Costa Rica

WHEW! We did it! It was a LONG four days, but we managed to make our way to the border, cross into Costa Rica with no problem and find a guy to take us to the Esquinas Rainforest Lodge in the Piedras Blancas national forest. We had decided awhile back, that if we had to spend 3 nights in Costa Rica, we might as well make a little vacation out of it! It was a lot of work to get to the lodge, but once we settled in, it was truly a wonderful time of refreshment and relaxation!

The lodge itself is truly remote... as you can see from the pic below. The bungalow accomodations were VERY modest and included free giant cockroaches in the bathroom. But, hey, it's the rainforest! The main building was a huge thatched-roof hut with lots of places to relax and a cozy little dining room where we ate 3 traditional Costa Rican meals each day.

Due to the location of the lodge, plopped in the middle of secondary rainforest, we saw LOTS of creatures. I took this picture while walking from our bungalow to the lodge... these guys were all over the place! Eric was able to see even more, as he went on a horseback riding tour along the river and also a night hike! On the night hike he saw brightly colored frogs, snakes, and bugs. He also ventured off by himself to explore the nearby trails a few times... and on one of those fateful adventures he was stalked and nearly killed by a monkey! (I'm not kidding... he came running out of the trail, dripping with sweat and scared to death! Ha ha!!!)
The lodge had a freshwater swimming pool just steps from our bungalow. The pool is fed by water from the river that runs through the property! And as a bonus, human guests aren't the only ones to enjoy the cool waters of the pool! Lots and lots of creatures hung out around the edges... look closely at Anna's head!
Another highlight of the lodge was the resident Caiman! He has a name, but I can't remember it at the moment. The caiman pond has only a 12" tall chicken wire fence on ONE side~ but on the other sides, there is absolutely nothing keeping this handsome boy from cruising right onto our porch... but he stayed put! Thank God!
Because the lodge accomodates mostly serious ecoadventure seekers (without babies!), we spent most of our time playing with Anna and taking turns relaxing! We made friends with the staff and the maintenance man even made me a bird out of some kind of leaf. The ladies in the kitchen were fabulous, always coming out to play with Anna... and take her back in the kitchen to oo and ah over her blue eyes. According to the bartender, the lodge doesn't get many "mini" guests, and so everyone loved having Anna around for a few days! (Well, the staff loved it... I don't think the European tourists appreciated it very much though!)
All in all, it was a great trip! We made it home safe and sound after another LONG day of traveling! But it was a great feeling to cross back into Panama and be headed back to our home. After all, there's no place like home!