Heading south to Costa Rica!

[metalspinner]

The wife and I are heading to Costa Rica for our 10 year anniversary.  The trip is in about a month.  We are really looking forward to it.  This will be the first extended holiday away from the kids.  What ever will we do with ourselves???? ;D

When I recommended CR, I got a funny look from her. But after she investigated it she became excited.  I had to promise her that all the spiders and snakes would not be hunting her down.  She gets kind of nervous about that sort of thing.

Mostly we will staying in the interior of the country.  No beaches...  well, maybe just one day.   But that is still up in the air.

The welcoming committee has already been notified.   8) 8)

[crtreedude]

So, you going to come around a visit? I have about a million bf of teak we are harvesting, I'll let you help if you want...  :D

[ADAMINMO]

He could run one of them new Baker mills!!  8)  8)  8)

[metalspinner]

I'm up for it!  I would love to see your set up there, Fred.
I need to get the itenerary from Susie and see how we can get the visit lined up.   

[iffy]

Been wantin to take the missus somewhere, as we have been liviing in a camper since April of 07 while we build our log home. She's been pretty good about it. What made you decide on Costa Rica? I'm just lookin for ideas.

[metalspinner]

We are nature lovers.  I love the woods and Susie loves the spas. :D.  CR has lots of both.  ;)  We have always wanted to vacation in the tropics someplace, but most destinations are to "beachy."  After reading a bit about CR here on the forum then researching it, CR became the no brain-er.  The cost is much more affordable than places like Hawaii.  It isn't to long of a plane ride, either.

We really like all the natural beauty CR has to offer.  The volcano, hot springs, jungle tours, river tours, zip lines, etc.  This trip hopefully is just a prelude to taking the boys down there when they get a bit older.

[crtreedude]

He could run one of them new Baker mills!!  8)  8)  8)

We sure have enough of them! All setup and ready to go now. Hopefully, the sawdust starts flying today...

[metalspinner]

Should I bring my Logrite, or do you have plenty? :D

[crtreedude]

Should I bring my Logrite, or do you have plenty? :D

We got lots of them. When we order mills, we order logrites too. And Pickaroons.

[Roxie]

Well, I hope when you come back you'll tell us all about the trip, because I've been thinking about going and visiting Harold.   :D

[Raider Bill]

Chris,

You are going to love it! CR rocks 8)
In addition to your plans try some rafting.

[metalspinner]

We leave tomorrow for Atlanta, then fly out Saturday morning. 8) 8)



We will try to get together with Harold and Fred this weekend.  Niether my wife or I can speak a lick of Spanish which should make the trip interesting.  : If no one hears from us within 10 days, please call W. to send in the marines. :D

Bill,
Rafting is a bit too exciting for us.  We will do a river cruise, however.  And an evening cruise on Lake Arenal to view the volcano.  That is supposed to be really nice.

Roxie,
I have several empty cards that I plan to fill.  My wife and I have different techniques to take pics.  I'm like a machine gunner snapping pictures hoping to get the perfect shot.  She is a sniper and never misses the perfect shot.

[Roxie]

Have a good time, and remember, if you need us...we'll be here.  We have a very experienced rescue crew:

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,19984.180.html

The code word for help is "ARGcapslok"

[Jeff]

He wont want to be rescued, if he's like me, he'll discover why Fred and Harold Never came back. I sometimes dream about living there still.

[Raider Bill]

As many times as I've gone to CR I've never see Volcano Arenal due to cloud cover. Been close enough to feel her rumble though.
THat is a BEAUTIFUL country!

[metalspinner]

Bill,
I'm bringing the beautiful east Tennessee weather with me, so seeing the volcano shouldn't be a problem. ;)  :D

[Raider Bill]

Chris,
I wish I was either in Tenn or CR as I type. Green with envy I am!

If you get a chance try to get to Playa Tamarindo very neat beach town
Oh don't forget the coffee!

Have a great time!

[Jeff]

Any Metalspinner sightings down there yet Fred?

[metalspinner]

Made it back. :'( :'(  Unfortunately, life dictates that you must return to it.

What a beautiful country Costa Rica is!  The people were just great to us.  They genuinely love and care for their country.

We had a nice visit, though brief, with Harold and Fred.  On Sunday morning, we went by Harold's and got the grand tour, then we all loaded up and headed to Fred's.  We had a full schedule planned so couldn't spend as long as we wanted with either of these guys.  But we had a nice visit and conversation with our new friends.  If we had not have left Fred's when we did, we would have had to take an arc back to Arenal.  The heaviest rain I have ever seen came down mid-afternoon.

After we left Fred's and returned to Harold's, Riena had lunch waiting for us.  That was the best meal we had all week!  Every meal there after was compared to Riena's and non of them measured up.  That is why Harold isn't coming back from Costa Rica! :D


Raider Bill,

I hate to brag, but we saw that volcano in all of its glory for four straight days.  We just stared at it endlessly.  We were completely mesmerized by it.  This is a very active volcano.  It steams all day and seems to create its own weather.  At night, you can see the glowing top and lava flows.  I have tons of pics, just need to upload them.

The weather was mild and perfect.  I don't believe the temp got above 80 all week.  The humidity was quite low considering it rained just about each evening.  It's incredible how fast the weather changes down there.  A perfectly blue sky will cloud up within just a few minutes, then all heck will break loose for a while, then the beautiful sky reappears. ???

I have never seen the sky so blue, or the grass so green.  The colors of nature down there are just incredible.  Colors I have never imagined much less witnessed.


The most exciting thing you can possibly do down there is to get behind the wheel of a car.   The roads are narrow!  Most barely wide enough to squeeze two cheap Korean imports past one another much less a big truck. :  Watch out if you get off a "main" road.  The gravel roads are paved with rounded river stones.  I think a couple of my fillings were shaken out of my teeth.  But the destinations were always worth the abuse.

Oh, don't expect to see any road signs to help get you where you are going. :D  And don't take for granted the road you drove in on will be there when you head back.   Surprise!! Washout! 200' drop to the bottom of a ravine.

This was the longest we have ever been away from the kids.  It's good to be home.

We easily have 1,000 pics and a few video's. Just need to load them up and work on them.  Lots of pics to come...

[metalspinner]

Different views of Volcano Arenal...


From our back porch...













Down the road a bit...

[metalspinner]

 

[pigman]

Great pictures. 8) From that last picture I see night down there looks just like night here. ;D

[metalspinner]

I'm getting harassed by P.M. to get some more pics up.  I won't say who it is, but here is a pic of the view from his place .  And that be him showing us his trees.  ;D...





And his wood pile...







After the 2 1/2 hour drive from San Jose, we arrived at the hotel and walked in to see this desk. It is 26" wide and near 20' long.  No sap or pith in this board, either...





At that point, I knew we had taken the right vacation. ;D

Each morning, we ate breakfast with this view...

[metalspinner]

This little guy was hopping along a trail we were hiking in the rainforest. We named him "Blue Jeans."...






These two characters, Pedro and Lupe, watched us eat breakfast each morning...





The Green Iguanas were sitting high in the treetops along a river bank.  We were standing on the side of a very narrow bridge to get the shot. Not recommended!





The biggest one was easily 3' long.  There were at least 100 of these right in the same vicinity.  This was on the way to Harold's.  It was at the intersection of one road and another. :D Remember there are no road signs in C.R.

[metalspinner]

We took a river tour in the northern part of C.R. on the border with Honduras.  Along the way we saw plenty of wildlife.

These bats were hanging out on this tree limb...





The guy on top was in charge, according to our tour guide.  He was the only male in the group and always kept space between himself and all the females.  Sage advice I might say. ;)

This is a cool little lizard...









They call it the "Jesus Christ" lizard.  Does anyone know why?

I have some cool video of some Capuchin monkeys.  But I need to figure out the Youtube stuff before I can upload.

But, here is a cute pic. They kept dropping from this same branch over and over. Then fussing with one another.  It was a lot like having the kids along....






This is the not-so-cute side of the Capuchins...