Where are we today? Between Costa Rica and Mexico, the Pacific Ocean

 Greetings!  

Yesterday, we were in Costa Rica, the land of Pura Vida.  Of course, that literally translates to Pure Life, but the expression is also used to mean the joys of simple living, thank you, excellent, a simple and unworried lifestyle, don't rush, don't worry, have a good day, etc. 

We tendered to a marina and caught a bus that took us an hour down the Pan American highway to a nature reserve.  On the way, we passed through a plantation that grows African palms for oil.  

At the preserve, we boarded a boat for a trip down a river to search for birds and other wildlife.  The river is the split between Costa Rica's rainforest and dry forest, so the terrain was a little different on each bank.  

The river was full of crocodiles.  Someone on another boat was play-feeding one, causing it to jump up with snapping jaws. 

Costa Rica is doing so much to preserve its wild life, including outlawing hunting. There's a particular bird that eats crocodile young, which keeps the abundant

reptiles from overpopulating.

We drove to another preserve where we took an aerial tram up a rainforest mountain.  After, we had a traditional Costa Rican lunch.

My favorite part of the tram ride was seeing the air plants in the various trees.  They were different sizes and colors.

We miss you all!  Pura Vida.