Well, we’re on the road again. Our friend Cameron is around for another two weeks, so if we wanted to take advantage of his dog sitting offer, it is now or never. Last month, I got the annual renewal for the blog and promised myself I’d make use of it to justify paying the fee. A tidy sum to maintain a meager diary of the past several years

Anyway, as the Amistad bridge is still shuttered for ongoing repairs, we had to go north in order to go south. Our destination is Drake Bay on the Osa peninsula. We drove up to Liberia and then swung back around to roll down the coast past Puntarenas, Jaco and Parrita. We set up an overnight stop just outside of Quepos at the Foresta Hotel. A sweet, clean little compound. Just make sure to get a room far back from the highway. After a jump in the pool, we settled in and read books and relaxed.

The next morning, we traversed their swaying hanging bridge to go for a hike in the jungle behind the hotel. PJ was the first to spot some wildlife, a pisote munching on a banana tree. A pair of scarlet macaws flew noisily overhead as we reached the end of the loop and turned around. Some squirrel monkeys were protesting in the trees above as we came upon the trickle of a river near the bamboo grove. We saw a bit of turbulence in the stream and watched as a pair of otters came out of the water with a fish. Nutria they are called. We spent about an hour wandering in the forest before heading back for breakfast.

Back into the car for another 3 and 1/2 hours down to Drake Bay. From Uvita to the turn off to the dirt road to the coast, we were beset by a tropical deluge. PJ was driving and visibility was next to none. After the turn when it came my turn to drive, the rain stopped and things were mild all the way to the bay. We’d heard hell stories about the road, but obviously those whiners never spent any time in the Los Pargos area.

The road was easy and the ride was pleasant with gulf views and jungle surroundings. We pulled up in the late afternoon and Ashley got us checked in. Luckily, Ronaldo had a trailer for his ATV to haul our luggage up to the room. The reviews for Jinetes de Osa hardly mentioned the insane vertical hike up a thousand stairs to get to our room. The view is amazing and the parrots and toucans made the climb up worth it.