Well, I am getting more behind as time goes, but I am determined to catch up tonight, before and after dinner. It may be tough since we met a chatty, friendly couple from Canada, Sandy and Dave. They're about our age, she's an environmental scientist, both on vacation in Costa Rica for 2 months. Neat (I am reminded of the 6 week driving trip Glen and I did when I graduated, on the east coast of the U.S.).

Where we last left off, it turns out they showed up with a wonderful taco pollo and we had plenty of time to make it to the horse ride. The ride was very fun, though the horses were a bit thin. They did a fairly smooth walk-trot the entire time, like Spanish horses, were very sensitive to rein pressure (they wore hackamores) and were not afraid of anything (cars, buses, bikes, etc.) We went through a town (Santa Rosa) and through the rural areas. We saw where the rodeo would be the next day (and which everyone we talked to seemed to be participating). The last 0.5 km was at a gallop (something I would never do with my own horse, but very fun).

Going back a few days, the drive from Monteverde to Tamarindo was an adventure. We took an alternate route, just as rough and a little longer, but different. I was a bit worried with my GI problem, but I was fine (and am fine) (mostly) as long as I don't get overheated.

In Canas, we stopped for gas, but couldn't restart the 4WD (we had had trouble in Monteverde also, but thought the battery would have recharged by then). The employees of the estation servaza spoke no English, but through a combination of our limited Spanish and sign language, we first tried to push start it, then they jumped the battery. Amazing thing is they jumped it with 2 wires they had stripped the ends off of and held to the connections. Wow! I stood about 20 feet away, in the mini-toxic waste dump of oil and other car wastes on the ground.

(Dinner arrived here at Rancho Suizo and it was wonderful--red snapper and rice, though basically what we had for lunch. I am going to be ready for salad and vegetables when we get back! Not that I want to get back anytime soon....)

So, we made it to Tamarindo--a small, bustling tourist town but only at the beginning of a boom, since the road was still dirt, dusty and rough. We stayed in another hotel that was about one notch above where we'd prefer. But we were there to see the turtles most of all.

And we did indeed see one, the next night. One of the most wonderful and impressive things I have ever seen in nature, even despite the tourists and the people.