Returning to the mainland by ferry we turn
north and head on a full days drive to the
Costa Rican town of Puerto Viejo Sarapiqui.
We cross the border at Guabito, into the
Caribbean lowlands of Limon Province. Puerto
Viejo lies at the confluence of the Puerto Viejo
and the Sarapiqui rivers, an area of tropical
rain forest that was once an important hub on
the Caribbean trade routes. The area lies in
the shadow of the Central Cordillera
Mountains, sandwiched between the Braulio
Carrillo N.P. to the west and the Tortguero N.P.
and Barra del Colorado National Refuge to the
east.

.

Leaving Isla de Colon

as we depart supplies arrive

Mary

Rosie

fast boat soon returns us to Almirante

Kairen and Cecile

Peter

one of several 'dodgy' bridges we crossed

bananas

about to cross the border from Panama to Costa Rica

the crossing involved a 500m walk across another 'dodgy' bridge

we're in Costa Rica

Kairen updates her diary in a flea pit cafe in Sixaola.  20 minutes she is is regret for the next week whilst the bites heal

Rosie & Stu

The weather station at our hotel La Quinta in Sarapiqui

the hotel had a butterfly house

our room

lots of photos in the butterfly house

Peter and Marek in the pool

"where's that humming bird gone?"

This morning we had a chance to explore a
little more of Puerto Viejo and its environs.
This area has been in the forefront of
conservation for a number of years and Tirimbina biological station on the outskirts of
town has done a great deal to involve the
local community directly in the research and
conservation of the area.

Golden Orb spider (big!)

monkey staircase

bullet ants which bite and leave you in agony for 6 hours (big!)

Hilary and Kairen

We drive, skirting the great central volcanic massif, past fertile farmlands, rich with a diversity of tropical crops, bringing us within sight of Arenal,
Costa Rica’s most active volcanic cone. This classic cone, which rises to 1,633m and is covered by a tangled mass of vegetation on one side whilst the other is starkly barren and scarred by lava flows.

Lunch stop at Las Iguanas

We have an evening meal at El Novillo watching the volcano spew molten lava hundreds of feet in the air and cascade down on the volcano slopes

impossible to photograph, but one of those moments in life we'll never forget