Our next stop was in LImon, Costa Rica. Costa Rica has 5 million inhabitants, with 300,000 of them living in San Juan, the capital. It has coasts on both the Pacific and the Atlantic (Caribbean). It is mostly mountainous rain forest. It is known for its bio-diversity and its commitment to the environment. In the mid 1940s, there was a coup with rebels ousting a military dictator. After that the rebels abolished the army, rewrote the constitution, and turned over power. Elections were held and since 1953 there have been 14 elected Presidents, the last in 2014. The President serves 4 years and cannot be re-elected until 8 years later. Sounds like a good process.
Before we took an excursion, we did some shopping in the market at the end of the pier. We saw a a really interesting last supper that was made of aluminum and copper. The picture on the right is of the artist. The one we bought is similar to the one in the upper left hand corner. We like to buy art from the places we visit from the artist.
Our excursion consisted of a train ride followed by a boat ride on a river. Below are some pictures from those rides. It was a cloudy and rainy day (not surprising in a rain forest). It rained while we were on the train, but not while we were on the boat.
A monkey and her baby in the rain. The boat for our river ride.
Left: We saw a sloth sleeping in the tree. Pretty boring animals actually. Out guides had to point them out with a laser pointer or you would never see them. An interesting sloth fact. They go down to the ground once a week to, well, urinate and defecate.Yep, once a week. They don’t drink water and get what liquid they need from leaves. Their digestion system is very slow and only works when the temperature is just right. A rather unusual animal. Right: A snowy egret. They put their yellow feet in the water and move them to attract fish.
Left: There were people living on the river. You can tell the climate is always warm. There is a car parked under the roof. Right: A spider monkey swinging through the trees. He stopped and posed for the camera.
Costa Rica was beautiful. It would be fun to explore the interior of the country.