Pura Vida!

Time has gone both slowly and very quickly.  Today is my last night in Costa Rica and I'm spending it at a super nice B&B in Rio Segundo and hopefully very close to where the rental car gets returned.  The drive today from the Caribbean side was, for the most part, delightful passing stands selling organic coconut oil, moving on to stands selling papayas four for less than two dollars, then melons.  Traffic slowed down just outside of Guapiles and a man at a fruit stand was looking up.  There was a three-fingered sloth climbing around right above his head!  That was, IMO, Costa Rica saying good-bye to me.  The road into San José skirts the bottom of Braulio Carrillo Park and is just beautiful with some of the densest jungle I've seen . . .  Next time!
Cahuita was my last destination on this trip and it is truly a unique place.  The Afro-Caribbean influence is evident everywhere:  in the food, the buildings and the people.  I spent a day walking and getting acquainted with the town including an afternoon swimming at Playa Negra - a beautiful beach.  The next day I went on a snorkeling trip which was fun, beautiful, informative and, if I had been paying attention instead of swimming off on my own, I would have seen a nurse shark.  Oh well!  I also took a trip to the Sloth Sanctuary which was a sad, happy, rewarding and educational experience.
The highlight of the trip was definitely when my new friends that I met in La Fortuna arrived.  We had dinner at Miss Edith's (an institution in Cahuita) and the food was good.  We then spent the next day in their long-term rental built by a man from Switzerland who moved to Costa Rica 27 years ago. It was probably the most relaxing day of my trip, just hanging around, cooling off in the spa (it was a cool tub instead of a hot tub!) and looking for birds.  We went for dinner in Puerto Viejo (a bustling town, especially for a Sunday night) and ate at a vegan Thai/Mexican/Middle Eastern fusion restaurant.  It was delicious!  After meeting for breakfast, I headed out and here I am, richer for the experience of crossing paths with these four great individuals as well as a lot more knowledgeable  and inspired in many ways. 
One more thing - it seems the Europeans were onto Costa Rica long before we discovered it.  Most people from Europe I've met (France, Italy, Switzerland in particular) who live here all say they moved here around 27-30 years ago.  Just an interesting fact. Here are some photos.

The First (and only) Kingfisher of this trip

A Montezuma Oropendula - Don't you love that name?
You should hear their call!

Coahuila Point

Playa Negra

A surf shack? Along the Playa Negra beach

The two photos below are of Buttercup, a world-famous three-fingered sloth and the first to be rescued at the Sloth Sanctuary. She is a permanent resident.  Many of the sloths will stay at the sanctuary forever.  The babies below will hopefully all be able to be returned to the wild.

 

 This sloth was on the side of the road on the way back from the sloth sanctuary - of course!

And the Baby Sloths - Is there anything cuter?  The ones with the dark raccoon-like masks are three fingered and the ones with the shiny, hairless noses are two-fingered. They are all adorable!

Where your chocolate comes from . . .  

And, finally, some howler monkeys having lunch.

 

Buenas Noches desde Costa Rica and Pura Vida!