Exciting Jungle Adventure Extension!!!

If you see that written anywhere in your tour description ... RUN!!!   I would like to say "not really" here ... but the extension turned out to be something we were little prepared for, thanks to our Tour Company's non-description of the actual trip we were taking!!  They said to bring a raincoat ... what they should have said was bring a poncho, a hat, a huge umbrella and eight changes of clothes.  To say it rained, was an understatement.

At any rate, we started off in the rain in our oldy moldy bus on the coach massage roads of dirt and mud.  We passed through huge fields of bananas, all sacked up in blue bags to prevent the killer spiders from biting the harvest men and to provide a micro-climate for bigger, better bananas.  The bunches are so heavy, they are cut and loaded on to cables that are then dragged through the fields to the trucks.  This setup is for the tourists ... they pulled them out, then pushed them back to the roadside, but we got the idea.

Having seen lots of huge Brahma bulls, I never got a shot through the windows, though I tried many times.  Finally!!!  One sort of clear so you can see their size.  They are revered here ... several towns even had huge statues on the street corners.

We were told we could only have a small overnight bag with us for this three days.  THAT is my major complaint about this trip.  I'm sorry, but they lied!!  We arrived at the end of the road, literally, and debarked to find a group of guides posing, with Carla as OUR designated guide.  As they unloaded the bus, we quickly discovered that EVERYONE had REGULAR luggage.  We were the only two that had large purses for our stuff.  I was immediately unhappy ... why couldn't we bring OUR luggage???

With no answer to THAT question, we walked over the muddy bank to find our chariot to the "Eco-Lodge".  Oh my ... this isn't looking good at all.  Not that I'm a hotel snob, I've spent many nights in a tent and even in my horse trailer ... but I was prepared!!  We were NOT prepared for this!

See the big tanks in the above picture??  Propane is what all the boat engines run on.  That was a shocker ... no fuel here ... and no other transportation of any kind to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica.  ALL travel is by boat.

This little girl looked about as happy as I did!!!

Down the canal we went ... herky jerky because the prop kept hitting the mud ... in spots where they knew it wasn't shallow, they gunned it!!  This is the "luggage boat" taking everyone's full size suitcases to the hotel.  

Believe me, we are in the jungle now.  You thought you saw jungle before????  Not like this!!

Finally the canal opened up into another wider river.  By the way, it was a slow 14 mile trip!!!

Along the way they tried to point out local wildlife.  This small caiman was basking in the clouds and rain ... oh yes, it's still raining.

Finally ... our dock!!!  Hmmmm wonder what the "hotel" looks like ... or should I say "eco lodge"!!

By now I'm thinking eco lodge stands for tent.  We're going to be in the rain in a tent ... and we are not prepared!!  With two small cheapo umbrellas, we're in trouble.  Turned out I was right!!

Yes ... rain, rain and more rain.  This pictures describes our trip EXACTLY.  The good news is that this was the dock for our hotel.

Finally the rain slowed to a drizzle and we walked around the compound.  Notice the rooms are all on stilts ... and that big line underneath the building??  That's the sewer line.  Nothing is on the ground except 12 inches of rain.  They get 250 inches here every year!!!

Looking better ... this is the walkway to our room.  I think it was 95 degrees with of course 100 percent humidity.  The windows were screen ... no glass ... and we had a ceiling fan.  

Minimal is the word I would use ...

At least we had a bathroom, but no washcloths, hand towels or soap.  Hot water runs only in the shower and you had to say a prayer before you flushed the toilet.  Mostly it didn't work.  Hey, we're in the jungle!!

The first order of business was to unpack our one change of clothes, gather our umbrellas and head back to the boat for a short trip along the river and around the corner to the town of Tortuguero ... you guessed it ... Turtle Town, a turtle research station.  

This map shows the nesting patterns of several varieties of turtles, including the Green Sea Turtle and the Leatherback.  They come from all over to lay their eggs on this one sandy shore of Costa Rica.

A very short walk through the forest landed us on the beach.  

Although we didn't see any turtles, we did see their nest holes, several depressions in the sand.  At night, the babies emerge and make a mad dash for the water, hoping to survive the gauntlet of predators.  

As we walked back to town, we found main street and were allowed an hour or so of shopping.  Main street is about 8 feet side, mostly sand and dirt, with some sections of concrete, as here.  Small houses with no doors were open to the elements and usually had someone selling something out the front door.

This beautiful Toucan was spying on us from above ... the only image of a Toucan I have ... but what a beautiful specimen!!  Now THIS is what I came to the jungle for!!!

Believe me when I tell you it was hot   h o t  HOT!!  These guys were selling coconuts for around $4.00 each and were cleaning up!!

Immediately we heard the beating of drums ... two of the local kids were drumming away on plastic water cans and a 50 gallon drum.  Not exactly the best timing, but they sure were cute!!

Their sister stood by and collected the money!!

As I mentioned before, all Costa Rican kids attend school ... this is the music building!!

and this is the grade school.  Every building was brightly painted!!

I'm sure this baby spends most of his day sleeping ... it was soooo hot I can't imagine him surviving in this climate ... but he looked pretty healthy!!

Critters everywhere ... the good, the bad and the ugly!!

And the beautiful!!!

And the noisy!!!  Howlers with their curly tails ...

When we got back we took a quick walk around the compound, checking out the pool.  THE POOL!!!  No one told us they had a pool!!!  As everyone else jumped in their swimsuits and cooled off, we sat in front of our rooms sweltering.  Small overnight bags don't have room for swimsuits.  Now I'm REALLY unhappy!!!  Trying to take my mind off being damp, sticky and HOT, we went on a short photo shoot before dinner.

Butterflies are here by the thousands ... some migrating and some not, they were all amazingly beautiful.

Down next to the boat dock we discovered this little blue crab.

And THEN Patty discovered the spiders ... OMG they are HUGE!!!  Their webs were 10 feet wide between the trees, and thankfully higher up than we were tall.  This guy ... 3 inches across at least.

First night in Tortugero as the sun sets, and it's dinner time.  Patty and I are shown to the second of two restaurants for dinner, where they have prepared a table just for the two of us.  All of the other guests are chatting away at THEIR tables about the days events, and the two stepchildren are sitting alone at our table.  For every meal.  The rest of the group from our boat is eating at the "first" restaurant.  I told Patty ... we are sneaking over to the other restaurant where we can sit and talk to other people.    

Tomorrow has GOT to get better ... little did I know!!!

Costa Rica's Treasure ... The National Theatre

It's the last day in Costa Rica for most of the 22 adventurous people that signed up for this trip.  As we entered San Carlos on our way to Zarcero, we were detoured around the demonstrations that were being held.  Surrounded by Policia on small motorcycles, we saw huge crowds with signs before being whisked away.  Our guide assured us there was no danger ... the locals only have their voices.  They can't afford guns or knives!!  I'm sure THAT made us all feel better.  As in most countries, they were just expressing their dissatisfaction with the government.

We are in the higher elevations where thankfully it is cooler ... although not what you would think.  Costa Rica is hot and humid anywhere you go.  At this elevation however, there is fog and clouds to cool the region enough for dairy cattle to provide milk for the entire country.  This is a modern farm by Costa Rican standards.  

Much of the countryside has been cleared of trees, allowing for grass to grow and room enough for cows to roam.

Arriving in Zarcero, we came to the topiary gardens they are famous for.  This garden was started and is still maintained by a now 90-year old gentleman almost single handedly.  It's the size of a large city block and fun to walk around, discovering the birds and dinosaurs.

The outside walls are covered in howler monkeys ...

and the inside trees bent into tunnels.

At the top of the square is a beautiful church.

These two ladies were solving the world's problems.  I try to be sneaky about catching the locals in action, but I got caught here several times.  I guess I disturbed them, because with a bad look, they finally left.

Behind the ladies was this magnificent catholic church, the church of Archangel Raphael!!

At the bottom of the courtyard was a basketball court and this beautiful scrap tile mural made by the local kids.  Their names and schools are all listed at the bottom.

Kids passing the time away .....

Around the side of the church I ran into this beauty ... both the baby AND her mom!  I asked about a picture, and although she hesitated, she finally let me take a few.  If you take images of the locals, it is always best to ask first, and definitely show them the pictures you took.  When she saw how cute her daughter was, she was very happy and offered to pose for more.

This cutie pie was another story.  I asked her mom if I could take her picture and she said yes.  When I bent down and focused the camera on her, she cried LOUDLY and hid her head behind mom.  No problem I said ... I'm sorry I scared her!!!   As they walked off, I kept my camera on her, and true to nature, she turned to look at me to be sure I wasn't following ... and I snapped this one!!  I know, sneaky!!!  But she was worth the wait!!

95% of the homes in Costa Rica have electricity ... all of it is above ground!!!

Heading out of town, the road was blocked by these guys trying to load their bobcat into the back of the truck.  They weren't having much luck at all and traffic was getting antsy.  

Working in a terribly unsafe manner, we thought we were going to be in for a bloodbath ... but finally they got some chains and were able to pull it on board.  If they had simply lifted the dumptruck bed slightly, they could have driven it on.  Alls well that ends well though ... and after waiting for the traffic mob to clear, we were on our way again.

Arriving in Grecia, we were treated to the Oxcart Factory.  It has been in business at this location for well over 100 years.  THIS time we FINALLY get to exit through the gift shop!!

This gorgeous cart is what they make for the oxen to carry supplies from place to place.  Spectacularly hand painted ... they are truly a work of art.

This facility is responsible for all the wheel innovations up to the present day models that will last a lifetime.  Here is an original wheel made of wood, even the axle.  Needless to say, they didn't wear well.

Now they are made from mahogany with steel axels and a steel band around the edge, but still wholly constructed by hand.

This is the original band saw that was placed into production in 1928 and is still used to this day, as you can see by the pile of leftovers.  The large red wheel that you can barely see in the back, is run by water power.  They pull a large handle, the water falls down and starts to move the wheel, which in turn moves overhead belts, which engage the band saw blade.  It was amazing to watch it work.

When not making carts or wheels, the artisans make small items to sell in the store.  FINALLY ... a gift shop!!  

From plaques to miniature carts to bowls, all items are hand painted by three or four artists in an outdoor shop.

Even the hubs for the wheels are painted by hand.

A large mural on the wall, of course hand painted, depicts life in Costa Rica with the oxcarts.

This is a painting of the original oxcart shop ... which is now surrounded by paved streets and houses ... but it looks basically the same.

Every country should have SOMETHING in the Guinness Book of World Records ... and Costa Rica's entry is this ... the world's largest oxcart!!  

Next up was a quick stop at this church, made of metal in 1888.  It was made ... gosh, I can't remember what country ... but it is metal panes that were shipped to Costa Rica and carried in oxcarts to this location where it was constructed.  With lots of brick red paint, it hasn't rusted ... yet!!!!

Finally after a long day's drive, we are back in San Jose to see Costa Rica's treasure, the National Theatre.  Costa Ricans are very proud of this building, and rightly so.  In the 1890's with only 19,000 people in the country, Adelina Patti refused to sing in San Jose because they did not have a decent theatre.  The government, not wanting people to think they were unsophisticated, placed a coffee tax on exports to raise money for the building.  In 1897, it was opened to the public for the first time, with everyone who was anyone, attending in their finest dress.

The architect from Italy, designed a magnificent structure ... all of which, including the interiors, were made in Europe, transported here and assembled.  The statues on the roof, when it was determined they were showing much deterioration, were moved to the lobby and replicas reinstalled.

It is seriously one of the most amazing theatres I have ever been in, including many in San Francisco.

Every ceiling is painted with beautiful scenes ... not Costa Rican in nature, but European.

Part of the ceiling in the grand foyer.

Interestingly enough, the huge paintings of Costa Rican life have many mistakes depicted.  Not being from the area, the European artists painted what they "thought" it was like.  Here, the stem on the bananas is on the wrong end ... the women are wearing european clothing and the men panama hats.

Regardless, Costa Ricans are VERY proud of this building ... mistakes or not.  Everyone can attend this theatre with most shows costing in the area of $10 per ticket.

Gold filigree and more gold sconces ... with marble walls and parquet floors.  Every piece fits perfectly together.

The grand foyer upstairs for guests of the government, along with two side rooms for the President's personal entourage.

All the stairs and railing are hand carved marble ... I was afraid to touch anything, let alone WALK on the floor!!!

The day has ended with magnificence and it's time to return to our Wyndham hotel.  Along the way we passed this beautiful building that I suspected was the Presidents quarters.  Boy was I wrong ... this was the main prison in San Jose for many years and has since been turned into a Childrens Museum.  No
mention was made of where the prison is now.  In fact, that entire topic was never discussed.

20 of the original 22 visitors have to be up at 4 am for their transfer to the airport.  Miss Patty and I get to sleep in til 5:00.  We have a bus to catch that will take us on the REST of our adventure.  And trust me, it WAS an adventure that we were totally unprepared for!!!