Yes...more friends!

I have mentioned in an earlier note that Kenz has a habit of naming things. Well, her AP English assignment was to read The Great Gatsby. While hiking in Arenal one day, this fellow began following us. He was clearly hungry and thirsty, though he drank out of every mud puddle we covered. Kenz named him, Gatsby and Gatsby was sooo hungry, he ate the last piece of jalapeno sausage stick that I brought with me on the trip. We worried it might upset him, but he followed us the whole hike which was a few miles. There are dogs everywhere and most are not house pets. This guy was sooo pleasant and if he was lagging behind, Kenz would call out, "Gatsby..." and he would pick up his pace.

You will meet Bill, my friend from Tegucigalpa and Kattia and Frank in an earlier posting. These folks made our trip...we showed up at Bill's house one whole day early because, while in San Isidro, I realized we could not go on to Manuel Antonio, a national park with our suitcases in the car. Had we gotten the car I reserved, it would have had a trunk but this car, one could see right into every space and, while Costa Rica is safe by Central American standards, it would not be good to leave suitcases in plain sight. Bill was generous and we stayed with him and Kattia came and made us the most scrumptious breakfast of beans, rice and a special strain of cilantro...to die for. She took good care of us and we went off to Jaco to check that town out while Bill worked. That first night in Parrita, at Bill's, Frank cranked up the grill and we had BBQ meat on flatbread. Great food and that was the night we had the torrential downpour.

I have never visited Costa Rica during rainy season...it brought a whole new dimension to hiking and sight seeing. Kenz only once used a coat...she enjoyed being misted upon. I had Richard's huge yellow poncho which made me look like a school bus from behind. It did, however, cover my backpack, my body and our cameras. So, it worked well.

Bill suggested a couple of places to go ziplining and another forest adventure called Rainmaker where we met Luis, our guide. More on him....