Beach, Monkeys and Toads

27 Feb - Ojochal

The usual 6-o-clock start to the day and we were at breakfast for 07.00.  As usual, it was a bird-watching breakfast accompanied by stuffed french toast with cream-cheese and berries - yummy!

After breakfast, we quickly threw some things in our bags and headed down to Playa Pinuela.  We paid our entrance fee to the Ballena National Park (3250 Colones or $6 each) and parked up in the shade of some coconut trees.  Once on the beach we realised we were the only people there, mind you it was only 08.00 in the morning.

We had realised when we got to the car earlier that it had rained overnight, our first since we've been here.  The only marks on the beach were from the rain, no footprints just splash marks from the rain.  We walked to the very far end of the beach and found some deep shade where it was really cool and set up camp.

We spent the morning in and out of water, sitting reading and watching wildlife.  Not too long after we arrived, we saw signs of movement in the trees behind the beach and realised that there was a troup of Capuchin Monkeys swinging through the trees, we watched them for ages.  We were also lucky enough to spot two kingfishers on the branches close to the sea. 

We had no idea that Kingfishers feed in sea-water as well as rivers!  Later, in the background, we could hear Howler Monkeys calling, we didn't see them, but there distinctive barking can be heard from several kilometres away.

At lunchtime, we headed back to the hotel, got changed and drove down to Ojochal 'village'.  We found a bakery where they served lunch and discovered it was run by a French couple.  Whilst we were eating lunch we saw a tiny hummingbird which reminded me of the Bee Hummingbirds we had seen in Ecuador.  Our bird book says that they don't live in Costa Rica!

After lunch we decided to go back to Playa Pinuela for another swim.  Again there was virtually no-one there.  We took the snorkelling gear with us and found some tropical fish by the rocks on the southern side of the bay.

Back at the hotel, we did a bit of packing ready for tomorrow and made plans to go to the Boca Coronado for dinner one last time.

We drove back down to Boca Coronado shortly after sunset and enjoyed a fish dinner!  We also treated ourselves to a sweet - the Chef's special.  It was a sort of chocolate filled Ciabata pastry served with chocolate sauce and strawberry ice-cream.  It tasted better than it sounds from this description.

On arrival at our room, there was a large dark shape by the door.  Shining a torch on it revealed it as a Cane Toad.  This large toad is toxic and one of the hotel owners dogs had died after biting one of these toads.  The hotel owner was really surprised to see one at this time of year.

Waterfalls and beaches

26 Feb - Ojochal

This morning we got up early as usual and sat on the terrace watching birds before having a shower. We found we had a large spider to keep us company.For breakfast we had a delicious omlette with cheese, peppers and fried potatoes. 

Whilst eating breakfast it was birdwatching as usual - it is a very good spot to see the bird heading out for the day.  At the very least, we see Black Vultures, Magnificent Frigate Birds, Orange-chinned Parakeets and parrots.  We always see the Cheries Tanager too, oddly,  there is always one male with two females.

After breakfast we sat around some more on the terrace birdwatching and tried to use the internet and failed. For whatever reason, nothing would come up on the computer, it was very frustrating.

We decided to set off for some waterfalls at Vergel which is only about 5 km away.  We turned off the main road and headed up the usual gravel track which was in surprisingly good condition.  We stopped at the first restaurant and found some falls but not the big ones!  We had a drink, looked around the pretty gardens and at a 500 year old tree!  The restaurant here was notable for a menu with no prices on it.

We drove another kilometre to the correct falls and parked at the restaurant La Pavon.  Lynn stayed there whilst I hiked down to the fairly spectacular, but not very large, falls.  There were lots of people there and some rather unfriendly dogs.  Access to the pool at the bottom of the falls was rather steep, but the water looked very inviting.  The falls force their way between two large rock and there is a third large bolder jammed between them.

I climbed back up the hill for lunch at the restaurant which had no menu let alone prices!  We were told we could have fish or chicken served local style.  Since the place was a Tilapia farm, we opted for fish.  It was excellent and not expensive at all.  For some reason there were a bunch of French people there, one of whom was very loud!

After lunch we decided to recce the other beachs near Ojochal.  The beach at Playa Tortuga (turtle beach) was a bit littered and had no real shade, but was rather beautiful in a wild way. After looking at some very large Green Iguanas in some trees, we continued on to Playa Pinuela which is the southern access point for the Ballena National Park.  The lady ranger let have 5 minutes to look around for free.  We talked to her and decided that we'd return to tomorrow.

We then drove back to the hotel via a small supermarket at Ojochal village and once back went straight to the swimming pool to cool down.  We found that our spider from this morning had somehow got into the room.  After a brief chase which involved moving furniture and the use of magazines, we managed to get the spider back outside again.

In the evening, Lynn had a more successful session on the internet whilst I had a glass of cold white wine whilst chatting to the hotel owner.

A Mangrove and jungle boat trip

25 Feb - Ojochal

As usual, we were up not long after six, the only difference today was that we wanted an early breakfast so we could get out and on the road.  After another delicious local breakfast on the open-air terrace, we left the hotel at around 07.30.

Our aim for the day was to go on a wild-life tour on the Osa Peninsular.  This peninsular in the south-west of Costa Rica is home to the Corcovado National Park, one the only areas of pristine primary rain-forest left in the country.  (Primary in so much that it has never been cut down and regenerated).  The park is notoriously difficult to visit as there are no roads, so the only way to visit and stay at one of the jungle lodges is to fly or go by boat.  This makes it very expensive, so we decided to do the next best thing and go and visit the mangrove swamps on the northern edge of the Park.  This is possible to arrange by driving down to the river-front village of Sierpe and hiring a small boat and guide to show you the wildlife.

The journey south was easy with virtually no traffic on the road until we go to Palma Norde when the route 34 joins the route 2, which is the Pan American Highway.  To the north it goes back to San Jose and to the south the Panamanian border.  We managed to miss the turn-off for Sierpe here and drove about 15km down towards Panama.  We eventually realised we were wrong and turned around and returned to Palma Norde where we found the road to Sierpe.  This road wound around coconut plantations and small villages until we reached the rather touristy village of Sierpe.

The village is the jumping-off point not only for tours around the mangroves, but also for boats heading out the Drake Bay (Drake pronounced Drakay), the start point for visits to the jungle lodges.  Drake Bay is named after Sir Francis who landed there on one of his world tours!

The scene at the cafe which serves as the transport hub can only be described as chaotic.  We had arrived about 10 minutes late for our tour following our unintended detour.  We were rather worried the tour might have departed.  Our fears were entirely groundless as there tourist milling around everywhere.  Some had just arrived from Drake Bay, others were clearly waiting for buses to move them elsewhere, and a few, like us were waiting for a local tour!

Eventually after about an hour, a guide named David appeared and loaded us along with 6 Americans and 2 Dutch people onto a small boat and we headed out.  Under the jetty, trapped by the tide was a very large American Crocodile, we walked straight over the top of it!

Our first foray tooks us just slightly down river to look at different mangroves and have it explained to us just how important they are to the eco-system.  We next started to head up river.  For the next two-and-a-half hours we slowly puttered our way along a water-hyacinth choked waterway with mangrove and jungle lining the banks.  During the trip we say caiman, three types of monkey, Capuchin, Squirrel and Howler, squirrels a Two-toed Sloth and lots of birds.  There were at least three sorts of Heron, a couple of different Hawks, Scarlet Macaws and a variety of smaller birds too.

Needless to say, we took lots of photographs, some of which may contain recognisable images of animals or birds!

Once we arrive back at Sierpe, we decided not to eat at the touristy restaurants and drove back to Palma Norde where we found a delightful place on the mainroad and each had a plateful of local rice and chicken/seafood.  It was a bit noisy, partly from the trucks on the Pan American Highway, but more so from the unseen hoarde of Vultures in the trees across the road.

After a brief stop for some bread for dinner at a supermarket, we headed back to Ojochal for a shower and relax.  Later at around sunset, we headed for the pool and watched the sun set whilst floating around in the pool.  It was a most long drawn-out and spectacular sun set.

Lazing around at Playa Ventanas

24 Feb Ojochal

Again, we were awake not long after six and enjoying the birdlife before, after and indeed during a shower!  The bathroom window looks out over the jungle too!

Just after we arrived at breakfast, three Scarlet Macaws flew across, they were quite a sight!  Their colours are impressive enough, but they are quite a big bird and have very long tails too.

Breakfast this morning was quite American.  After fresh fruit and yogurt, we had pancakes and scrambled eggs.  Maple syrup for the pancakes and a spicy mole sauce for the eggs, very tasty!

Breakfast done, we headed down to a local beach on the recommendation of Scott the hotel owner.  We managed to find the track down to Playa Ventanas and bumped down it to a small parking area where we had been warned that there was a parking attendant.  He duly arrived and relieved us of 2000 Colones (the local currency) so that he could look after the car!

There was a small footpath down through some gardens and trees which led to the beach.  There were lots of birds flitting around again - a common theme in Costa Rica.  We even saw woodpeckers as we walked down to the beach.

The beach was in a smallish bay with rocky headlands at either end with a black sand and the sea gently rolling in.  We found a log in some shade at the far side of the beach and set up camp.  There were only a couple of other people on the beach when we arrived, although at least two clearly had been camping in a tent overnight!  We sat and watched the sea for a while and then overhead we saw a line of Brown Pelicans doing their formation flying routine, they are strange birds.  Not long afterwards, we were treated to the sight of a 'flock' of Magnificent Frigate Birds cruising overhead - they really are masters of the air. Socially, they are not nice birds as they rarely catch their own food, they are experts at intimidating other birds and forcing them, in mid-air,  to drop fish that they have just caught.  The Frigate birds them quickly catch the fish and fly off to frighten some other bird.

We went swimming too, the breaking waves were big enough for a bit of body-surfing and the water temperature was just short of a warm bath.  It was very pleasant to cool down in the sea.  After a swim, I explored the river that ran down through the jungle into the sea.  I found a large fresh-water pool and rinsed the salt water off in quite cool water.

After a couple of hours, the shade was getting thin so we went and sat in a coconut grove in the shade for a while.  Eventually, the heat finally got to us (and our bums were going numb) and we headed back to the hotel for a shower.

After freshening up, we headed for Uvita.  First job was to find the ATM and refill our pockets with Colones.  Colones is the local currency but US Dollars are also accepted everywhere.  One US Dollar currently buys about 530 Colones, so we have been wandering around with pockets full of 10,000 Colones notes and 100 Colones coins!  The first bank had a sign on it apologising for the fact that the ATM was not functioning. Luckily, there was a second bank where we were able to get more money.

All this activity had made us hungry so we went for Lunch in Uvita at Los Troncos a small road-side restaurant.  Lynn had Arroz y Pescado whilst I had Pescado a la Milanese - a bit of a mix of national dishes I suspect!  The food was good and the service very good and friendly, although the bar came complete with a drunk American offering his traveling advice to anyone who was daft enough to listen!

We made a swift visit to the Supermarket as we intend to just have a snack at the hotel this evening.

After a very lazy afternoon, we headed to the pool for a sunset swim.  The view from the pool looks out to the Pacific Ocean and the sunsets are beautiful from here.  We were offered a glass of wine whilst we were swimming and sat by the edge of the pool, feet in the water, sipping cold white wine and watching the sun disappear!



Back at the room a little later, we ate our bread, cheese and cold meat and had a beer whilst sitting on our terrace.  We seem to have an iguana on one of the palms just below the room, it doesn't seem to move much though!

Relaxing at Ojochal

23 Feb Ojochal

We seem to have settled into a routine of waking up when it gets light which is around06.00.  Shortly after this, the local birdlife really gets going and we get to see many birds flitting through the bushes near to us or flying overhead.  It is also relatively cool at this time of morning.

Near reception, there was a small stone planter half full of water, inside was a small poison-dart frog.  Scott, the owner of the hotel, said that it had appeared as a tadpole some while ago but was now breathing air and ready to move on.  Luckily, we took a picture because the day after it had gone!

We were at breakfast for 07.00 and were served fresh fruit and yoghurt followed by local food, a pancake with mole sauce on it topped with a fried egg with tomato salsa, accompanied by fried potatoes with hot sauce!

The sun-loungers by the pool were in shade, so we decided to stay there for the morning.  There was quite a pleasant breeze and several birds challenged us to identify them!  The area around the hotel abounds with Tanagers of one type or another, all fairly colourful.  Red-rumped, Golden-hooded and Palm Tanagers are just some of the things flitting around us.



After a really lazy morning, we decided to go back to the Boca Coronado for lunch, it was quite busy but we enjoyed a beer and a plate of pasta each.

We went for a short drive after lunch, but didn't find anywhere stunning, so we stopped for an ice-cream by the roadside.  From here, the only sensible option seemed to be to have a siesta at the hotel.

Later, we got back in the car, bumped back down the drive again and went back to Boca Coronado, the only place open on a Sunday Evening.  As we'd had a fairly substantial lunch, I opted for a Ceviche Mixto whilst Lynn had a salad.  Ceviche is a bit of a Central and South America speciality, I think.  Raw fish is marinaded in lime-juice which sort of pickles and preserves it.  It is then served cold (and still raw) with a sauce, salad and tortilla chips.  I can highly recommend it - well at least from Boca Coronado!



Back at the hotel, we sat in the open-air lobby and caught up with the blog.  The wildlife appearing out of the night into the lobby was slightly alarming.  One huge ciccada crashed onto the table right in front of us.  The geckos were everywhere snapping up any moths crazy enough to land anywhere near.  The sounds at night are somewhat different to the daytime cacophony of ciccadas, but it is still noisy.

From the Mountains to the Pacific coast

22 Feb Santa Elena - Ojochal

Knowing that we had a long drive ahead of us, we got up fairly early, had breakfast and left the hotel by 08.00.  We made the most of the metaled road in town, there must be at least 2 kilometres of it, before heading back onto the gravel road back down the mountain.  The Jimny really rattles and shakes, but it does the job, even if we spent most of the time in 2nd gear at 30kph.  We stopped briefly to take photos of the stunning views down to the Gulf of Nicoya.

Eventually, after 18 bone-shaking kilometres we got back onto the metaled road and quickly headed down to the junction with the Pan American Highway (PAH or Route 1).  The traffic was predictably heavy and sometimes very slow, but eventually we left the PAH at Barranca and joined the Route 23 heading west towards Puntarenas and Puerto Caldera.  This road was pretty busy too with lots of industrial buildings and a very busy port.  As we turned back south-east, the road changed to the Route 27 which turned out to be a dual carriageway.  Much to our surprise when we left it about 25km later, we had to pay toll-charges.  I suspect that is the one and only good road we will see in Costa Rica!.

 From here, near the town of Coyolar, we joined the Route 34, the Southern Highway, we would stay on this for the remainder of our journey.  We passed through the towns of Tarcoles, where we found that the bridge over the river Tarcoles is a tourist stopping point to see the crocodiles - we decided not to stop.  The next few towns we passed, Jaco and Parrita are holiday destinations from the USA with lots of resort hotels.

After the next town, Quepos, the traffic really thinned out. We later discovered that the Route 34 from Quepos down to the Panamanian border had only had a metaled surface on it for the past 3 years - before that, the journey south must have been hell.

As we arrived in the next town of Domical, we finally saw signs for Uvita, our destination.  It was only about 25km further and we rapidly covered the distance and arrived there ready for lunch.  We found an open fronted restaurant called Ballena Marina and ordered sandwiches.  When I asked for a tuna sandwich, the waiter asked how I'd like it cooked, rare, medium or well-done!  I don't think I've had a fresher tuna steak sandwich, very tasty.

95, 96, 111

After lunch, we drove the 15km to Ojochal but because we were a bit early for check-in, we had a brief exploration of the road further south.  We didn't go far and decided we try for the early check-in (a whole 40 minutes). Our journey from Santa Elena to Ojochal had taken us 5 hours.

The final 1.5km of the journey was up a steep gravel track to the Alma de Ojochal, our hotel for the next 6 nights.  The hotel is perched on the top of a ridge with views down to the Pacific on one side and up to the Central Mountains on the other, a really stunning location.  The hotel has a small pool, 5 rooms (3 rooms and 2 suites) and an open-air lobby and breakfast room.

With the temperature in the low thirties Centigrade, we were quickly shown to our suite.  Although it was lower floor, the view from the terrace were wonderful.  Although the room had air conditioning, we chose to use the ceiling fans and have the huge sliding doors open with the flyscreens pulled across.



After settling in, we went for a swim in the pool, it was very refreshing. From the hotel, you can just about make out the sound of the sea through the almost deafening noise of the ciccadas.

After a swim, we headed back into Uvita to collect some water to put in our fridge and then went to a restaurant near our hotel down by the sea called Boca Coronado.  Both of us had locall food, Arroz y Pollo and Arroz Y Mariscos washed down with Imperial (local) beer.

Exploring the Cloud Forest

21 Feb Santa Elena

We had spent the previous evening considering our options for today and despite all the advertising and sales tactics had decided against the three big 'attractions' in the area.  We thought they all looked very commercial and we weren't really up for zip-lining, canopy walks, bungee jumping or aerial tram rides.  So, after an early breakfast, we were heading for Santa Elena Refuge shortly after 7.00!  The road, as usual was very bumpy and at one stage we lost all the signs for the refuge and drove down the other side of the mountains for a couple of kilometres before we worked out we'd gone wrong!

Finally, shortly after passing Selvatura Park, we came to the Refuge.  We parked up and paid $14 each (the guide had suggested it was $17) and headed out on one of the trails.  Lynn decided that she could do 3 km again, so we headed out on the Sentaro del Bajo.  The first part of the walk the path was really good but it slowly got worse, but not impossible. This refuge reminded us more of the cloud forests of Ecuadour, with evertyhing covered in Spanish Moss and Epiphytes.  As the forest canopy was so dense, we couldn't see many birds, and to be fair at first we didn't hear any either.



Eventually, we found a few places with a bit of view and watched fly-catchers whizzing around.  Further down the trail, Lynn headed back toward the entrance whilst I did another loop heading up to the highest part of the refuge.  After finding a rather broken down viewing platform, a bird called a Blue Guan, almost flew into me and decided to pose on a branch for me!  Not long after this I reached the highest point at 1725M.  Further down the trail I found a metal tower about 20M high which I scaled.  The views from the top towards the Arenal and Chato volcano and Lake Arenal were spectacular.  It was a bit hazy, otherwise I would have been able to see the Caribbean Sea.

I met a park guide and couple of clients shortly afterwards and they showed me a tree with a couple of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls sleeping in it.  Back down at the cafe at the entrance we sat and had a drink and watched more birds from the balcony.

We then headed back down the bumpy roads to Santa Elena where we had lunch at a the Common Cup, a coffee shop.  As we walked in, the smell of roasting coffee was almost overwhelming - the owner was roasting and grinding coffee for a client when we arrived.  We had sandwiches for lunch which were delicious and very cheap.  In the garden of the cafe were several Hummingbird feeders and oddly, a Capuchin Monkey!  Lynn tried to take a few photos whilst I went to the bank, but by then the Monkey had disappeared!

The afternoon was spend in the hotel room and out on the balcony.  I spent some while catching up on the travel diary/blog whilst Lynn sat outside and read.  From about 16.00, the bird-life picked up and we saw another 4-5 different birds in the space of an hour and a half. We saw a woodpecker-type bird, but it was just too far away to fully identify.  One final bird we identified from a photo I took in the cloud forest was delightfully named a Bananaquit!



In the evening we again drove down to Santa Elena and ate at Campasinos, a small local restaurant.  Excellent food and service at the whole meal with drinks set us back 9100 Colones, just over £11.

Exploring the Central Mountains - Costa Rica

20 Feb Santa Elena

After a peaceful nights sleep we discovered that it got light shortly after 6, but we didn't rush up had a slow start to the day.  Whilst getting ourselves sorted out, we were watching birds in the bushes near the room and saw King-birds and Emerald Toucanets.  We were still down for breakfast before 08.00 and almost as soon as we got there, the power in the hotel went off for some scheduled repairs! 


After breakfast, we drove a couple of kilometres to the south through Monteverde to the Reserva de los Ninos - or the childrens reserve.  This reserve was set up with the aid of donations from children in Sweden. Not far outside town the road reverted to gravel/stone and it was somewhat bumpy again.  At the reserve, we paid $12 each entrance fee and took a 3 km trail around the reserve.  The path wasn't too bad but was somewhat undulating!  We saw a few birds and lots of interesting plants and trees as we walked around.  We also saw a large lizzard and an Aguti, a sort of large guinea-pig/rodent mammal.


After a couple of hours we headed back to Santa Elena for lunch.  We stopped at a cafe called the Orchid Cafe and Bakery.  Lynn had a salad and I had a panini. The service and food was very good and it wasn't too expensive.  Following this, we had another wander around town and an inevitable ice-cream!

Back at the room, we had a lazy afternoon.  By about 16.00, the bird-life in the trees picked up and we spent two hours watching all manner of exotic birds flitting around.  We'd given up watching the Grackles as there were so many of them!  Without listing them all we saw fly-catchers, Euphonias, Toucanets, Warblers, King-birds, Tanagers, Grassquits, Sparrows, Orioles and the remarkable Masked Tityra - a white bird with a red mask!

We took ourselves back into Santa Elena for dinner and ate at Amy's where we had earlier negotiated at 10% discount!  Lynn had Arroz y Pollo (rice and chicken) and I had Casado, a mix of chicken, black beans, tortillas, cheese, salad and rice - all very tasty and washed down with cold beer!

From the USA to Costa Rica

19 Feb 2014 Houston - Costa Rica

Our hoped-for good nights sleep was rudely disturbed at around 03.00 by shouting and banging in the room upstairs from us.  Lynn was so concerned that she called reception, who in turn called the Police.  Eventually, things calmed down and we slept until 05.45.  We found out from the receptionist in the morning that she had gone to the room and then called the police!  A fire-crew happened to be in the area and 5 large firemen knocked on the door of the room which quietened things down, and then the police turned up as well.  The woman victim, wouldn't press charges however.

After breakfast in the hotel we caught the shuttle to the airport at 07.00. Checking in was painless and after I was given special permission to keep my shoes on, we almost cruised through security until a women stepped on Lynn's foot.  Lynn had taken her shoes off to go through security.  When we inspected the damage, we discovered that one of Lynn's nails was broken off and there was blood!. After a being given a band-aid by a man from security, we went to find some more band-aids.

The flight proved to be quite full, although we had a seat spare in our row.  The flight was roughly 3 hours and at first we headed across the Gulf of Mexico before crossing the Yucatan Peninsula and down the coast towards Belize.  The barrier reef along the coast of Belize was clearly visible.  Not too long later, we came into land at Liberia in northern Costa Rica.

Immigration and customs proved to be simple and after a brief unpleasant encounter with an aggressive car rental salesman, we found our rental company representative who quickly loaded us into a minibus and dispatched us to the Dollar rental depot.  Here we were efficiently dealt with by Maurizio, a trainee at Dollar.  About 30 minutes later we were installed in our Suzuki Jimny 4x4.  It was a bit basic, but for 2 of us, it was just fine.  In addition to the usual fitments in the car, there was also a special lock for enable locking the car into reverse as a secuity measure when parked.

We headed towards Liberia town and found a Subway and popped in to collect some lunch.  Once through the town, we ran into roadworks.  We'd been warned the the Police are very strict on speed limits and for the next 50km  we were stuck doing between 30-60 kph.  We encountered quite a few local drivers who clearly weren't concerned about speed limits or double white lines!.

The route 1, or Pan-American Highway, took us south through Bagaces, Canas and Limonal befdore we turned off near Rancho Grande and headed east towards Monteverde.  After about 25km, the road gave out. We have previously driven the 700 km long Dempster Highway in the Yukon and Northwest Territories in Canada and thought that was bad at times, but nothing compares it to the rock hard surface of Costa Rican mountain roads!  Most of the journey was done at 20-30 kph!

Entering Santa Elena, the road becomes paved again, what a relief after all that banging and shaking.  After checking directions in the middle of Santa Elena, we quickly found the Hotel Ficus Sunset Suites just a couple of hundred metres south of Santa Elena.  The receptionist was expecting us and quickly assigned us to (and took payment for) our room, number 241. This proved to be at the very top end of the property spread up a steep hill.  Once inside, we realised what a fantastic view we had.  From the wrap-around balcony, we could see clear down to the Gulf of Nicoya about 50km away!  The room had two kingsized beds, and enormous dressing room, a smaller room with washbasin in and a huge room with toilet and a massive walk-in shower.  The trees and bushes below the room proved to be a haven for a range of exotic birds too.

After settling in, we drove back to Santa Elena and found a restaurant, the Tree House, for dinner.  The restaurant was built around a huge Ficus (rubber) tree.  The food, service and beer was excellent although a little pricey.  Following dinner, we briefly visited a supermarket for some bottled water and managed to find a Gelateria for some pudding!.

From the UK to the USA

London - Houston


After a reasonable nights sleep, we got up shortly after 7 and headed for breakfast at the Travelodge.  We had prepaid for breakfast as we had plenty of time and it was cheaper than buying it the airport!  Although it wasn't fantastic, for the price (£6.25) it was not bad, especially as it was buffet and you could eat and drink as much as you wanted.

We then reloaded the car and drove to Terminal 4, where we discovered that the instructions for dropping off the car were confusing, to say the least!  Eventually, we worked out where we needed to park and after a short delay, the company arrived to collect the car.  That done, it was into the terminal to drop off our bags.

Security was pretty quiet and we fairly whizzed through and had about 90 minutes to wait for our flight.  We were quite surprised by how quiet it was at the boarding gate and even more surprised when we got on board the aircraft that business and premium economy class were quite full but economy class was largely empty.  We had no-one in the row of seats in front of or behind us.

The flight, United Airlines, left the gate early, but got in the usual traffic-jam waiting to take off, so we left not long after midday.  The flight over UK, up to Scotland and out over N.Irelend was mainly overcast and we could see nothing.  Later, as we were passing southern Greenland, the skies cleared and we had a great view of the coast and mountains.  There was lots of pack ice and icebergs.  The cloud returned again until we crossed the coast of Canada on the north coast of the island of Labrador when the skied cleared again.  From here, all the way down to the Tennessee/Arkansas state line, it was nothing but snow on the ground.  From Arkansas down through Louisiana, it must have got a lot warmer as by the time we landed in Houston after a flight of 10 hours and 15 minutes, it was 26C or 79F.

Once off the plane it was the usual trek through immigration and customs and then quite a wait for the shuttle bus to our hotel.  We had a high-speed turn round here as we were meeting friends for dinner.  Randy and Barb drove us through Houston traffic, and it was very jammed, to a restaurant called Plonks.  This turned out to be a wine and beer diner, with a huge wine and beer selection and excellent food.

After an excellent diner with good food, drink and conversation, we returned to the hotel, fairly exhausted and looking forward to a good nights sleep.

Heading for London

Lincoln - London Heathrow

After a busy morning (Lynn and Stephanie buying a car), we had a quick lunch and then headed off down the road.  We had a good journey all the way down the A1 and round the M25 and easily found our hotel, the Travelodge Heathrow Central.  We got a really good deal for this hotel, I managed to get a room for £20 for the night.  The hotel is right on the approach for the northern runway at Heathrow, but the rooms are all quadruple glazed and the rooms very quiet.

Dinner at the hotel is more like a chain pub with most mains costing less that £10 and drinks around £3 for a pint - not bad considering its location.  The only downside is that it costs £7.50 to park at the hotel overnight - avoidable with a 'blue-badge'.  From the hotel, it is about 10 minutes to Terminal 4.

Packing for all; weathers

With days to go before we set off for Central America, decisions about packing have to be made.  Dust off the bags from the attic, pull clothes out of the drawer, heap on bed and consider the options.  As usual, there are issues with the weather.  Wet, cold and windy in UK, warm and sunny in Texas, downright hot in Costa Rica and who knows what the weather will be doing in Chicago in the first week of March.

The first of these can fairly easily be dealt with, wear appropriate clothes in the UK and abandon fleeces and jumpers in the boot of the car at Heathrow.  Houston should be fairly warm and anyway we are only there for 16 hours.  Costa Rica should be easy, the temperature when I checked it a day or two ago was 32C in Liberia and 25C in Monteverde - sounds like shorts and t-shirts with a light fleece if it is cool in the evening.  Then there is Chicago.  Firstly, of course, it is known as 'Windy City' secondly it it situated on one of the Great Lakes, Lake Michegan, thirdly, in March the lake may well be still frozen as it is early spring.  We will have almost 24 hours in the city and it would be good to have a quick visit into the city rather than vegetating in a hotel at Chicago O'Hare airport.  I guess it will depend on what the weather is doing when we get there.

We have also done quite a bit of route planning for Costa Rica using the Yourtravelmap.com website.  The planner seems pretty comprehensive, although one set of directions appears to head through an area where there are no roads marked on the map.  Could be an interesting trip.

We have also acquired a bird identification guide which is probably invaluable as there are a huge number of tropical birds that call Costa Rica home.  I wonder how many of them we will see.

Will we manage to do the sensible thing and cut down on the number of clothes we take?  The more we travel, the more we realise we always take too much with us.  Perhaps this time, we will move some of that heap on the bed and put it back in the drawer!