LEON - It looks like we got a little behind again in the blogging so let me catch you up on what we´ve been up to in the last few weeks. From Los Chiles we headed across the border by river boat to nearby San Carlos Nicaragua in hopes of spotting some great wildlife at a Nature Reserve we found in our book. It was interesting to note while on the Costa Rica part of the river we saw all kinds of birds, turtles, lizards, mokeys, crocodiles and caymans, but they all but disappeared when we crossed into Nicaragua where they are not protected.
At the border we met Andrew from Oklahoma and travelled with him to San Carlos. He was quite a character, and is very passionate about kids - he´s trying to start up an orphanage in Costa Rica which is no small task. He says he´s just about to begin the construction phase and we wish him the best. Here he is giving a guitar show to the folks waiting for the boat.
San Carlos was a complete dump and a disappointment save for the childrens merry go round that was powered by a v6 Toyota motor mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. It was delightful to watch the operator shift gears while the kids screamed with glee and/or terror. We couldn´t get in touch with the Nature Reserve we hoped to visit so we headed back to Costa Rica and decided to check out the cloud forests in Fortuna near Lake Arenal instead.
The lodge we went to in Fortuna was $6 per night per person in our guide book, but the prices were a bit old I think. The new rate was $45 for a double room, but it was gorgeous, and on an evening walk we saw - or nearly stepped on rather - one of the worlds most venomous snakes... the Terciopelo (aka Fer de Lance).
We also took on a pretty decent hike to checked out this gorgeous waterfall...
Here´s Anna relaxing in the hot sun after a very cold swim in the waterfall pool.
Here´s the oddly mutated double banana we shared for lunch... (yes, i put it on a pillow to take the picture)
Next stop was Granada Nicaragua - where we had a fabulous dinner at an Italian Restaurant - and then off to Laguna de Apoyo, a picturesque lake in the middle of a volcano crater. We spent a few days floating in the lake on inner tubes. Turned out to not be such a good idea as we now believe there was 'stuff' floating in the water. Actually, the fungal infection Anna got on her leg proves it. Annnnyway, we met some great folks and talked about stuff like genetically modified seeds, ipod malfunctions, recycling, and alaskan brown bears. While drinking rum of course. It really was a beautiful spot, and reminded me of growing up at our cottage in Sunapee.
Finally we returned to The Cedar House in Leon and drank some more of Francesco´s amazing Mojitos. We went back to Nicaragua was so I could fly to Boston for a suprise showing at my brother Jay´s bachelor party. After a 21 hour travel day my friends Jim and John picked me up at midnight and hid me until the party. Jay´s looking pretty good here...
Being back in Boston was weird... the roads were smooth, the cars were nice, the air was cold and didn´t have the pleasant smell of burning plastic - but it was awesome to see some family and friends if just for a short while. Another highlight was that I got to see my new nephew Samuel for the first time...
I flew back on Monday and after another long day of travelling Anna was waiting for me at the Managua airport. She was a sight for sore eyes! While I was away she had some good adventures of her own, but I´ll let her tell those stories...
