Costa Rica day 3 part 2

In between the boat tours, we had lunch, a visit to the village, and a dip in the pool (the beach here was not safe for swimming due to strong undertow). We walked along a stretch of the beach to get to the village, which had a population of less than 1000. Real small… You can see from one end of it to the other. However, they had an internet cafe! But, i didn't go in!! I'm so proud of my self-discipline. After lunch, i was so ready to jump in the pool to cool off from the heat and humidity. To my chagrin the water was warm! This is no place for a heated pool! But better than nothing i guess. Bruce wanted to stay dry so he stayed at the bar (& had an Imperial). At one point i needed to know the time so i waved to bruce and he waved back. Then i signaled him with my finger and tried to give my sexy "come hither" look, but he didn't respond. Later when i asked him about it, he said he didn't see me wave. Oh dear, i have no idea who i flirted with (as i wasn't wearing my glasses). Ha!

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Costa Rica day 3 part 1

Today was all about wildlife in Tortuguero. We spent hours in a boat cruising along canals of Cano Palma wildlife reserve and Tortuguero Park, looking for all kinds of birds, monkeys, sloths and reptiles. The naturalist guides were very knowledgeable and had real sharp eyes spotting the most camouflaged of creatures. They were also able to name all of them, although i can't retain the names in my memory… Well at least i've got pictures. Thank goodness for big zooms. Most of these pics are captured at max zoom (12x). I associate people by their cameras rather than their names. There's the lady with the pink polaroid, another one with the sexy black casio exilim… And when someone left a camera on the boat and noone knew who it belongs to, i went "oh, that's the young couple's sony!". I was pleasantly surprised to see a guy with the exact same model as mine, and his grandfather had the FZ30. Nothing like instant bonding over camera choices!

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Costa Rica day 2 part 3

At certain points we were more than 100ft above ground looking over the whole forest it seems like. There was a butterfly garden at the restaurant where we stopped for lunch, but to bruce's disappointment we didn't see many butterflies. The only morpho we saw in the garden was dead (although we did see a few blue morphos in the rainforest). The afternoon was mostly traveling to our next destination: Tortuguero where we'd spend the next 2 nights. After cruising through rivers and canals, we reached our lodge, simple and bare with not much more than the beds and towels under a roof. No a/c. Mosquitoes and cockroaches were on the house though. Great thing is the (caribbean) beach is merely steps from the lodge. Not quite the paradise look of the hawaiian ones, but still charming in itself. Bruce & i took a walk before dinner, a cold Imperial (local beer) in one hand and sandals the other. Love the sound of waves crashing ashore. Cell coverage is spotty at best. The vacation has started…

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Costa Rica day 2 part 2

… Rainforest aerial tram, which was preceded by a naturalist-guided hike. The hike was very informative. We learnt not to touch anything, eat anything or lick/kiss anything (even in the remote chance that one of the frogs was a prince in disguise). Of course that was for our protection. Despite the restrictions, there were lots to see and be amazed by. The guide warned us about snakes and said we'd probably see one or two. In my mind i imagined a huge rattlesnake jumping into our paths. Turns out one of the more dangerous ones is an Eyelash Viper which when coiled up is smaller than my fist. We actually found 3 on our hike. If bitten, one could die within a couple hours. Other things pointed out to us included many plants, birds, and even a tarantula nest. And the bullet ant whose bite can make a grown man cry and the pain lasting more than 12 hours. The tram ride was one of a kind. You literally glide through the forest canopy like Tarzan, but at a slower pace to enjoy the views.

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Costa Rica day 2 part 1

I don't know when i'd get a chance to upload this but if i wait until after the trip to blog, i'd be overwhelmed by too much stuff to write about (plus having to catch up with work and life etc.) that i'd end up not blogging. Like the hawaii trip. So… finally in costa rica. The first 10 days of this trip, we're part of a tour group, and the remaining 2 days i planned a side trip to Tamarindo (which is not covered on the tour). Now, I usually like to plan my own trips to have control on doing what i (ok and bruce) want to do. Besides i don't like drawing attention to the fact that i'm a tourist, and although hanging a big camera around my neck doesn't hide it, at least it doesn't scream the fact the way a group of 40 people in a tour bus does. Anyway due to numerous reasons we decided to go with an organized tour this time and so far we're quite impressed with Caravan Tours. After an early 6am breakfast, we drove through scenic Braulio Carrillo National Park on our way to ride the…

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Costa Rica day 1 part 3

… I've only seen locals carrying Razrs and entry level Nokias. Ok i know i'm getting long winded when i ran out of space in the text entry field (twice). But this will probably be the last you'd see from me for a while… I'm not gonna pay for net access on this trip (again) unless absolutely needed. Check out our hotel room here, pretty swanky eh? We could've been sleeping here last night! (and now i'm blogging instead of sleeping lol…) And we're leaving here at 6am for the rainforest and staying in the jungle for the next two nights (no air-con… sob). Buffet dinner at this hotel was great, first decent meal in over 2 days. My moods were lifted instantly. "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" applies to me as well. That's it for now, ironical that i won't be able to blog about the real CR experience probably until i return to the states! Thanks for all your comments and emails btw, but for now i'm only circuit switch connected (i.e. Sms, phone call). HSCSD? Hmmm…

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Costa Rica day 1 part 2

Upon landing, i whipped out my N95 and wanted to do a quick post about this joyous moment and got my first piece of bad news: no data connection!! Either cingular doesn't have packet data roaming agreement here, or there's no packet data access here at all? I was surprised… I remember checking my emails in seemingly remote parts of mexico. Of course this isn't mexico but it's a major city, right? Anyway… Immigration was relatively painless. I rushed bruce along so we'd get through it before the lines start forming. The only glitch was the immigration officer didn't know the visa requirements for my case so she hollered at another officer in spanish something to the effect of: "singapore passport require visa?" And when she got no response, she repeated the qn a couple of times, louder each time. I think by then everyone in line knew i had a SG passport… The first thing i saw on our way out the airport was a big billboard for the moto krzr (blurry pic from moving van). So far …

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Costa Rica day 1 part 1

First things first, yes, we're finally in costa rica!! The day started off in miami with no sleep and an upset stomach. I suspect the airport food (2 plain sandwiches plus 2 bottled juices for almost $20… Daylight robbery! Or midnight robbery… or whatever). Cold and tired and hungry (but stomach too upset to eat) we just sat around waiting for the flight. Fast fwd a few hrs, we finally got on (but not before another scare of possibly another long delay) and headed this way. I fell asleep once i got on the plane and even missed the take off (gasp). I never thought i'd say this but… the plane seats are nicely padded and comfy! I woke up after maybe an hr of sleep (felt like seven) and looked out the window at the gorgeous sight of blue sky and fluffy white clouds (pic). After almost 10hrs total in a 757 (2nd pic) for a supposedly < 4hr flight, touch down in san jose! I started clapping and everyone on the flight followed with cheers.

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Costa Rica… Are we there yet?

Just got myself a cup of coffee, nice and hot. In my eagerness to warm up, i burned my tongue. What a great first 12 hrs of my vacation! Chalk it up to part of the adventure… At least they make for some good stories, right? Please say yes :-p Anyway this is when we landed at miami, some 6.5 hrs after we took off from dallas. (Could have flown from new york to london in the same time!) It's rainy and wet here, adding to the gloom. Another 4+ more hours before we get back on the flight to san jose. Can't wait to see some sun and have some fun.

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Sleepless in miami

In a big auditorium full of sleeping cots… Remind me of band camps once upon a time. Except the music theme here is the snore symphony. Quite rhythmic at times actually. But so freaking cold in here. I normally can fall asleep anywhere if i'm tired enough, even on planes which are usually kinda cold and uncomfortable. But it's just torture here. The snoring has died down and replaced by a lot of tossing and turning in the creaky cots. Well ok so i'll lose some sleep. Just get a few cups of coffee in my system later and i should be good. However bruce is not feeling well again. If his regular sleep pattern gets disrupted too much it messes him up. So i've been running around trying to find him food and drinks to help him feel better. The only 24hr cafeteria in the airport is a 15 min quick walk from this auditorium. At least i get some exercise in! Hope bruce get to feeling better soon. I wanna get on a plane not an ambulance. (Pic taken when still parked at dfw.)

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