Costa Rica... ¨Pura Vida¨....¨the pure life¨, the countries moto is on everything from napkins to teeshirts, and the country throws about the eco/sustainability/conservation words to attract even more people to visit...and live. The reality however is somewhat different, with some beaches and towns suffering from major over-development through foreign investment. This has created some real eyesores and the basics of urban planning (ie; sewage runoffs) seemingly an after thought. We felt in some areas, the countries selling itself off for the fast buck. It will be interesting to see how long the country keeps plugging the ¨pura vida¨ slogan and how long tourists are prepared to pay over inflated prices for goods and services.... Anyway, all that aside Costa Rica is incredibly diverse and there is no shortage of things to see and do. You can literally be surfing in the morning, bird watching at lunch, hike in the afternoon and then back to the beach to catch a glorious sunset. We spent New Years at a beach on the pacific side in northern CR called ¨Playa Tamarindo¨, and it was one of those over-developed places mentioned above. Having said this, on New Year´s eve we went on a turtle tour to see the huge Leatherback turtles laying eggs on the beach. These turtles are huge, with some up to 2m long and weighing 300+kgs! It was amazing to watch this feat under a starry night. We also witnessed an incredibly long shooting star that seemed to stretch across half the sky.....awesome stuff. Celebrating New Year´s itself was a little strange. We finished the turtle watching around 9pm and raced back into town hoping to sink a few quick ones to get into the NY mood. Anyway, we ended up wandering around most the bars wondering where everyone was. The bars were virtually empty...weird. So come midnight we grabbed a drink each and meandered onto the beach where pockets of people were letting off fireworks. Actually, this was pretty cool to watch....anywhere that involves drinking and fireworks is gonna be entertaining...... So....after watching skyrockets being let of vertically and gritting the teeth as some wicks fused immediately, we decided that it was time to retire whilst watching the crowds scattering in all directions dodging unpredictable skyrocket trails..... We left Tamarindo on NY´s day and headed south to another pacific beach called ¨Playa Samara¨. Now this is a beautiful beach, with long sandy beaches, coconut palms and a great chilled out vibe. We spent a few days here just chilling out and enjoying the sunsets....(and rum & cokes) After spending nearly a week by the beach we decided it was time to head back inland for some more adventures. We headed up into the cloud forests of ¨Monteverde¨ to seek out some adrenaline activities. Monteverde is famous for its pristine cloud forests, abundance of wild and bird life.....and zip lining 200ft above forests. Being attached to a saggy wire that´s wound around two large trees 300m apart (yes, that´s 300m...it´s a bloody long way) is pretty exciting. Couple that with 15 other zip lines of varying lengths and you´ve got yourself a ton of fun. We got some pretty dramatic video footage of zipping above forest tops screaming and yahooing.....all good stuff. Julz also did the tarzan swing which involves throwing yourself off a high tower and swinging out over the forest. It was quite funny in the way they stop you swinging at the end, by holding up a rubber tube that literally stops you dead in your tracks......much the same way planes stop on an aircraft carrier, completely knocks the wind outta ya. We also went to a couple of wildlife displays, one of which was a frog enclosure. We had a guide with us spotting copious amounts of tiny and large brightly coloured frogs...some called ´red eye poisonous dart frog and green eyed cow frogs (green eyes with black/white spots all over the body...). There were hundreds of different frog species that we saw, pretty impressive stuff. We also went to the 3rd largest insect museum in the world. This guy had been collecting insects from the age of 5, and hasn´t stopped. He´s got over a million different species with 300,000 of them on display...(different strokes for different folks I guess). Some of these insects were on steriods...huge is an understatement. With massive nippers and legs, camping in the forests anywhere in Central America is out of the question! We also went on a coffee tour, cheese tour and a hike through the cloud forests. We managed to spot the rare ¨resplendent quetzal¨ bird (with the help of the guide..) which has been used as a symbol of hierarchy and royalty in ancient mayan times....so much so that the poor ol´ bird is on the endangered species list. So after this action packed few days in the highlands of the continental divide it was time for more fun in the sun, and over to the caribbean coast we went for some more rasta vibe..... There´s something about the caribbean coast that we´ve loved this whole trip. Whatever country we´ve been in, there´s been a combination of laid back living, food, amazing beaches, warm waters, dreadlocks, reggae music and great rum. All together making trips back here so enjoyable. We stayed at a place on the caribbean coast called ¨Puerto Viejo¨ and it lived up to all the above. We had 5 days here and chilled out reading and walking on the pristine white sandy beaches...all the while enjoying hot sunny weather. We hired a moped for a day and cruised around the little villages dotted up and down the coastline. This was good fun except all the roads are dirt, so you get covered in dust and bugs whenever a bus or truck rumbles past. Soooooo, that sums up our 2 weeks in Costa Rica. Would we come back to CR? That´s debatable. I think the over-development and inflated prices dampens the experiences in the country somewhat, and you feel something for the locals that get forced to move elsewhere to cater for the foreigners that have moved here in their droves..... Anyway, next stop Panama....so until then caio chicos... Logz & Julz | 