Tuesday Took an early (6am) walk today through the big bamboo forest. It's up the road in the opposite direction from Uvita. Very bumpy, rocky roads, definitely four-wheel drive territory. A pedestrian bridge crossed a river just before the forest. Construction was ongoing on an replacement auto bridge. Now the four-wheel drives have to drive through the river. The forest was definitely awesome, especially in the early morning sun. It went on and on. Didn't realize that the bamboo sheds its outer bark. On the road back we noticed a pair of bright yellow birds up in a nest atop a utility pole. We were taking photos and they were definitely mad at us. Many cats and dogs in this area. The dogs are very territorial, barking fiercely at us but stopping at the edge of ... read more

Sunday The howler monkeys got crazy at 5am this morning. The male is very loud. We were told that it is normal for them to be loud at this time. No need for an alarm clock here! But it is actually good to get up early and start the day before it gets too hot. The balcony is so nice early in the morning. Bob made some coffee and we just enjoyed the view for a while. We read at the hotel that there is a lovely view atop the hill past the waterfall. We looked for wildlife along the way, saw many small butterflies and the blue morpho. We ran into a tourist at a fork in the road. He said the road to the left led up to a beautiful overlook, was about two ... read more

Friday Today is our day to visit the nature reserve, Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. It was declared a national park in 1972, preserving it from being bull dozed and razed for a coastal development project (they say with just minutes to spare!). It is Costa Rica's smallest national park and one of Central America's top tourist attractions. We caught the 6:20am bus just across the street from the hostel. The bus stopped along the ocean in Manuel Antonio, with just a 300M walk to the park entrance. We thought the park opened at 6am, but it was 7am, so we had a short wait to get our tickets. In the meanwhile, about five guys asked if we wanted a guide. We said we wanted to go solo. They wanted $65 for a private guide and $20 ... read more

Quebrada Ganado Wednesday We took an early walk partway down to the macaw's nest, but no bird sightings. We passed an interesting fruit tree, probably a grapefruit. We returned by way of the river estuary. Many shore birds, and several guys fishing from shore. Many birds were swarming over one area of the ocean, with pelicans diving straight down into the water. The bigger fish (perhaps tuna) drive the smaller ones toward shore, and then the birds have a feast. Later in the morning we heard "caws" coming from the beach. We went down to their favorite tree by the beach (probably an almond). We saw two macaws, but couldn't get any good photos. This is beginning to become an obsession! Later when Bob was looking for some hotel reservations, I walked down there again, but ... read more

Quebrada Ganado Monday (We lost Internet for most of the day yesterday.) The people here are very friendly and helpful. Yesterday when we got into Quebrada Ganado, we needed groceries and a taxi. Bob talked to a young man on the corner who called a cab for us. As we were waiting for the cab with our bags by the grocery store, another young man asked if we needed help. The cab driver was also very helpful. At 6am today I heard the red macaw's "caw". Went outside to look and saw two fly over the swimming pool. I later saw two fly over the ocean. They have a very distinctive sound. Took some walks early in the morning before the heat set in. We walked along the beach, past a few shacks and tents with ... read more