Our guide is able to spot the smallest creatures at great distances. He sets up his spotting scope for the group to get a better look while I try and capture the same view on my camera. This remarkable grasshopper is no bigger than the end of your thumb.

As evening aproached we drove into Quepos, the nearest town. We found our way to the oceanside just in time for the sunset.

Th

A troop of squirrel monkeys would visit our condo daily. They would either fourage through the trees for food or lounge about for siesta.

We arrive in Manuel Antonio where we will spend five nights in a rented cando. Our SUV fares well on the treacherous roads where it is not uncommon to encounter a portion of the highway collapsed into a ravine or to cross a 100 year old steel bridge with enough holes in it to clearly see the river below. Seriously, driving in Costa Rica is not for the timid.

Today we travel from the mountains to the Pacific coast. The drive consumes the better part of the day as we traverse the serpentine roads through rain and dense fog. Our efforts are rewarded when we reach the ocean where it is sunny, warm, and teaming with wildlife. We discovered several pairs of Scarlet Macaws just south of Jaco.

While the boys were rapelling, Jeanine and Maya were horseback riding. Apparently this was much more enjoyable for daughter than mother who reported that her horse was naughty.

 
 
After completing our climb out of the canyon we were treated to a glimpse of this exotic bird and on the drive back we encountered our first monkeys. This Howler was part of a troop eating thier way through the canopy.

Kyle uses his right hand to control rate of descent perfectly while his left hand keeps him positioned correctly in the harness. A guide belays us from the bottom. If we lose control they can pull on the rope effectively braking our descent. The actual rappelling is very fun. It is the leaning backwards off a platform 210 feet over a gorge to get started that takes real courage. I think it is safe to say that all three of us got in touch with our inner monkey which for better or worse was not a big leap.

Two different kinds of rappelling were necessary. Nico, pictured here, is doing a straight descent of just over 100 feet. Click on the photo for a better view. Our next straight descent was a thrilling 210 foot drop. The other style involves walking down the cascading water backwards leaning way out under the support of the rappelling line.

When this butterfly spreads its wings, you would swear you are looking into the eyes of a large predator. Amazing what this delicate creature has developed for a defense mechanism.

In the rain forest you are just as likely to find something interesting on the ground as in the trees, evidenced here by this cute little frog.

On their visit, Jeanine captures a great image of a three-toed sloth. Animals in the reserve stay because of the food supply as opposed to any physical barriers.

After breakfast, we headed to the town of La Fortuna so renamed after the last major eruption of Arenal destroyed all but this community. In the afternoon, the boys will take up canyon rappelling while the girls ride horseback to the La Fortuna waterfalls. Maya, Kyle and Jeanine spend the morning at an ecological reserve while Nico and I make the 90 minute roundtrip to our cabins for the gear we will need for our canyoneering. On the way we stop for this little fellow.

 
Our guide was a very knowledgeable naturalist with a good sense of humor. He had personally captured many of the creatures we were viewing. The boxes on the table contain tarantulas and he was more than happy to remove the lids so I could get in close for photos. Behind Jeanine is a shadow box full of beatles, some of which are almost as big as the dogs in this country. This may be a slight exageration, but you sure as hell would not want to find one of these things in your shoe.

Nicolai bravely strokes the skin of this large Boa Constrictor. Fortunately, the snake was not hungry or concluded that Nico was too big to swallow.