  He told us the man was a snatch and run artist.  We kept our eyes on the thief until we finally boarded the bus and picked out some good seats, only to discover that the seats were assigned, which separated us.  

    It was shortly after getting out assigned seats that Joan discovered that she no longer had her fanny pack, which contained money, car keys, and a camera lens.  We never did find out if it was lost or stolen.

    All of the bus drivers we have experienced in Central America must have gotten their driver’s training at the same place, because like them, this one drove like a bat out of hell, screaming down the mountain road full of curves.   We did finally began to see some tropical country once we got away from San Jose.  The bus took us up into the clouds (literally) which was cool and moody, then travelled down into the warm moist seaside and palm plantations.

    Once down on the coast, the racing bus driver slowed down to a crawl when it got to a rough gravel road.  The bumpy road hammered my back brutally, causing me a lot of pain.   At a turnoff, I noticed a sign for the Hotel Jaco.  When we were booking our Costa Rico flight over the phone, the travel agent tried to book us into the Hotel Jaco, for when we landed in San Jose.  She mentioned it was on the ocean, which didn’t sound right to me, I knew that San Jose, was in the middle of the country, not on an ocean.  I’m glad we had caught the problem, it would have meant an additional two hour drive, after a long day of flying.

    We stayed on the bus until we got to Manuel Antonio Park.  We got off of the bus to discover that the clean, reasonably-priced hotel that we wanted to stay in was closed, so full of anxiety, we began walking back to the road, seeking some other shelter for the night.  We could find nothing with a room that we could afford.  Fortunately, as we walked down the road with our bags, we were approached by a friendly guy, who showed us a funky little cabin in the woods for $15.  With great relief, we happily took it.

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Arriving in San Jose, Costa Rica, 1992

      After walking out of the airport, our bags were picked up by a kid, when we asked him about getting a taxi.  We followed him to the open trunk of a waiting minibus.  We climbed in, sat down, then were thrown against the back of our seats, as the minibus roared 110 km/hr toward San Jose.  The ride cost us $10 US, plus tips for the baggage boy, the driver, and then the doorman of the hotel.  The hemorrhaging of money, didn’t seem to stop.

    We had made reservations at the Hotel Ambassador at the price of $55 US, but it actually cost us $85 US for a fairly crumby room.  Feeling ripped off, we decided to check out first thing the next day.  That ripped off feeling continued after our $7.50 US charge for breakfast, (6 pieces of toast, butter, jam, and 1 orange juice.)

    Laden down with all of our bags, we trudged toward the center of town, with my back still aching.  As we went, I discovered that I had lost my red nylon wool lined jacket.   With added discouragement, we went looking for a cheaper hotel.

    We ended up at the Pension Costa Rica Inn and another crumby room, but this one only cost us $30 US.  There was a toilet in the room with a sign telling us not to flush the paper.  After dropping off our bags, we wasted a couple of hours trying to find a chiropractor.   Eventually, we came to the conclusion that they didn’t exist in Costa Rica.

    We began to have a more positive feeling about our trip after wandering around all day in San Jose.   However, we found that everything was just too expensive, without offering anything that we wanted to see.  We were eager to get out of the city and into Nature and decided to travel to Manuel Antonio Park the next day for beach time and Nature.

    We bought an umbrella from a street vendor.  We didn’t really want such a big one, because it would be awkward as we traveled around, but the vendor kept lowering the price every time we started to walk away, so finally we relented and paid $13 CAN for it.  I was glad we did, because I discovered that I could use it as a cane, which helped alleviate my back pain.

You can view my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca

Our Flights to Costa Rica, 1992

      In Edmonton, we had to get up in the middle of the night (4:30 AM) which was 3:30 AM BC time, to catch our flight.  The plane departed at 6:00, landing in Dallas at 3:00 in the afternoon.  Once landed, I nursed my painful back the best I could, sitting on a Dallas Airport bench, watching over our bags, as my wife  went off to try to find a paperback to read on our trip.   The flight from Edmonton certainly hadn’t helped my back, and I began wondering about finding I a chiropractor once we got to Costa Rica.

    As I sat there, I was lulled into zombie-like state, listening to man and woman take turns soliciting funds “for a homeless family” from the baggage-lugging airport crowd passing by.  I couldn’t help but wonder about the validity of their “charity” since it was taking place inside an international airport.   That seemed a rather strange place to seek funds for a homeless family, but not many people taken in by the scam.

    From Dallas, we flew to Guatemala City where some of the passengers were to depart.  At night, through the window, I watched a very active lighting storm strobing the jungle below us. 

    Before we landed, I was surprised when we were fumigated by the stewardesses, who came slowly walking down the aisle with spray cans, misting the seated passengers.  Either it was a token effort  or we were being sprayed with pretty potent toxins.  Once the Guatemalan tourists had deplaned, our flight resumed for two more hours, arriving at the San Jose Airport at 10:30.  Upon finally landing, we were exhausted, but fortunately, getting through Costa Rica Customs was quick and easy.

    As we walked out of the airport building, our bags were grabbed by a kid, when we asked him about getting a taxi.  We followed him to the open trunk of a waiting minibus.  We climbed in, sat down, then were thrown against the back of our seats, as the minibus raced 110 km/hr toward San Jose.  The ride cost us $10 US, plus tips for the baggage boy, the driver, and then the doorman of the hotel.  The hemorrhaging of money, didn’t seem to stop.

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Alpenglow on the Cariboo Mounains

     Alpenglow is a term that refers to the pinkish hue that mountains reflect from the rising or setting sun just below the horizon, on the opposite side of the sky.  We witnessed it yesterday morning as we headed out to Prince George for a dental appointment.   The sky was overcast in the west, as the sun was beginning to rise in a clearer sky in the east.  

    I mentioned in previous blogs how frustrating it is to make the drive, when photogenic things are going on outside, and there is no place to safely stop along curvy and hilly Highway 16.  I was able to stop in a few places, but often the colors and brightness had already started to diminish by the time I got my camera and climbed out of the car.

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Our Costa Rica Trip 1992: A Bad Start

          Throughout my life, I had never given any thought to the country of Costa Rica, in my mind I am sure I had always gotten it and Puerto Rico mixed up, but as a result of my environmental interests, Costa Rica began popping up more and more in my reading, because it had begun to establish a lot of nature reserves, in its varied ecological areas.  Because of its location in the narrow landmass between North and South America, and its tropical clime, it supported a wide spectrum of both flora and fauna from both continents.

        Their nature reserves were part of a strategy to entice eco-tourism, and that strategy, was sure beginning to work on me.  Exploring jungles, sea shores, and volcanoes, in a democratic land without a standing army, pressed all my “POSITIVE” buttons, and it was certainly the kind of place I wanted to support, so we planned our 1992 summer vacation there.

        My wife and I had arranged a flight to Costa Rica starting in mid-August.  I was certainly in need of a vacation after so much work on the fire flaps we had.  I had my old green bag that I had used on my trip to Guatemala, straining at the seams with all of the things I was taking along.  When I found my passport, I made a happy discovery:  $150 in US Traveller’s Cheques that I had not used in my previous travels.  I made arrangements to have friends water our house plants and take care of the goats.   

        It was not the first time before a big vacation that I pushed myself too hard trying to clean out the manure from the barn before we left, and as a result, I threw out my back, and could only stand at an angle, and in pain.  We had to begin our trip by driving to Edmonton to catch a flight.  Because of my back, my wife had to do all of the driving, while I tried to recline, the best I could, in the lowered passenger seat.  

        We stopped and called chiropractors seeking help for me, all along our route; in Hinton, Edson, and Leduc, all without success.  When we got to our motel in Nisku, Alberta, close to the Edmonton International Airport, I continually called the local chiropractor, but he never did pick up his phone, so I was doomed to fly all the way to Costa Rica with my screwed up back.

        My wife was not in optimum spirits either.  In Nisku, she had discovered that she had packed the wrong pair of white pants into her suitcase, so she was missing the “key piece” of her wardrobe for the trip.  This left her mad and worried, so that left both of us in not the best mood to begin a trip to a foreign country. 

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First Snow

     We got our first snowfall overnight.  It was nothing spectacular, but still, it was a precursor of the winter ahead.  The long range forecasts predict that we will get a colder and snowier winter than normal.  After last winter’s incredibly mild and lack of much snow, I guess we can’t complain.  

    Most plants have pretty much given up on growing by now, but we had one rose bush that managed to put out one last bloom.  (below).

 Take a look at my paintings:  davidmarchant2.ca