Guapiles is a couple of bus journeys away from Puerto Viejo. Hostels
were a bit thin on the ground, so I booked an "eco lodge" out in the
rainforest, run by a very amicable hippy from South Africa. Apparently he
built the whole place himself and it's quite something.
The only thing the lodges lacked were windows, which means that when the jungle
animals get up, you're getting up as well. There was insect nets covering all
the places where you might expect to find a window, but quite a few slipped
through the cracks, so I invented a very fun game of "WTF IS THAT". Like this
bad boy.
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No idea what this is, but evolution has blessed him with a huge pair of
cumbersome antennae
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I got pretty lazy and didn't really do much except go for local walks, enjoy the scenery, and chat to the other folk staying there, including quite a famous tennis player (would have got a selfie if I'd had any idea who she was at the time).
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| Didn't fall in here either |
Everyone I spoke to told me that San José - Costa Rica's capital - wasn't anything to write home about, but since my flight was leaving from there, I booked a couple of nights to see what the lack of fuss was about...
My hostel was pretty cool and served delicious pintos for breakfast (a Costa Rican rice-and-beans affair. Not a pint of lager). My room reminded me of my old school a bit (huge and draughty), and even had a room between the main bedroom and bathroom that I never discovered the purpose of.
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| The mystery room |
For my one full day in the capital, I marched off to the national museum,
which was gratis for some reason. It was a bit incongruous ... "Butterfly
World" plonked next to some live band, next to a bird's nest/egg museum, next
to the admittedly excellent history of Costa Rica section.
The butterfly bit was a bit of a dead loss. I only spotted two butterflies.
And they were both brown.
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Bobby Brown the Butterfly
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This would look nice in my hall
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Who'd have thought you could make a whole exhibition devoted to bird
nests?
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I've got this one guys
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The museum had a nice view ...
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... and was showing all the latest TV programs
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No idea what this building is but I love a good brutalist slab of
concrete
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Most noteworthy thing about Costa Rica is that it abolished its army back
in the 1940s, a fact you'd think they'd keep to themselves, but the main square
is named after this fact.
Anyway, this brings me to an end of my Central American adventure. Next up,
Deepest Darkest Peru!
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