Blogs from San Isidro de el General, San José, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean

For the last week, we have been in a small guest house in Drake Bay, on the Osa Peninsula, located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. To get here, most people (including locals) take the boat. However, there is a "seasonal" road (i.e. passable in the dry season which is now) and old blue Volvo plunged gamely up and down the thirty km dirt track, fording eight small rivers, to get there. She is battered and bruised but in one piece (except for some loose plastic molding around the bumpers). We have been kayaking every day with Ben from Galiano Kayaks (he spends summers on the West coast of Canada). It is idyllic. Most days, we began kayaking around eight AM (we try to get out before it's too hot) and paddled in our group ... read more

Where to start? It’s a tricky one because it seems that we’ve entered in to a different world.. completely. We’re volunteering on a ‘farmlet’ called Tropical Dojo, it’s owned by an American guy called Noe. He arrived in Costa Rica over 20 years ago, built his own house and runs a small farm with animals and crops. Noe is very much in to his meditation and yoga which we join in with each morning. It’s an interesting way to start the day; breathing, shaking, bending, stretching and trying to get in to the positions that Noe is excellent at. The best bit about it is the breathtaking views from his lounge. The house is open, with few walls (luckily around the bedroom, not so lucky around the bath!). The view is of the lush tropical hills, ... read more

Less than a week to go! Boy has the time dragged! I haven't updated 'cause there's nothing to tell yet. I will be sending the link out today or tomorrow to friends and family so they can stay "in touch" while we are away. What's new? well I bought or rather rented I guess a GPS map of Costa Rica from a company called navsat. You can get a 10 day trial and then if you decide to buy it you only have to pay the difference in price. I think this is good because when I researched the maps they started at $25.00 and went way higher. What I found was some of them are just electronic maps that can track where you are, while others are actual GPS units that can guide you to ... read more