This morning began as usual-a night of horrific sounds as some poor
animal was experiencing excruciating pain, followed by my waking up
pre-alarm. I went to the dining room without the kids as they didn't
want breakfast and I enjoyed some fried yuca along with toast and
pineapple marmalade. As I sat there, a couple near me discussed cough
syrups in a British accent, then I heard "Blaubeeren" in a
distinctly Austrian accent. That's what I love about being here-the
multicultural aspect.
Headed to the room and rousted the kids. We had to get to the Jaguar Rescue Center by 9:30.
They are fantastic troopers and we're ready to go in minutes. We were
off. As we headed through the misty, drizzling air with snorkeling
gear, my mind was whirling. It has rained fairly strongly last night,
which meant the water was disturbed even more. This was not going
according to plan. The kid and I stood in front of the reserve and
waited, and as we did, the family from the Netherlands approached!
Groups were divided and we were in one together. The center was
magnificent: it is under the elevated home of 2 wildlife biologists who
recognized a need and filled it. This is a non profit center-everyone
here 
is a volunteer and they rely strictly on donations and payment for
tours. Animals are found by citizens, retrieved by center volunteers or
have been confiscated by police and brought here for recuperation
before released back into wild (if at all possible). It is an
incredible center and they do amazing work. (http://www.jaguarrescue.com)While here, as we were
paying to get in, it began to rain -heavily-and it didn't stop. I told
the kind FD I thought that I would be making an executive decision
later, if things went right. The boy was clearly miserable...Back at the hotel, I stopped at the front desk, soaking wet, and told them I wanted to speak to them about changing plans. I had been very clear about my desires and while it's obvious they can't control the weather, they could have been more forthcoming about the weather as of late (the last 2 months, said PADI guy). It was obvious I wasn't getting my thousand back for the next 4 days, but...they made an exception and gave me $500 in credit, which paid for the meals ($300) and they paid
the driver $250 for the return trip to San Jose. I had
already paid for Wednesday's
return trip, so I would pay $30 for the 7 hour tour<insert
heartwarming family story: on this trip, I had reason to use "the three
hour tour...the three hour tour" and told the kind da about Gilligan's
Island. Now they sing that tune at any given moment where time is
concerned. I couldn't be prouder>. It sounded like good idea to be,
especially since I was told the manager had looked in the Internet and
it forecast sunny days for the next 10 days. Funny, my two weather
forecasts both showed clouds and thunderstorms with rain. So, leaving the Caribbean seemed like the wise thing to do.We got on our bikes and headed into town to return the bikes and bid adieu. Ellie from
Australia at the bike rental is sweet as can be and a
true soul-she traveled a great deal and gave me some words of advice,
such as only book your stay for a few days at actually me. If you like
it you can extend it or if not, experience another place. She also
don't don't charge us for the lock since I'd rented for the week. Then
to our smoothie place for a goodbye and final smoothie for Mags. At 5 on the dot, the kids and I sat in the shuttle and headed off.Here's where I never saw myself: in a Burger King in
Guápiles, Costa Rica eating a Whopper and watching CR vs Panama futbol and yet, here we were. I was glad we had the ability to travel to the
other coast, but sad that so much money was lost with the hotel. Around midnight we finally pulled up at the
Rio Lindo, where Tiffany, her son and husband came out to meet us. They led us to the house we would be staying
in for the next 5 nights and all was good.
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