Day 10: Carara Tropical Rain Forest, Costa Rica

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Beautiful sunrise to enjoy on deck this morning. Sigh . . . I awoke just after 5:00 a.m. for some reason, but really enjoyed my quiet time outside. Then, after breakfast, we set off for Carara Tropical Rainforest National Park. Knowing that tropical rainforests are humid, and actually experiencing the humidity are two different things. Our guide was excellent - so knowledgeable - but it was distracting watching the water dripping off his chin! We had been prepared for the fact that it is a wild forest, - just as you cannot march into a Canadian forest expecting to see a grizzly bear, so you cannot walk into a tropical rain forest expecting to see lots of wild life, especially when you are part of a group of fifteen. The plant life was, of course, amazing - such big leaves, so many vines, such TALL trees - and everything all tangled up together. We were lucky on our walk because we did see two scarlet macaws, and some white-faced capuchin monkeys. The rest of the day was low-key. We were going to wander around Puentarenas (which is where our ship is docked), but some time just to 'be', without going anywhere or attending a presentation seemed more appealing, so that is what we did. After dinner we spent a couple of hours listening to our wonderful jazz trio - I believe I've mentioned them before. I MUST capture them on video before we leave. They are just in their early twenties, and they are so good (in my humble opinion).

Tomorrow, which will be Sunday, May 8th, we will be moving through the Panama Canal. (Happy Mother's Day, Mom and Muriel!) The ship has given us this web address, should you wish to watch our progress through the canal: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

Too bad I can't see you! I guess if I knew when you would be looking, I could go out on deck and wave! I'll send a group e-mail if I get any more information about that.

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