COSTA RICA

On Wed 24th March I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth my connections were, not something planned. I got the 7 a.m ferry from Ometepe island to san Jorge on the mainland. I caught a full taxi to nearby Rivas where there was a bus leaving for Pen~as Blancas on the Nic-Costa Rica border. I was there by 9 a.m. The border crossing probably took about 2 and a half hours. I did the Nicaraguan formalities by myself but whilst waiting I was made aware of the Transnica bus to san Jose. This was a good opportunity of which I availed myself. I got myself and my luggage aboard and we drove about 500m to the Costa Rican immigration offices. Once I had shown my passport (and my reurn bus ticket to Nicaragua), I like everyone else, had to collect my luggage and have it open for inspection (well, cursory glance). Finally the bus set off from the border but once in Costa Rica we were stopped twice to be boardede by police. The vendors took this opportunity to sell much needed cold-drinks and snacks. It was great to reach Costa Rica and after sveral hours the terrain began to change, being more mountainous and green. We stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant with sweeping views across a valley. It was well after 5 p.m when we arrived in San Jose. I got a  taxi at the bus station and asked for a destination I had chosen from my 6 yr old guide book (what, I hear you say, why don't you have an up to date one? Well, I am enjoying my 1p ebay special and for most of the info it's helpful). The taxi driver advised me that wasn't a good place to stay(red light district, drug users..) and he could take me somewhere else... I know, I should have just gone to a chain hotel... He took me to a place near another bus station. The plus side is that it was a family run place and it was quiet and safe. In the morning I found that it was next to an open lot and there were a lot of homeless people about. I did stay there two nights and found a backpackers hostel for the Friday night. In the meanwhile I managed to book a trip to Tortuguero National Park leaving on the Sat. My stay at Tranquilo Backpackers was good and they had lots of info available on places in Costa Rica, including other hostels. I thought I'd give hostels  a try as you meet other travellers and you can get useful info. Some of them also have good meals and trips.
Tortuguero was amazing. The tour bus picked me up around 7a.m and we were soon out of the city travelling once again through green mountains. About2 and a half hours later we stopped fro breakfast. The place was aptly named "Bocadito del cielo" or little mouth of the sky. It had a great view of a valley and dam. After breakfast we continued our trip towards the Caribbean. we were unable to take the main highway as it was closed due to a landslide. The rout we took was pretty, winding through the mountains which were thickly forested. As we descended into the valleys we encountered coffee planatations and vegetable farms. Closer to the Caribbean the banana planations began. At midday it was steaming hot when we got to Can~o Blanco where we got a large boat or launch to our hotel within Tortuguero National Park. (It was at this point, unbeknown to me, that I put my backpack on a boat destined for another hotel -well, there were different groups on the bus and I was stressed from San Jose). It was great travelling across the water although we were going fast; it took over an hour to get to our hotel. Before we did, we slowed down to look at the entrance of the river to the Caribbean.
At the hotel we checked in and the others got there luggage. We had lunch and then set off for Tortuguero village where the Turtle Conservation center is (The Caribbean Conservation Centre).Tortuguero is the seond most important place in the world for turtle nesting and conservation (1st place goes to Oz). There are a number of different species that come to lay there eggs in Costa Rica. It's not yet nesting season so we didn't see any when we strolled along the Caribbean beach. The sea looked rough and uninviting and there were lots of branches/trees washed up on shore. We had some time to walk down the one and only street in the town and shop at the souvenir shops and supermarket. I bought myself a T-shirt and underwear in case I didn't see my backpack again.
Howver it was there when we got back from our trip.
The following morning we were on the boat at 5.30 to start our tour. It was peaceful on the water and we saw a number of birds (lots of different herons) on the water and the occasional monkey swinging by.
After breakfast we put on rubber boots/wellies to go walking ona muddy route in the rainforest. The rest of the day I spent enjoying the pool. It was hot in the Caribbean (no rain which is unusual).
I spent another day in san Jose and then got an early bus to Quepos on the central Pacific coast.With it being Easter I chose somewhere that I thought would nopt be overcrowded with tourists or local visitors. It is a good jumping off point for doing trips and close to a National Park, Manuel Antonio. The town itself isn't much to look at and doesn't have a swimming beach (small docks). But it only takes 20 min on a local bus to some really beautiful beaches. The water is so turquoise and inviting;it looks dceptively calm but there are warnings about riptides. Even the sea is warm! You can't stay on the beach too long or you get fried.
I had a lovely visit to Manuel Antonio Park. It's quite safe to walk without a guide on the little  trails and some people head srtaight for the main beach to picnic for the day.There is a great little beach - hidden away- Puerto Escondido. The trail leads up and then steeply down to a rocky beach. You climb over some rocks and come to these beaches that look like desert island beaches. I had a much-needed cool off in the water. I wanted to stay longer but with the tide coming in and no other way out I had to cross the rocks fairly soon.
Yesterday I went kayaking on the mangrove swamps. It was late afternoon and the best place to be to cool off. On the way to the swamps we saw a big group of capucchins but didn't see more in the swamps. We finished off the trip by having a good meal with aview from the restaurant at the Best western Kamuk. I have had a relaxing stay at The Widemouth Frog (www.widemouthfrog.org);especially enjoyed the swimming pool.