Costa Rica 2000

Saturday, August 12, 2000  -  Tortuguero - San Jose/Hererdia
 

This was our last morning at Tortuguero Lodge, so I got up early to take photos.  The afternoon before, it was so hot the butterflys weren't out much, but this morning, there were plenty.  The butterfly flying above the resting butterfly on the left followed her wherever she went.  The butterfly in the middle photo is the Postman.  The black grasshopper was about 4 inches long and an inch thick, not counting his legs.  I saw him the night before by the pool, but didn't get up to get my camera.  He waited for me.

This is most of our group, from left to right:  ???, Elston (wearing hat), Matt, Sam, Connie (white shirt), Annie (age 6), Jack, Jerry (green shirt in back), Max in front of Jerry, Asher in front of Max, Skyler and Patty.  Joshua was having stomach problems, so he, Mary Ann and Glenn are not in the photo.

As we took off from the "airport", the Carribean Ocean is on the far right, the strip of land beside it had the airport and farther away, Tortuguero town.  The middle strip of water is a canal.  The strip of land in the middle has Tortuguero Lodge on it, canal on the left.  The canals are all natural, and there are lots of them on the Carribean side.

This is a view of central valley in the day, and the view from our hotel, La Condesa, in San Rafael de Heredia at night.

We left very early the next morning to catch the plane home.  It was a little scary because this time the Costa Rica Expeditions person did not go into the airport with us.  At first we got in the wrong line (a very long line).  When we finally got in the right line, we got everything taken care of and then just waited an hour or two to board the plane.

It was a great trip!