wetandem

Something which has come to my attention over the past few days is that there is a very active and vocal environmental movement in CR. Since we are going to Monte Verde tomorrow, I thought that I could check out a few things on Google and La Nacion. The story started about six years ago when a Canadian mining company obtained a concession from the CR government to begin an open pit mine in the north of the country. The location of the mine is about two miles from the San Juan River. The river is the international border between Nicaragua and CR. The Mining company proposes to use a type of cyanide extraction process to bring the gold out of the raw ore. Environmentalists and the Nicaraguan government has objected to the mine based on ... read more

A tough day. I am still trying to get my head around the Spanish. Because of the schedule and skill levels, I am in what amounts to a private lesson. It amounts to an almost four hour one-on-one session with a teacher. You are it, and you have her full attention...you must answer every question she asks. After the end of the day today, I was ready to quit. It rained again today. I happened to be walking to class today and took this picture. The school is in an old match factory.... read more

Rain again this afternoon. Went on the tour of Cafe Britt. Great coffee. Had a wonderful time. The staff there was cordial and very friendly. The tour is quite educational. Went to the INBioparque afterward and spent two hours prowling around the gardens with a guide. This park has examples of the biodiversity of Costa Rica, it privately funded, and is a reclaimed coffee finca. Got some interesting pictures of the animals. Will post pictures as soon as I can get them downloaded off the camera.... read more

Finally! Arrived about 8PM. Picked up by friends. Tired from the flight. Though we did it a bit more thoughtfully this time. This trip we flew through Dallas and had a three hour lay-over there. Whis broke up the flight a bit. Much better than trying to take the whole seven hours all at once. It's been raining. Not sure whether this is something on going or just for a few days. Anyway, I am beat. I need to take out the contact lenses and give my feet a rest. More later. Pura Vida!... read more

Sunday Arrived in San Francisco about 3:30 PM yesterday afternoon. Home by 6:30. Cleaned up and unpacked this morning. Took nearly 1,000 photos of processions and other celebrations. The weather was warm and the food was great. Now comes the backfilling of the entries in this blog that I couldn't post while we were there. We are planning another trip sometime in October. Pura Vida!... read more