Hooliganting: Costa Rica: Pacific side, Crocodiles, lizards and birds.

Today's adventure started with the same alarm for the same time. You have to understand the irony of of this as I really hate mornings, especially after sleeping on rock hard beds. It could have been worse, as I might have had to provide breakfast for the minions. However, the tour guide Christian opted to have us stop for breakfast at a roadside cafe. This was very yummy. Rice and beans with eggs and coffee. Omg, how I have missed coffee. I don't have enough time in the mornings to make it myself unless I choose less sleep. THAT is not going to happen.

From San Jose, it was a short drive to Crocodile National Park, Parque Nacional de Cararas, which is located near the river full of crocodiles, Tarceles River. This place has gorgeous vegetation in a humid forest. There are tall rosewood trees with rain trees and wild cashew trees. There are lizards along the trails, and bats and flowers that eat bugs. We walked through the sweltering trees and learned a lot about wildlife. There were also lots of leaf cutter ants, that seemed to become a favorite with the smallest kiddo. It was flat and signage was in English as well as Spanish so it was easy to navigate. We walked for over an hour before heading out to the road to hop back into the van.

Five minutes down the road was the turn to the jungle boat tours. That was my favorite part as we saw 31 birds, a huge crocodile that they call Osama and more birds. They have guides that spot them for you and the traditional gift shop. There was even water and ice cream. The drive was reminiscent of Mayan massage (see si'an kaan) and being bounced out of our seat became a game of sorts.

Lunch was late today at a roadside cafe near the river. You can crocodile spot from here too. The food was reasonable and the gift shops rather fun to explore. However, it was super hot so it was back to the condos for pool time and a late supper. It is too hot to cook! Tomorrow, we are up to the volcanos and elevation. Praying for sun.

What I like best about our tours is that they are great for children, the food isn't too crazy and the length avoids traffic.