Un Viaje Como Ningún Otro: Where do I start?

Sorry, I am way overdue for an entry. I really should have written down some notes every other day or at least once in this past week or so.

So as I mentioned in my last post, my parents were down here. 11 days in Costa Rica and 10 days with me. Yesterday I came back to the sanctuary. I had to catch the launcha out of Jimenez to go to Golfito where I was picked up. My parents had a 12 o'clock flight out of Jimenez back to San Jose. They spent the night there last night and today flew back to the states. Slightly envious of them. The hotel, Casa 69, is just wonderful.

So after we left San Jose after two nights there we flew out to Puerto Jimenez via my new favorite airline, NatureAir.

After arriving in Jimenez we were met by a taxi which took us to Danta Corcovado Lodge. Danta Lodge is an eco-lodge north of Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula. Danta is another name for the Tapir. A tapir can be said to resemble a large pig or a small cow with a nose that looks (to me) like a very short elephant trunk. They can be hundreds of pounds.They have very endangered and you are lucky to see one. We, sadly, did not see one. My family and I spent 3 nights at that lodge. On the second day there (I think?), we went on a day-long hike into Corcovado National Park. It is the largest chunk of primary forest in Costa Rica. Because of this it also has huge amounts of wildlife, including the largest population of Spider Monkeys. But without a guide it can be hard to spot a lot of the wildlife. We heard plenty of it, but saw very little besides small birds, lizards, and dead agouti. This hike involved crossing the Rio Rincon multiple times. By multiple I mean maybe 20 times. It is a shallow river and it helped to keep a bit cooler. On the other full day we were there we visited the sanctuary so my parents could see where I've been for the past month plus and see all the wildlife. We went on the 9 o'clock tour that Earl gave and then stayed for lunch.

My dad and Sweetie.

White-faced Monkey/Capuchin

Joey, the Kinkajou, after he peed on me.

My mom and Sweetie.

The bathroom at the lodge was beautiful. There are not many times in life when you would like to put a few chairs in your bathroom to kick back and relax.

Our next leg of our adventure was Panama. We might have taken all types of transportation available to man. We caught the 11:30 launcha to Golfito, taxi to the border, bus to David, taxi to Boquete. (Buses are loads cheaper, not too much slower, and a great experience we came to find out. On our way back out of Panama we took almost all the same transportation, but just traded in one taxi for a bus).

Boquete was a very pretty little mountain town. Unfortunately becoming more and more Americanized. It has a gated gringo community and lots of retirees from the states. The temperature was the coldest I had felt since leaving the states. It wasn't unbearable, but I just didn't have the warm wardrobe for it. During dinner on our first night there we got into talking with two women sitting at the table next to us. We then came to find out that one of them lives in Boquete and is a massage therapist. Jackpot. Made an appointment for the next morning and was able cross that off my list. Well, it is always on my list...and I do have a few knots that could use lots of attention. This is beside the point. The next morning we went to her house. I got my massage while my parents sat out on her beautiful back porch and chatted with her husband. After that we went for lunch and then on a hike in the northern part of the town. We had aimed for a trail called the Quetzal Trail, but I don't know how much we were on it. It was very nice to see the many indigenous people who lived up in the mountain. They lived without electricity and definitely didn't own a car.
The following day my dad and I went on a canopy tour. 12 zip lines and 13 platforms in the canopy of the rainforest. It was very exciting. At first I was very worried. More because it was cold and rainy. As soon as we started the zip lines the cold was no problem. Probably all the adrenaline washed the cold away. My dad bought a cd of pictures of our group going through the canopy, but without a disc drive on this computer I wasn't able to put them on it. I have a few my dad took his camera and the others will have to wait until I return to the states.

Not the most attractive picture of me, but it will do.

As we were finishing up and back on the ground.

The place we stayed at was felt very cushy and Americanized. Not what we were aiming for. Don't get me wrong--it was beautiful, but just not the usual kind of place we stay.

I never want to cross the border between Costa Rica and Panama ever again. Although everything is a lot cheaper there.

After we left Boquete we went back to Puerto Jimenez and stayed the night at Cabinas Jimenez. I definitely could have spent more than one night there. I really like Puerto Jimenez as well.
So now I'm back here at the sanctuary. I will be here until the 29 of this month, thus making it 2 months at this sanctuary and approximately 2 months, 3 weeks in Costa Rica.