Puerto Quepos, Costa Rica

We are in Puerto Quepos, Costa Rica.  We found an internet café and I sent a couple email “hellos” from “Puerto Rico” – Oops!  Hey, I was flustered working in Spanish – that’s my story and I am sticking to it. Geez., we are only eight days into the trip and already I don’t know what country I am in!  Costa Rica really is an interesting county however, in that it hasn’t had an army since 1949. They used those funds for healthcare and education. It now has a 95% literacy rate – one of the highest in the world. Costa Rica has more the 750 volcanoes. Most are dead or dormant but one is the most active volcano in the world. This is a new stop for cruise ships. I could tell as no one tried to sell us anything at our rest stop. I figure give it a year or two and that same rest stop will be surrounded with local venders selling their wares. Also, an hour on the internet only cost about $1.50. Such a deal! Great thought went into what to do while we were here.  I really wanted to do the zip lines. It looked like great fun. If it had been a week before the end of the cruise, instead of a week into the cruise, I would have done it in a New York minute. As I have broken about 9 bones, one from just stepping off the sidewalk wrong, I could envision me limping my way through the next 40 countries. We chose instead to do the Mangrove Wildlife and Boat Cruise. Yes, we got off this ship and got on another boat. It was a tour through mangrove forests viewing wildlife like iguanas (black spiny-tail –the world’s fastest lizard).  Hey everyone needs a claim to fame. I would like it noted that he wasn’t too fast for me. I got a picture while he was resting between sprints. We saw a troop of capuchin monkeys, with their cute white faces. I expected crocodiles but didn’t see any. We did see the “rare” silky anteater, a plethora of birds and some impressive termite mounds. The town itself is rather poor looking, but it is home to about 14,000 people. The coast is picturesque; you have the deep blue Pacific water, then the lush green forest with volcanic mountains in the background. Really quite beautiful.  We continue to eat really well – Carol reminded me  that I was in luck. That by the time we arrived in Hawaii I might appreciate that a Mumu could be the dress of the day. Great thought, what a first-rate excuse to just continue my feeding frenzy!