And Tully, Phillip takes 2 weeks off every 3 months. Hopefully you'll not miss him.

As for Liseth, yes, she was there. She and I spoke at length the night we visited. I went up to the office to meet her (she was not who I thought she was, but very sweet and helpful). She is working on some reservations for me in July.

I should also mention that my SIL referred to Fodor's as "my cult". Well, maybe so, what do you all say? :) I know I DID speak of you guys quite a bit. Just so much of what we all know and share comes from this board. One of us never really travels without the rest of us, or so it seems, at least in spirit! Lots of information is shared on this little network.

Ha! The cult of fodors! Well, it is sort of, but in a nice happy feeling way. I honestly would've never gone to Bosque del Cabo until I came across all the info here, so just for that alone it's priceless. Hopefully I will come across Phillip this time & won't miss him. For this trip I'm bringing something new - a whistle. Don't laugh! I just thought about all those times I've been out alone and (seemingly) pretty far away from anyone, I thought if something were to happen I could blow my little whistle and someone would come save me (insert pic here of tully up a tree with a very little un-interested peccary at the bottom here) :) I think I'll do the hike with Eduardo, he was really great on the dusk hike we did, so maybe I'll take an interest in some of the birds there. Good to know Liseth is back, I'm still trying to switch to a gardenside room at Orquideas.

Oh and forgot, you mentioned sleeping at BdC. I usually sleep like a rock there, thanks to a benedryl and just being wiped out in general, it just plain knocks me out :) I figured this - I would rather sleep thru the off-chance of something crawling on me while sleeping than actually waking up to finding something on me. What you don't know can't hurt you is my theory ;)

Loved reading about the wedding and your friends in Costa Rica. Since the forum focuses on travel logistics and wildlife/birds, sometimes we lose track of the people of Costa Rica and meeting them. Thanks so much for sharing your experience.

tully - Too funny about the whistle. My mom gave my daughter and I whistles in our stockings last year and they've been on our packing list also. They're sure to scare "something" away if need be!

The whistle, the benadryl--added to my packing list as well! Great ideas! It really frustrated me not to be able to sleep. I wasn't even thinking about bugs and we weren't using out netting. The pillow was too hard for me. I should've requested another--perhaps I'll take my own next trip, but what a hassle! As nice as the staff is, I could probably write Kim and request a nice soft pillow and it would be waiting for me when I arrive! Talk about the height of self-centeredness! :)

Well, Eduardo is just a genuinely nice guy.

sms73, thanks--I enjoyed sharing the wedding story. It was truly a special evening for us. The people of Costa Rica are its greatest treasure.

Jill,

I had to laugh at your reference to us as the "cult" at Fodor's. We had dinner Sunday night with the other 2 couples we're traveling with. They were laughing at my extensive research and planning and one of them said, "Every time I mention someplace to go or eat she says, 'I read about that on Fodor's.'".

A "cult" - no. A great group of people sharing info and insights - absolutely. And thank heavens for that.

Fran

shillmac - Don't you know about the down pillow covers from Restoration hardware for $14.95? Where have you been? LOL! Just kidding, this was shared on a thread from the Europe forum last year. They are awesome for travel, you gotta check 'em out on-line!

Always fun to read your posts, shillmac. I am on the road myself, but decided that, rather than have the meter tally up too much time in an Internet cafe, I'd print it out. It will make for good reading when I get back to my hotel later tonight. :)

Hi Shillmac,

Thanks for the fun report! You always have such a great spirit of enthusiasm when you write. Looking forward to your next report in July. :-)

All of you BdC devotees have really sold me on visiting. I just purchased airfare to CR for early December. Inquiries for reservations at BdC are in the works!

Hi Shillmac,

What an incredible trip! You are so lucky to have the chance to share so many experiences with your family and to have special time with your daughter.

Thank you for the ATM tip and reporting back about the horseback ride. I will add both to our (short) list of things to do.

I am so happy that your trip was so wonderful!

Very Best,
Gem

Jill .....Common Potoo....definitely not so common! And that bay -headed tanager is a beauty.

Great narrative and nice birds.

cheers

Jerry [envious in Toronto]

Jeff--have fun wherever you are--and forgive the typos!! :)

cmerrell, early Dec. would be a nice time to visit, and you shouldn't have any trouble at all securing reservations now. You'll love it!

sparkle, the horseback riding is definitely something I'll do everytime I go for now on. It was really liberating! Don't ask me to explain that one, but, you know, I think we all felt, well, REALLY alive! Maybe it was just me. . . :)

hipvirgochick--I've already checked out the Restoration Hardware site--I love that store! And am on expert at online shopping! :)

DH and I took a couple of water bottles 24 oz, that I ordered from REI. We really liked having them to use. Although they kind of reminded me of our granddaughter's sippy straw cups!

Jerry, I worked on photos last night. Got them into my computer. Will work on uploading tonight. Have a few decent bird ones, including the potoo. I am getting very excited about visiting Rancho Naturalista this summer!

And now, back into my withdrawal mode! :)

All I can say is "wow", Jill! Your enthusiasm for the country and adventure is contagious; I can feel the wind in my hair, galloping along the beach... Fantastic report! :)

Shillmac, we were at Poas on Saturday and the weather was just as bad. We also arrived there before 9:30 and it was very chilly with a light drizzle. Couldn't see a darn thing. We also went to Colbert's after LaPaz and enjoyed it.

Hi Jill -- I e-mailed you yesterday. Check your "junk mail" if you haven't see it :)

Thanks!

Thanks for the report Jill.
We also just returned from Pura Vida land.
I met fccolorado(fodor name)and her family on the beach in Punta Uva. They had the cabin next to us at Casa Viva. After hearing of their adventure with Abel Bustamante and your recommendation
we drove to his place and reserved a tour for the next morning. Finally saw a deadly snake in the wild, the colorful yellow eyelash viper. I was able to get within a few feet for photos as Abel said it would not strike and appeared to be sleaping.
We also saw a white collared manikin lek and the beautiful white hawk as well as many other birds. Abel is a sweet guy. I told him you recommended him.

Hey, thanks, Earthtraveler--I thought about you while we were at Arenal, knowing we were missing you by hours only!

So glad you went with Abel. He probably hasn't a clue who "shillmac" is (LOL), but he is something isn't he?
I don't think I'm going to be able to get to PV this summer. We are visiting Panama for a week, and I'd thought to go there by way of Puerto Viejo, but it was eating up so much time that we scrapped the idea finally in favor of just flying into Panama City from SJO. I might try to make it down there while I'm in school in June--for a weekend. That area is just not one that I savor doing along, but I'd try to arrange more time with Abel, probably, so it would be okay. I really need to work on my birding sounds and have bought a CD to listen to for practice. Abel is such a natural teacher, I think I could make a lot of progress under his tutelage! :)

The yellow eyelash viper is the most beautiful snake I've ever seen--que color! :) Lucky for you!

How cool that you and fccolorado met up!

Hi Molly! Speaking of all the "meet ups" brings back some memories doesn't it? LOL Just want to say that "gallop" might be too strong a word for what my horse and I were doing, but we certainly did have a nice time together. I like any horse who understands my speed and lets me stay on his back! :)

Okay, hipvirgochick--I'll be looking for it. I'll get it to you ASAP!

Mixter--sorry to miss you at BdC. Sounds like you guys had a great time!
Yeah, we were disappointed in Poas, but will definitely return to Colbert's. I was telling Humberto and Carmen about it (owners of Hotel Villa Bonita). It would be a nice place for an anniversary dinner for couples like them. The chef/owner was very proud of his cuisine!

Oops, that would be "alone" in Puerto Viejo, not "along"! :)

I shared your first name with Abel I had picked up from some previous post and maybe your home state and he came back with your last name, state and some related info about how you prefer to bird with him and what our desire was.

When we first met him he was out in the street infront of his new concrete arched house he is building talking to another couple from Casa Viva, Val and Andy, who were making arrangements for the next day. We all agreed to go together as they had no car, he dropped the price for us all,and they decided they could work hard to get there around six since we had the transport and desire.
He got a good laugh as one of Vals requests was to not see any poisonous snakes and when we arrived one of my requests was to see a viper. :-)
She did fine with the viper so timid and small though I think we all thought the 4 hr tour turning into 6hrs was a bit long. He sure loves to talk and take his time scouting.