it has been a while...

October 27, 2008 - Limón, Costa Rica

Alright, so here's the low-down on my travels for the past two weeks...

Escazú: "officially San Miguel de Escazú, is the capital city of the canton of Escazú in the province of San Jose in Costa Rica. It is also the name of the distrito (district) that includes the city. The district of San Miguel de Escazú covers an area of 4.38 km², and has a population of 13,426."

It's a very pretty town... a whole lot smaller and cleaner than San Jose. Many retired Americans build huge houses here. We accidentally didn't get off the bus in the center of town so we ended up in a really rural area... which as it happens was the prettiest part of the city.

Volcan Arenal: "an active andesitic stratovocano (?) in north-western Costa Rica, around 90km north-west of San José, in the province of Alajuela, canton of San Carlos, and district of La Fortuna. It is the most active volcano in Costa Rica."

Here we visited Baldi hot springs.... the water was heated naturally but the actual place was man made. There are completely natural ones but the tour we were on was rather rigid and no fun so we couldn't go see them... lesson learned: no guided tours. In the morning I did a zip line canopy adventure... this was amazing.

Puerto Viejo: "in the Limon province is a town in southeastern Costa Rica (known simply as Puerto Viejo to locals). It is a popular destination for tourists, and is known for surfing and reggae music. Some of Costa Rica's most spectacular beaches can be found between Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo, 13 km south along the beach."

This was actually my least favorite place I've been so far. There were a whole lot of tourists and even more pot. The beaches were beautiful though; white sand, clear blue water, nice weather. I finally look like I'm living in a tropical climate (so I’m somewhat tan...) We stayed at a hostel named Rockin J's... slept in hammocks... it was fun for two nights but I am extremely glad to be back in my bed.

Here are some pictures... I'll be posting more pictures in a bit.

Escazu, Costa Rica