Lo Bueno, Lo Malo y Lo Feo. (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)

   Life is always full of it's ups and downs, but this past month seemed to have had its extremes of the good and  the bad. March ended on a tough note with the news of 2 of our Tico 28 group getting hit by a truck (hit and run) and were seriously injured.  After numerous surgeries between the 2, eventually, Doug and Eli had to return to the States, disappointedly, for a long road of rehab and recovery, as well as re-evaluating what lies ahead for them.
   As I mentioned at the end of my last blog, we were very much looking forward to our friends, Tom and Sheri's visit.  On April 2nd, we met them at the San Jose airport with a Happy Birthday sign and balloons for Sheri, as she celebrated her BD with a long day of travel from Ft. Collins.  From the airport, we hightailed it for the bus station to head north and east, as we had heard the buses weren't running the following day (Good Friday) and we wanted to get as close to Parque National Tortuguero as we could on Thursday. This is part of the Costa Rican traditional celebration of Semana Santa (Holy Week); where Thursday afternoon and Good Friday, most businesses, including some bus lines, basically shut down.  Other than that, we were told, Holy Week and Easter are traditionally celebrated with church activities and lots of traditional meals shared within families. One little girl we know from the elementary school, who was raised in the States, and only recently returned to CR, was VERY disappointed to find out from her mom that she wasn't getting to hunt for Easter eggs or a basket full of chocolate and jelly beans left by the Easter Bunny!
      The following day, we enjoyed touring Parque National Tortugero, via canoe, as it is basically an island, surrounded by a maze of canals.

 Using my new binoculars, I got inducted into the world of birdwatching, through the eyes, expertise and delight of Tom and Sheri and our guide. We spotted Toucans, Green Herons, Snowy Egrets

and Montezuma Oropendola. This bird is named for it's golden tail (oro) and the hanging nature of their nests (pendula) which keeps other creatures from stealing their eggs.

In addition we saw caimans, crocodiles and long nosed bats and of course, Francis was enchanted with the biggest beetle I've ever seen.

The rhinoceros beetle inside of a coconut.

  What we didn't see, were any turtles, as they hadn't yet started making their way to the beaches to lay their eggs, which is what makes Tortuguero Park famous.  We enjoyed eating mushy mangos and papayas (Sheri's favorite), fresh fruit bebidas (drinks) and of course the traditional "gallo pinto" breakfast. Gallo pinto(literally means "spotted or speckled rooster") is a mixture of beans and rice, that is fried along with onion, bell pepper, and the famous Costa Rican Lizano Sauce ( made from cumin and cilantro). It is served with an egg and tortilla.