I went to CR four years ago and had a spectacular time. Flew to San Jose, went to Arenal / La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Quepos / Miguel Antonio Park. In 9 days, I saw a volcano, hiked around the volcano and through the jungle and the rain forest, rode zip lines across the rain forest canopy, swam under a waterfall, went to the mountains, went to the beach, heard and saw monkeys, lizards, sloths, and many other animals, rode horseback through the mountains and across a river, took a three hour sailboat ride, went to the famous hot springs, got a reflexology massage in a grass hut, toured a coffee plantation, rode a bus with locals and their chickens, had great food, did a little shopping, went to a couple cool art galleries and musuems, wore a t-neck and jacket and 2 days later a swimsuit, learned a little Spanish, learned a lot about the country, people, and environment, and always felt safe and comfortable. I went on a guided tour with Gap Adventures (gapadventures.com) on the 9-day tour. I think it was called the Quest adventure. They have dozens of differenet tours in CR, guided and independent. THe one I did was great, because they arranged everything from hotels to transportation to entrance fees to reservations. They got you to an area, told you what cool things there were to do, and then arranged for you to do whatever you were interested in. It was not a tour where everyone does the same thing at the same time and you are kinda trapped and on someone else's time table. You get the same guide for the whole tour and she knew the areas well and knew everyone in the areas we went, so she could always point us to the right people and places for what we wanted to experience. I frankly do not think I would want to try to navigate and drive through the country without a knowledgeable guide-- it's not like AAA will come get you if there is a problem and there is no mechanic or tire store around the corner. The roads are VERY rough and not well marked-- it would make a heck of an adventure, but just think about if that is the adventure you want, or if that would detract from the adventure you really want. I thought the loosely-guided tour was perfect and would highly receommend Gap, although there may be others that are just as good (I am not connected with them in any way, just a happy customer.) OH! One word of advice for San Jose-- If a man pinches you on the arm downtown, just say "No!" firmly and move on. That is the customary way that a man tells a uh, shall we say "lady of the evening" that he is interested. Some men just pinch anyone they think is cute, hoping she's a "lady of the evening"! You'll only experience it right in the center of downtown by the square, though, and if you say no then they apologize and leave you alone. Frankly, you likely won't want to hang out much in San Jose. One day for a musuem or two and the flea market is plenty. It is literally hard to breathe in the city because of all the pollution. Hope this helps. I'd be happy to answer any specific quetions if I can. --A.

Hi Have been going to Costa Rica for many years and always wanted to move there but wife hates the "jungle"lol. Usually go for Scuba in the Pacific at Manuel Antonio as well as the orchids While sitting at a bar on the beach I counted 80 Hummers within the confines and the bar tender apologised for there being so few lol Another memory was getting a 10 second view of a Quetzal at Monte Verde as well as a Toco Toucan both in full color. I'm planning a trip to Colombia as I wanted to see the high altitude forests plus I have a friend who lives there as a guide A bit apprehensive and wife has already refused mainly because of the drugs which I find amusing as we live in florida !! Oh well thanks for the pics!!! gary

We visited several butterfly gardens in Costa Rica last March, and these are some of the photos I took. At one place I was wearing a floral shirt, and a Monarch landed on my shoulder and appeared to try to feed on my shirt. They put out fruit (watermelon, banana, citrus, pineapple) for the butterflies, and one guide told us that the fruit ferments, turns into alcohol, and the butterflies get drunk from it, which affects their flight. So we were advised to watch out for staggering butterflies.

I live in the central coast are of CA and we have hummingbirds year round - not a lot - maybe 6-7 which we enjoy - they flit around up when we are near the feeders plus my grandson loves to watch the newest addition of them online where two hatch about three days ago - both on the same day... Blossom and Banji... http://www.bellahummingbird.com/ Rosy is the Momma.