RadinCRica

Comment has been made about the recent lack of maps so here is the final  version showing our complete tour. Our airport transfer went as planned and we breezed through check in and security.The duty free plan required amendment as Costa Rica discriminates outrageously against gin drinkers when it comes to duty free prices. R was able to score a huge (1.75 litre) bottle of Stoli for less than the price of a litre of any of the available gins. The lounge is fairly basic but the beer is cold (and free) and the wifi works so the blog for Monday can be written up and published. The fight to Amsterdam goes via Liberia, a 25minute hop to the North West in an area we did not visit. At Liberia there is a crew change and the champagne is brought round. Dinner is served very efficiently and the lights go down by 22.30. We both sleep surprisingly well and wake around our customary hour of 05.00 (Costa Rica time). Breakfast service is just beginning (12.00 Amsterdam tim...

All good things come to an end and we fly home this evening but we have part of a day left to enjoy in San José. It is nearly six when we wake up and the weather is a bit grey.  The hotel is letting us stay on for a couple of extra hours, which is very helpful.  After breakfast we do most of the packing then head out to see the Central Market. On the way we stop off in the small park opposite the hotel where we have seen people queueing to have their pictures taken in front of a large pair of wings. The wings are cast in bronze and are a gift from Mexico to the city. This morning there is no queue.  People are just opening up their stalls and it is not very busy. It is much less touristy than the Artisan Market with stuff that real people might buy, such as haberdashery, spices and nativity figures. We take our time and stop for a hot drink at one of several cafes inside the market. The mugs are huge and R's té comes with 2 té bags.  Part of t...

Today is our last full day in Costa Rica. Three weeks have absolutely flown by and we have had great fun. We have no pressing early start scheduled and therefore no need to set an alarm. As a result we do not wake until a few minutes before six and look out to see blue skies and sunshine. The forecast suggests that this will only last until lunchtime, then rain will set in so we decide to do some walking about in the morning and visit one of the museums this afternoon.  The breakfast crew are in good spirits as the Costa Rican team has beaten Japan in today's early kick off. They have every flavour of jam, which they call marmalade, except marmalade. D opts for pineapple but it's not the same really. R is keen to see the Artisan Market so we walk five blocks south and find it first time. We normally try to find a decoration for our Christmas tree and today R has found something. The lady with the pole manages to get into a right fankle but her 6'...

All sing along now. As it turns out Gertie Google is not totally au fait but that is a story for later. After completing last night's blog entry we discover that we have a squatter. He looks a bit damp in this picture but is still with us in the morning Pieter is giving us a bonus birdwalk this morning to make up for yesterday's delayed start. We drive down the valley to the Cafe Chumi. The owner is the sister of Jose who owns and runs our hotel and Pieter has arranged that she will open the cafe a little early. There have been recent sightings of Aracaris on feeders by the cafe so Pieter thinks that we might get lucky. We see quite a few different birds but only fleeting glimpses of an Aracari. We do get very good coffee which comes from the plantation we visited yesterday. We move on across the dam towards Paraiso, but turn off onto a very quiet side road and park up. We are on the trail of Cabanis's Ground Sparrow, which is unique to Costa Rica, and looks lik...

We report as instructed outside the reception building at a few minutes before 06.00. It is light but we can see the valley below filled with clouds. There are a few birds about as we wait for our guide to arrive. D even goes back to the cabin to check the date and timings on the itinerary but it confirms 25/11/22 at 06.00. We move up to the waterfall to watch hummingbirds and check back at reception from time to time. Eventually we give up and return to our cabin for a cup of tea and some Duolingo. Jose, the hotel proprieter and bird enthusiast arrives at about 7.45 to say that he has Pieter on the phone. Apparently his car broke down in a mobile blackspot and he was unable to contact anybody. He offers to come to the hotel if we still want to do some birding and we agree that we should have breakfast while he drives here. Jose ushers us down to breakfast and takes our order. When they arrive our breakfast plates are almost like works of art and the coffee is s...

This morning we have no need to get up as long as we check out by noon so no alarm has been set. Inevitably we wake up before five. The stove has gone out and it is quite chilly so D plugs in an electric heater and also makes cups of tea. R's day does not have the most auspicious of starts. We pack, do some Duolingo, breakfast, load the car and it is still only 7.30. The Savegre blots its copybook further by playing pan pipe muzak at breakfast. There is a plant nursery, specialising in succulents, attached to the hotel complex, and R is keen to have a look even if she is a bit stiff and sore. The bruises on her back from her falls are starting to come out. The two young ladies who are in charge seem very happy for us to wander round and they even open their cactus house for us. By 10.00 we have run out of things to do and set off up the valley. A lady we spoke to recommended Miriam's, about two thirds of the way up the valley and we stop for ...