A bit of rain before we left the Pumilio Hotel...
but at breakfast, just a few feet away from our table, on a neighbouring property we spot a couple of mot-mots...totally unexpected so close to our busy dining room..and without my zoom lens camera at hand so this is the best I could get...
This is the male..about 3 inches below the branch he is sitting on you can see his amazing tail...two raquet-shaped feathers at the end of two long quills...
the female. they are blue-crowned motmots....has the bright plumage but not the long tail...
a photo from the web to show the male's tail...
It was a terrific sight and with them so close to us in a busy area, we figured we'd see mot-mots again, but they turned out to be the only ones we saw.
So off we go, and as we head south, the temperature climbs....
to a balmy 36C...
So it's several hours of driving and even with air conditioning, we're thirsty....and we discover all these marvelous fruit stands everywhere...often as part of someone's home, to bring in a few dollars everyday...so we were pleased to stop and enjoy a pipas frias - coconut water fresh from the coconut...check out the fresh pineapple, mangoes, bananas, watermelon....
Two Pipas Frias, Cory?
Ah...one's for mum...
and the view from those tables...the Golfo Dulce...
Quesadillas for Michael...
Fajitas for Cory....
Ceviche for Jenni....
and some cold Pura Vida to wash it all down...
Then back on the road, a bumpy road, a very bumpy road....it's a dirt road but with plenty of rounded rocks, not dangerous but it's a rough ride...
and a common feature on Costa Rican roads - even major roads - the "Puente Angosto", a single-lane bridge..
and some spectators!
This road reminded of my dad...back in the 60s, he got this crazy idea to buy a home on an abandoned NORAD radar base in Parent, Quebec, way north of Montreal. The first time we went there, it was a 13-hour drive, half of it on dirt roads. At one point we came across a couple stopped because a tree had fallen across the road. They were trying to saw it - using a bread knife! Fortunately my dad had a chain in our car(I'm thinking that was our Rambler Classic), and we were able to pull the tree to the side of the road. I think he would be proud of me - crazy enough to tackle this road to bring my family to a special place too. And that road in Parent was long and bumpy...but I really don't think it was as narrow and as rocky as this road to Cabo Matapalo.
This video is blurry but it is the entrance to the road leading to our rented house....from a narrow bumpy rocky dirt road through 2 pillars onto a more narrow, more bumpy, more rocky dirt road....
Now that we've discovered what condition this road is in, we're thinking we're not going back to Puerto Jimenez...about an hour away....for food, we'll make due with what we bought our first time through...or go fishing...
A river crossing...we are at the end of the dry season, some of these fords would be much much deeper in rainy season, particularly in September/October... and we are starting to doubt whether we've gone too far and missed our house....wondering how we would turn around if we had to...
Even bumpier now, the rocks in the road plainly visible...
Finally, after another river, another puddle, and numerous more rocky jolts, we arrive at our destination - Tucan Terra, our home in the Osa for the next four days.
And as the sun sets (around 6pm all year round), this is the view from our home....well worth that tumultuous drive...the Golfo Dulce.
Tucan Terra from ocean side..
Hi there up there!
Most of the Osa Peninsula is not on the electrical grid, and Tucan Terra uses solar panels to provide power for our refrigerator, light, and the fans above our beds. No air conditioning of course. No internet. So as darkness falls, we light a candle or two...
And let the fireflies provide our TV-less entertainment...
The next day - our first full day in the Osa - and the Osa delivers wildlife as promised. Monkeys and macaws everywhere. In our next update!
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