Wet and Wild!

So, the last couple of days have been very . . . wet. It rains everyday here, usually from about 2:00 on, but that's not even the whole story. Before I can even see a cloud in the sky I'm drenched, because when it's not raining the sun beats down on me with scorching intensity. My cheeks were sweating so profusely today that it probably looked like I was grieving a loss. I was sweating like a guilty fat man being given a lie detector test in a sauna . . . on the sun. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore heat, the clouds rolled in and began dumping rain. That's when I got cold. It's still raining now, 8 hours later, and I'm afraid Mike and I will have to rent a canoe for tomorrow instead of taking our bikes on the road. Sheesh!

Anyways, our bike trip from Nicoya yesterday was a doozy. We took a crazy route (the only one really) that led us snaking around the mouth of the river that spills into the bay separating the mainland from the peninsula we had been on. The only problem was that the bridge on the route was not where the map said it was. We took a massive detour that added about 15 kilometers to our day, which we had already planned to be a long one. The bridge was lovely though. Constructed by the Taiwanese and pleasantly named the Friendship Bridge, it is the pride of Costa Ricans who snap photos of its unusual design. Despite the detour, we pressed on (through the rain) and made it to Cañas before nightfall.

The coolest thing about Cañas is its zany Catholic church. Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Well this particular church has been attacked by artist Otto Apuy, and, as our guidebook claims, "is unlike anything on display at the Vatican." The entire front of the church is covered in tiled mosaic, as are many of the other features on the outside of the building. There's the traditional shepherd and some crosses, but there are also some rather trippy designs. The large stain glass features a jungle scene rather than something explicitly biblical. Sadly, the inside is as boring as most of the churches we've seen. I'll put up pictures of the mosaics soon.

Today we biked only a short distance to a town called Tilaran, but the ride was mostly uphill and we wanted to take it easy after our long day Monday. Next, we'll slowly work our way around Lake Arenal towards the volcano on the other side, which is known for its regular fireworks shows. Speaking of fireworks, I now have some pictures of our fireworks-less Costa Rican Independence Day:



An un-enthused parade dancer.



This drummer boy was kind of getting into the spirit.



A pile of maracas being sold a few feet from the festivities.



Some interesting boats off the coast of Coco, Costa Rica.



A boy and his bike on the beach (which had nice rocky outcroppings).



Sand fight! The sand in Coco is very dark and almost has the consistency of mud.

Well, that's it for now. Take care, everyone! We'll be seeing you soon!

What?!? No Fireworks?!?

So, Independence Day turned out to be a bit of a flop. I was hoping for some crazy, colorful festivities, but we either missed them or they plain didn't happen. We got up in time to see the parade, but it was pretty dull compared to some of the impromptu parades we've just happened across on our trip. Basically, it consisted of various groups of school children marching, playing instuments, and dancing (sort of). None of them did so with much enthusiasm -- probably because it was so hot. The bands were almost entirely made up of drummers, which makes for more of a racket than anything. One of the bands had a saxophonist and a trumpeter, but we watched them pass by slowly and I didn't hear those brass instruments once. The dancers (if you could call them that)were kind of amusing though. There was one group of girls in mini-skirts, button-down long-sleeved blouses, black ties, dark sunglasses, and white knee socks that marched by very slowly, stomping only their left feet with every step. They looked like crazy robots. Sadly, after the parade, nothing else happened. No fireworks or anything at night either.

Mike and I spent the rest of the day on Saturday walking along the beach, taking photos and looking for seashells. It was nice. A little rainy, but so is every other day here.

Today we biked southeast to a town called Nicoya. We're trying to schlep our bums over to the volcanoes as speedily as possible since we want to have a bit of time left to chill in the hot springs before heading to San Jose and leaving Central America. Nicoya is more of a stop-over than a destination, but it's nice enough.

I don't have much for news since I posted just the other day, but I wanted to add a little something before tacking on these photos!



Pacific sunset viewed from a hilltop in La Cruz, Costa Rica.



One of the boys in costume, dancing in the central park of La Cruz.



And the girls, all lined-up in their pretty dresses.



Here's a contrast for you: from pretty little girls to parts of a dead cow by the side of the road. Eww!

Coco, Costa Rica

Mike and I are on the Pacific coast for our first time on this crazy trip. We're staying in a town called Coco, Costa Rica, which I like to say because it sounds like I have a bad stutter. We biked in from Liberia yesterday, and I think we'll stay until Sunday morning. We like our digs (which come with a hot water shower, free laundry service, and a kitchenette for just over $20), and the town is nice too.

Today we went scuba diving with some lively characters from Rich Coast Divers on a nice trimaran boat. On our way out to sea we caught sight of some dolphins leaping out of the water in the distance. A couple people claimed to see whales as well, but despite their enormous size, I managed to miss them. That's okay though, because life under the sea was pretty interesting too.

The water was much colder than in the Caribbean, but we had a nice couple of dives. On our first we saw 3 white tip reef sharks, several octopus, a ton of eels (moray and otherwise), stingrays, and some very large schools of fish. Our second dive brought us in close contact with all of these same animals, plus a turtle, some harlequin clown shrimp, and a small wreck. The coral isn't as colorful in the Pacific as in the Caribbean, but I prefer to see the wildlife anyway. I thought the octopus were especially cool since they were very well camouflaged in the rocks. We caught one actually swimming around too, which was neat to see.

Tomorrow we're just going to bum around on the beach before we hop back on our bikes and head toward the mountains. Also, tomorrow is Costa Rica's Independence Day, so we're hoping to catch some festivities. We missed out on fireworks for the 4th of July in the U.S., but maybe we can pretend to be Ticos (that's what Costa Ricans are called) and celebrate independence here instead.

We're a bit behind with pictures, so here are a few from our last day in Nicaragua:



Some crazy pipes in Lake Nicaragua at the San Jorge port -- I wonder what they're used for...



Poor pet monkey chained to a tree. :(



They really like their horse carts in Southern Nicaragua.



This is an ad for the popular Nicaraguan rum, Flor de Caña. "A transparent rum for a transparent people." Is there some kind of more positive connotation for "transparente" in Spanish than there is in English? Can anyone explain this to me?



Our friend at the border is wearing a Scottsdale, AZ shirt.