Wood Stork		un Crocodrilo		Palo Verde river		Boat we did not take		Termite nests
Rice Growing near a tree		Our Boat at Palo Verde		Our Guide Miguel		my roo not mosquito nets		More of the Palo Verde river.
								Click on an image or the text below it to see a larger image
Howler Monkey in the trees		Close up view of Howler Monkey		Another flooded field of rice		Boat billed heron

 

Noël’s Other Remarks recieved
Janury 21, January 22, January 24, January 27,
February 6

February 9, 2003

Hola!
Saludas a Costa Rica!

Now, here’s what I have been up to.
Well, I won’t tell you about verbs, I think I have said enough before, but trust me, Spanish verbs are not easy! I think some of them are there just to give me more grey hair!

Last Friday I went on the bus to San Jose with my friends Janice and Bernie and their “mama tica”, Ana. San Jose is as crowded and dirty and noisy and busy as any other city, but I am more used to the quieter town here, and certainly prefer it. We were mostly looking for regalos (souveniers) and J and B found some things at a bazaar full of things from Costa Rica and other countries in Central and South America.

The cathedral is quite interesting - the floor is all floral tiles in a variety of patterns, and the walls are decorated in painted designs that reminded us of Pennsylvania Dutch. The nave is rather plain as churches here go, but the chapel is ablaze of color and patterns, very busy but “right.”

Saturday morning, bright and early, I was picked up by the driver and guide to head to Palo Verde National Park. We stopped along the way for students from Monteverde and Flamingo, so there were about 15 of us all told going to the park. There were graduate students there doing work in ecology, and what a place to be working! There are hundreds of acres of wetland filled with all kinds of water birds, and a dry forest (very different from last weekend´s rain forest, much more like walking in the woods in the Berkshires, but much hotter!) We saw wood storks, roseate spoonbills, egrets, herons, ducks, many sandpiper types, crested caracaras, and always vultures. They are everywhere here!

Last weekend we stayed in what passed for a resort hotel, this time we stayed in rustic cabins with three bunk beds per room hung with mosquito netting, for a good reason. I never thought I’d like a cold shower, especially one shared with large green bugs, but after our climb to the top of the “hill” and back down, the shower was wonderful.

Sunday we took a boat trip on the river and saw more monkeys and birds everywhere. I took a photo in which you probably cannot see them, but in there are every kind of heron and egret, storks, kingfishers, etc. And then there were the crocodiles! The photo I sent is a small one, probably only about four feet long, but we saw some much bigger ones in the water.

Unfortunately, the water was the color of coffee and very muddy so there could have been the Loch Ness monster and we would not have known. We had tire problems on the way home, and the van from Monteverde had mechanical trouble, so I didn’t get in until after 7 last night. Exhausted, very dirty and hungry! My wonderful mama tica put together a quick supper and then I hit the books with -- verbs!

I may not make any day trips this week as I need to study more, but with Janice and Bernie I hope to go to Monteverde on Friday. We have the choice of a Sky Walk (a metal mesh bridge up in the canopy of the forest) or a Sky Tram (a series of 11 wires strung between towers and trees by which one zooms along the tops of the trees) I’ll let you spend the time trying to guess which one I’ll do. Blessings to you all, you are in my prayers each day and, believe it or not, my trip is now more than half over.

 

Peace, Noel and Blessings to all,

Noel

PS
If you want to email me at thisaddress, the message will be printed out and given to me.
And, if you want to call me, the number is (506) 265-5280,
and I think the international code for Costa Rica is 011, but you can find that in the phone book.
I am at school from 7:30 until 5 or so, but you can call in the evenings
(I do plan to take the weekend tours, and some daily tours run until 6ish) but not late,
bed time is by 9 (and check out the time zone. think we might be one hour behind you.