On the way Isla Chira and Cerro Escondida

The bus ride from Monteverde to Chomes was hot and dusty, on dirt road for 2 hrs downhill all the way onto the plains. I gallantly gave up my near-front seat for a tica lady with a baby, and went and sat at in one of the plentiful seats at the back. I soon discovered why. The bus is divided into dusty, at the front, more dusty in the middle, and desert storm at the back! I sat next to amiable tico who was off to work on an aeroplane, or he might hav been off on an aeroplane to work, and not sure. Or there may not have been an aeroplane involved at all. Anyway it was entertaining trying to converse with him.

I´m rambling like this because so much has happened since that I feel a bit overwhelmed by it now I come to sit down here. So I´ll try a chronological account:

6am on bus. 8am off bus - 5 people and 10 bags (one big and one day bag each). Learnt the work for bags: Malatas ("my bags are absoluely full of mallets") - at Parque Megafauna, conveniently near a rather posh "motorway services" place where we headed for slap up breakfast (cinco personas y diez malatas). Realising that breakfast here would blow our budget for the day we hastily downgraded and managed to make coffee and juice last half and hour, and then decamped outside and had breakfast of pineapple and bisuits. Fantastic fruit is everywhere here and v cheap.

9am the park opened. It´s a few acres of thin woods containing a number of lifesize models of animals past and present, run by a group that supports ecological education, but was rather in need of a facelift. Good to know it goes to a good cause tho.

12noon taxi and tico guide (Gravine aka Gravy) turned up as per plan. Head for Costa del Pajaros near Puntarenas. This is start of our ACTUAR itiniary. ACTUAR is an non-profit umbrella organisation for local grass-roots tourism in Costa Rica, and has put together a 5 day itiniary for us with Gravy, a ngual naturalist guide.

1pm lost somewhere near Puntarenas. When we stop and ask someone they point back the way we came. This happens 4 times until we think it´s a CR custom. Finally someone points ahead of us and we´re there.

1:30pm finally arrive at small restaurant for tico lunch of shrimps in sauce. The first of many great meals on our ACTUAR itiniary.

2:30pm board public boat to Isla Chira. N compares it to the boat that takes the 2 ladies to the island in Mama Mia, full of local people coming home from town, chatting and passing round peeled oranges to suck on. I got out a pineapple and passed round slices to amusement of local women. Felt like beggining to become part of the local community. On Chira boarded local bus to take us to lodge Armistad...

This entry started out as "Isal Chira and Cerro Escondido" because we´ve left both behind sadly, and now by the sea at Corello in Nicolya. But I´ve only got as far as getting to the island. Oh well, have to go to beach now and see whether rumours of crocs on beach are true.... more later.