Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Playa Hermosa

Originally uploaded by The Vitruvian Man

I went diving in the Pacific ocean for the first time yesterday. The visibility was not wonderful, but the marine life was incredible. On our first dive at Punta Argentina, a small island off shore, we saw two white tipped sharks, the second was pregnant and nearly 5ft in length. We also spotted octopus in the crags and a large spotted manta ray as well as several moray eels. On the second dive I finally saw my first turtle intermitantly sleeping underneath some rocks. We also came upon an area where four white tipped sharks were wimming around in circles and later to a small wreck with large schools of fish, octopus, and a puffer fish.

Playa Hermosa is much quieter, cleaner, and overall more pleasant that the other surrounding beaches we have visited, namely Playa Coco and Ocotol. There is no main road, only the paved one leaving town and a narrow dirt road that runs behind the handful of restaurants and hotels. Howler monkeys and iguanas roam around freely.

Costa Rica

Red Flower, Costa Rica

Originally uploaded by The Vitruvian Man

Costa Rica is much as I remember it. Despite development and an influx of wealthy North American tourists (not travelers), it remains a gorgeous country with extremeley gregarious people, relatively stable infrastructure, little roadside/beach trash, and endless natural beauty. One must still wonder, however, how long that can last under the pressure of rapid development and flocks of American retirees buying up property.

Food has very much been the standard Central America fare: rice, beans, and your choice of meat.  Yuca, potatoes, and loads of tropical fruits are also on the agenda.  My favorites are blackberry with milk, watermelon and water, and passion fruit.  I´ve been cooking quite a bit as well, consuming more than a healthy share of avocados and Costa Rican sour cream mixed in with refried black beans all heaped on a corn torilla.  Fish and ceviche are available on the coastal regions for cheap (at least by Costa Rican standards).  The local brew is Imperial, widely available throughout Central America.  It ranges a little too much toward the Bud Light end of the spectrum for my tastes, but that hasn´t kept me away from an ice cold one or three on pretty much a daily basis (they actually have special refridgerators called ¨bajo cero¨ which means under zero degrees).  In Panama I developed a new found appreciation for Pina Coladas, and have also since discovered Nicaraguan tobacco, hand rolled into cigars here in Costa Rica.  Cubans are also very easy to come by.

On top of Volcan Baru, Panama

On top of Volcan Baru, Panama

Originally uploaded by The Vitruvian Man

It took 12 hours to summitt the tallest peak in Panama: Volcan Baru. we started at 2am in the morning from the Spanish School and arrived just after sunset. From the top I could see both the Pacific and Caribbean oceans as well as two volcanic craters.