Costa Rica has changed since we were last here in 1997. Then travel was difficult, mostly impossible without a 4X4. We stayed at a B&B on the beach at Tamarindo, a dusty little town and watched the leatherback turtles lay their eggs on the beach. Today the roads are tarred, Tamarindo is a fancy beach resort and the turtle long gone. This they call "progress"
We headed to the Rincon De la Vieja National Park and found a delightful campsite just minutes from the entrance to the park. We settled down for a few days of hiking and swimming in the nearby river. It was wonderful.
http://www.elsolverde.com/
The swimming pool in the river was an easy hike from the campsite and the most amazing colour of blue.
It was so lovely to swim and cool off in the heat of the day. Tom in his element swimming in the pool
I tried fishing but with no luck
The Rincon de la Vieja is a delightful place for experiencing some thermally active areas,
with mud bubbling in the ponds, steam shooting out of vents and water bubbling in the river.
And little critters along the way
We are most thrilled with the arrival of our son Derek who is joined us yesterday and will spend a week with us before returning to Canada. It is so wonderful to have family around again. Always the hardest part of overlanding is not having family and dear friends around. So we will make the most of our time together