My interest in Costa Rica was sparked by my sister Christina, who studied environmental sciences there for a semester and enjoyed it so much she went back in 2002. Adding to the chorus were a colleague from work and several people whom I met hiking. After doing some reading and dreaming, I finally took the plunge in late February 2003 and headed down with a couple of friends.

I know I made the right decision when I left Philly and a forecasted 4-8 inches of snow, and arrive in San Jose and its 80 degree weather. Customs and immigration are quick and the hotel shuttle is waiting for me. After a short drive, I am soon collapsed on the bed.

Day 1: Vacation starts with a full day Ecoscape tour http://www.ecoscapetours.com/ of the area north of San Jose. We have breakfast at the Siempre Verde coffee plantation, and continue on to Poas Volcano, an active volcano with a beautiful lake in the crater. It's a tourist friendly spot, as you can drive most of the way to the top of the 8200 foot volcano. We spend several minutes watching some volcanologists working their way down for some up close research. The trail looks like a winner, particularly the view you would have from below. Watching them makes me want to ditch the tour and go join them...then I catch a whiff of the strong sulfur smell and have second thoughts. Our guide cinched it when he says that not just anyone can go down the trail due to safety concerns. After Poas, we stop at La Paz waterfall, a beautiful waterfall. We look at it from the bottom, but we can see people at an overlook at the top looking down. Think we had the better view! Next is a small hummingbird garden that beautifully frames a distant water (San Fernando), then lunch at Selva Verde Lodge, a rustic lodge surrounded by the jungle and next to the Sarapiqui River. After lunch we hunt for poison dart frogs. Despite being the dry season, we find several hiding from the sun's rays. One is nicknamed "blue jeans" frog because of its blue legs while the other is "commando" because of its green color. Turns out you can pick them up without any problem (so long as you don't have any cuts on your fingers). We then head out on the river for a wildlife cruise. In the boat next to us is a family moving their gear, including the bed! We also pass by numerous people fishing and swimming in the river. We see a good variety of wildlife, but not large quantities. Cano Negro is supposed to be better for birding. We did see a caiman (alligator) on a mud bank, two small blue herons, a three-toed sloth, lots of howler monkeys, and numerous other birds. One bird has its wings spread, drying them off. It has no oil on its feathers, so after catching a fish it has to dry off in the sun before it can fly. Sounds like an easy meal for a bird of prey! We also see a duck that's apparently extremely rare. It has a curious bobbing head motion and a green and white racing stripe on its head. I prefer the small bats we saw sleeping all in a row on a tree trunk...

Day 2: Having a morning to kill, I visit The Butterfly Farm. Costa Rica has dozens of different species of butterflies and many are commercially raised for export to Asia, North American, and Europe. It started in the early '80s after a former Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica thought that this could be a business. Everyone laughed, as no one had tried to raise butterflies before. After many trials, he identified the favorite foods, habitat, breeding habits, etc. of each butterfly species and started commercially raising them. After a few years, scenting opportunity, he closed down the farm. Instead, he subcontracted out the work to his former employees, who raise their own butterflies and sell them to him. He handles packing, shipping, and marketing the butterfly cocoons to butterfly gardens, science centers, etc. around the world while the former employees focus on raising them. Both make more money. The farmers earn several times the national average income. The owner makes less per cocoon but sells several times more in volume - 20,000 cocoons per week. Working the numbers, the owner makes at least $200K/year - really good money for someone who lives in Costa Rica. Heck, I'd be happy with less than half of that in the US!

Returning to the hotel, I chill by the pool until it's time to meet up with Paula and Whitney. They are on time, but we lose some time picking up the car (in particular, noting every nick and dent in the car to avoid an expensive repair bill). The rental price went up a few dollars per day thanks to the mandatory insurance (CDW - covered by a gold/platinum card - is not enough).

Driving in Costa Rica is "interesting." The roads vary in quality. One moment you're zipping along a paved road, the next movement you have to slam on your brakes as the pavement ends right in front of a huge pothole. Signs are also lacking. We found the right highway exit for Arenal, but we would have lost a lot of time trying to find out which road out of town was the right one had the Avis guy not given us directions (go through town until the road dead ends, make a left and then make a right at the first traffic light which is in 60 meters or so).