I’m in Costa Rica as I had to leave and re-enter the USA to renew my B2 visa having already had a visa extension application turned down. I left my bike and most of my possessions in Montana where I was waiting out the winter until it was warm enough to travel again.

San Jose, Costa Rica
In 1949 Costa Rica decided to scrap their armed forces and spend the money saved on health, education and infrastructure. Are there any downsides if all the other countries followed suite? I guess they would all have to do it at the same time and some RELIABLE means of ensuring no one had WMD (weapons of mass destruction) hidden away would need to be put in place. It would free up an awful lot of money for useful stuff.

Pedestrian Avenida Central, San Jose

I spent a few days in San Jose before heading to Manuel Antonio and Quepos on the Pacific coast. A pedestrian main street, the Avenida Central and the Plaza De La Cultura (Square Of Culture) form the heart of the city. Most of the roads go to and from San Jose making it a hub for getting around Costa Rica.

Manuel Antonio National Park

On a visit to Manuel Antonio National Park I saw two different kinds of monkey, Capuchin monkeys were plentiful and I got a glimpse of some squirrel monkeys. A rabbit sized mammal I saw was later identified as an Agouti. A five inch freshwater turtle was spotted in a pool that remained from an almost dry creek bed. An assortment of lizards from the very small to two metre long Iguanas were everywhere. The highlight was a tiny hummingbird. It looked far too small to have all the bits of a bird inside it. I had hoped to see a sloth thinking it would be one animal slow enough to photograph but they were obviously too fast and/or cunning for me. It comes to something when you can’t find the slowest moving creature known to mankind!

Capuchin Monkey, Manuel Antonio National Park

There was a path in the National Park fringed with coconut palms with a fair number of coconuts imbedded deep into the sandy path. It reminded me of an obscure fact I read somewhere that more people are killed by falling coconuts than by shark attacks. So if anybody asks coconuts are more dangerous than sharks. And a health and safety tip, look up into the trees before choosing that shady spot. Later I spoke to someone who had been sitting on the beach under the shade of trees and a coconut had thudded into the sand missing him by three feet.

Metallic Green Humming Bird In Front Of Flower Is Almost Too Small To See

I had my birthday whilst on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. I got close to the international date line to delay it as long as possible but it eventually caught up with me!

Manuel Antonio Beach

Tope Quepos 2010, A horse carnival was held one afternoon. Traffic was stopped while horses and riders paraded around town. There was Latino music and some kind of horse dancing competition that I never got to fully understand.

Tope Quepos 2010

Before I arrived I had read about how bad the Costa Rican traffic was. It doesn’t seem too bad to me. The traffic pretty much obeys the traffic signs, They give way on the single lane bridges. Motorcycles filter through the traffic as they do in the UK. My assessment is that it is worse than the USA and Canada but better than Italy!

Tope Quepos Street Parade

I had to be up at 4am for my flight back to the USA. Naturally I woke at 2:30am and couldn’t get back to sleep! On arrival at Denver International Airport I was diverted off to a Department Of Homeland Security area reserved for suspect aliens. After much grilling and questioning I managed to convince them that I was a bona fide tourist and a fine upstanding citizen to boot and they gave me another six month stay in the USA.

Quepos Sunset

I’m now back in Montana where most of the snow has melted and it is getting warmer. As soon as it is warm enough to travel and camp without freezing to death I will be heading off. There are a number of western national parks I want to visit, I would like to get up to Alaska and travel on the Pacific Highway. I’ll probably dash south during a warm spell then slowly travel north as the weather improves then journey south again for Mexico and my exit from the USA in September.

Visa Crisis Over, It's Back To Risking Life And Limb In Montana!