As you likely know by now, Dot and I spent a week in Costa Rica for the celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary.  It was a thoroughly delightful and wonderful trip.  We flew to San Jose (the capital), spent a night there at the Melia Cariari hotel (more on this later), then flew up to the Guanacaste coast.  There we stayed at the Melia Playa Conchal, a beautiful resort nestled alongside the Pacific ocean.  We spent four days there and toured around the area before returning to San Jose and the Melia Cariari.  We spent a couple of days back in San Jose before returning home.

(To see larger pictures, just click on the picture here.  Use your Back button to return.)
 

	<- In the lovely atrium lobby of the Melia Cariari.  There are some more birds there somewhere. The Tamarindo airport.  That's right.  That's all there is to it -- just a runway. ->
	<- The grounds at Melia Playa Conchal hotel.  It is beautifully nestled by the beach.  The "rooms" are in individual four-plex bungalows.      This is where we stayed:  #284->
	<  Somebody left some flowers in our room.  Dot thought I did it, so I willingly took the credit. Part of the welcoming committee  >
	<- We took a raft trip down the Corobici river.  It is peaceful like this during the dry season.  A beautiful ride and lots of wildlife. Some of the "wildlife" on the river is aggressive, but it can be tamed ->
	<  An egret who seemed to enjoy staying just ahead of us. As we drew near, he would fly a little further downstream and wait.  >
	<  It was Sunday and some of the local kids were also enjoying the river. The howler monkeys were there, but hard to catch on film because they were back in the trees.  Got lucky this time.  >
	<  We took a break about midway, and I tried my hand at taming some of the local wildlife. Just out for a Sunday drive  >
	< A golden iguana sunning himself on a rock.   A baby alligator surveying the passing traffic >
	< An interesting shot of a "jungly looking" tree.  Also, there is a monkey up there somewhere. There were just three passengers, plus Roy, our stalwart rower and guide.  He helped make the trip both informative and fun.  >

It was a great day.  We were about three hours on the river, plus our midpoint break and the drive to and fro.  For the continuing saga, move along to Costa Rica #2.