February 28, 1998 - Saturday

I got up early today so I could spend more time at the beach. Fabio was still sleeping and Elizabeth was out and about, started to pack and clean so I left on my own. John was up also and he was going to head toward the main club complex to see if he could rent a wind surfer. I hiked down to the beach through the familiar paths and started hiking on the beach toward the eastern edge of the bay. I haven't been out here before so it was an interesting experience. After seeing the large tidal pool at Manual Antonio, I didn't know if I missed anything around this area. I knew that I probably wouldn't be able to find the same types of fish here because it's closer to the gulf whereas the Manual Antonio National Park is exposed mostly to the Pacific Ocean.

I walked by several large tidal pools, but didn't see anything of interest right away at the edge. I lingered a little too long here and there but kept going. I finally reached the eastern outcrop of the bay and saw only another none descriptive bay on the other side of the outcrop. The surf there was strong and large rocks strewn about, smoothed by the wear and tear of the waves. I started heading back and this time, took my time and explored the large tidal pools. I was like "a boy in a candy store" again, seeing all the amazingly interesting aquatic life that inhabited the various tidal pools. Some of the more interesting ones included pipefish and a very interesting critter that hides in a hole of a rock and sticks just it's head out of it and gulps for water continuously. It had a very iridescent emerald green body with bright neon red stripes.

I also saw John kayaked a few hundred feet out in the ocean, and he waved at me. He seemed to be doing well considering the unsteadiness of the waves. It was about 11:30 by the time I got back to Playa Blanca again. I had enough time to rest and drank a large glass of watermelon juice before hiking back up to the condo again. We packed and left the condo without further incidents. We stopped by Rio Tarcoles again and saw the Caimans lying in the riverbank and a majestic white heron stalking in the water for pray.

We continued on and climbed over the mountain into the Center Valley and stopped in Alajuela at Fabio's farm, talked to the parents and then left for the house. Fabio's brother was preparing something of a big feast before lint. We stayed there for a while before heading out to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. Fabio dropped off Elizabeth at the Marriott in the mean time because she wanted to have some rest for her early flight back next morning. The food was good, better than most of the places I've eaten at in the states. John and I checked into the hotel after that.