Dave Looks for Plants

The last night in Costa Rica, we stayed in a town near to San Jose, called "Heredia".  It is a very old town.  The "Hotel Americana", where we stayed, was a musty old place, but different.  It used to be a cinema some 50 years ago, and they use of the old projectors as decorations.

Church on the main plaza of town.  Bells rang every half hour, starting at 5:30 am.

Across the street from the church plaza is this garden with a statue of Buddha, and an odd octagonal tower.  Down the road were several school for embassies.

Church and that tower.

We were allowed up on the top floor of the hotel — normally closed in the day time because it was an open-air restaurant — so that I could take pictures.   

The viewscape is out westward toward San Jose.

West-northwestish.

Northwestish, out toward Alajeula and the airport.

And then it was farewell time.

Welcome home.

The brakes were grinding so bad by then that I did not want to drive that car another mile.

The rental car company wanted me to find a local garage to get the brakes fixed and they would reimburse me but I refused – they should have maintained it better.  So we left it in La Fortuna for them to come and pick it up.  In their favor, I will say they later refunded me the entire amount I paid to rent the car, but it pretty much ruined our plans for the trip.

All I knew, we had just settled back down to sleep when I heard a plaintive “Daaavvvve” as Karen felt the rat running over her tummy.  The flashlight revealed one frightened little mountain rat clinging to an upper corner of our mosquito netting.  After that, Karen wanted to leave a day early and I did not really blame her.

That was the last straw!  The brakes had gotten worse and worse coming down the mountain and we were limping in to the next town of any size, La Fortuna.  Then the roof blows off!  Needless to say I was a bit pissed at that rental car company.

Adding my comments here:  The drive up the mountain to Pocosol was scary!  It was pouring down rain and getting dark, and once we left El Tigre and made it across a raging river on a narrow suspension bridge barely wide enough for even that little car, it got much worse.  Four wheel drive was absolutely essential.  That poor little Geo Tracker was climbing over huge rocks in the road and at one point the car veered into the embankment and got stuck.  I started rocking it back and forth and said a little prayer and gunned it.  Somehow we made it.  Little did we know our problems with that car were not over yet.

But back to Nature!

El Banyo (the toilet).  This was the cleanest, best smelling latrine I’ve ever used.  And one of the few places in Costa Rica where you were supposed to put the toilet paper in the toilet.  Almost all other places, the waste paper goes in the “basuro” (basket), to be burned or composted, so it doesn’t back up the septic systems.

OK, OK, an interlude of real nature!!

Sorry bout the spots on the camera lenses.  Dave is standing downflow from a waterfall on the Rancho.

This is the largest dormitory, known as “Jeannie’s House”.

Robin and Volunteers make all meals in this tiny kitchen — for 25 people the last two days of our stay.  Robin says the maximum she can handle is about 40.

Kitchen – continuation

Costa Rica has very few cats.  Cooroo, helping guard the kitchen here, was brought via six intermediate steps, from the U.S.

Turn 180 degrees to the dining hall, music hall, library, and entrance to the three bedrooms in the main house….Plus! a bathroom with a flush toilet and hot water shower! Note the bamboo strips used for ceiling material.

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Fresh chicken eggs bought from a Tico hen-keeper.  Eggs for 25, anyone? Costa Ricans refer to themselves as Ticans.

The Rancho does have some extra refrigeration – only two years old and rusting already in the humidity.

Tyler is using the local laundromat. By the way, the water source is from pipes coming down from Cerro Cangreja (the adjacent mountain).  And it tastes wonderful, no chemicals!

This earthen oven bakes wonderful bread, and also helps dry clothes — it is very very difficult to get clothes to dry in the high humidity of the rain forest.

 Tally to Atlanta to San Jose International Airport.

Taxi to Puriscal, then buses to Mastatal.  The brakes went out on the first bus, so they finally brought us a school bus for the rest of the trip.

Karen only lightly mentioned this but we were stuck by the side of the road that evening for several hours waiting for a replacement bus and it was well after dark by the time we arrived.

Mastatal abuts LaCangreja National Park, although is not large enough a town to show up on this map.

Here There Everywhere. So is Mastatal down?

Welcome to Rancho Mastatal. (Picture taken 180^o from previous picture)

Timo

Robin

Inside the gate,
Pica and vegetables await.
(Pica is the dog — a healthy, well-fed one, which is rare in CR).