Salsa Brava!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONI!!!

Last night we were treated to a huge display of brilliant lightning and thunder. We woke up to a slightly rainy morning, and enjoyed some gallo pinto con natilla at our hotel restaurant. Sitting there, we wondered how long it has been since we ate in a restaurant with 4 walls and a door. It's been a while. We spent some time watching the surfers from the beach right outside our cabina. It is here that the most famous wave in Costa Rica breaks: the Salsa Brava. It's named for the huge helping of 'sauce' it serves up on the shallow reef to which it breaks. Many a surfer has endured scrapes, snapped boards, broken bones, and even death. It doesn't look too crazy this time of year.

We spent all morning using the internet and burning CDs before walking about 2 km west of town to the Finca la Isla Botanical Garden. This is a working tropical farm where the owners grow trees, spices, fruits and plants from all over the world. It is absolutely gorgeous. We were given a map and a small booklet about each area and spent nearly 2 hours wandering around the property. A special treat was to see all of the tiny little poison-dart frogs hopping about. These are gorgeous little creatures, about half the size of my thumb, in brilliant colours, from bright red to light green with black spots (we call them the 'mint & chips'). There were all sorts of trees and plants that we have seen in our recent travels. At the end of our explorations, we were able to try many of the exotic fruits grown there.

We walked back to town along Playa Negra, a black sand beach. The sand is completely black but shimmers and sparkles in the sun. It's gorgeous. Back in town, we got some beers and drank them while swimming in the shallow waters among the reefs, and played with a few local dogs prancing around. We had a shower and a cheap burger for dinner before heading back to the hotel for bed.