frutas

One of the best parts of Costa Rica has been the fresh and exotic fruits. Mangoes, papayas, avocadoes, pineapples and watermelon are standard fare and the bananas are noticeably better in taste and everywhere. Cas, mora, chan- all sorts of juices are offered everywhere, and here are two new favorites:

Guayaba, (I think it is guava), you eat the whole thing like a pear

 and Mamon (sort of like a lychee) which are sold all over the place on the sides of the road.

what you see is what you get

praying mantis awareness

Here is a recent shot of a praying mantis. An amazing insect highly beneficial to gardens and the ecosystem. Leave them be if you see one!

bri bri village

Here are some photos from last week's program, Bri Bri. Bri Bri is a rural village in the Talamanca mountains, close to Panama. By far the toughest week of the summer, what with my co-guide Bri sick for a few days, me being the Spanish translator, and torrential rainstorms that washed out roads and left us stranded in a beach town for a night...

Painting class

A former road

Crab sighting!

Surfing lessons

More rain damage

Just hangin with the babies

soccer and service

View of Volcano Arenal and soccer... not a bad way to spend the day

Diggin'

Paintin'

Buenas dias!

Zip lining with camera success

La Paz waterfall

Catamaran to tropical island

 Lightning storm on the Pacific

 And one last soccer game to top it off

traveling soccer

Just back from two weeks of playing soccer all about Costa Rica... more photos to follow!

stormy night

animales

Some recent animal sightings...

catching raindrops

Shout out to CC for spotting this kid

isla tortuga

As a reward for a solid week of hard work, we took a catamaran to a tropical island called Isla Tortuga...