Earthlings, Angels & Aliens

3 Days of Transition Day 1 Cebolla drove us from Lake Gardens near Nuevo Arenal to (Ay-Chihuahua!) San Jose. As we approached San Ramon just north of San Jose, you could feel Cebolla's tension increase 4 fold as the traffic became bumper to bumper, all the way into San Jose. At one point Cebolla asks, gesturing with his right arm, "This is right, si?" Yes, curious question but hey, like the rest of us learning a foreign language, vocabulary needs a review. A few kilometers later Cebolla looks at me and says, "Give me directions to your hotel." Oh crap! Fortunately, Myra had it loaded on Google Maps so she handed me her phone, I was sitting up front. It was totally weird because it looked like we had to do a U-turn. Great -  stupid app! And as we got closer traffic was ground to a halt - major construction on the main arterial. A little further up it did indeed do a turn-loopy- kind of thing?? We had lots of time to decide on a strategy as traffic was veeerrrryyy...

Our dinner out at Moya's Place with Rob and Dawn after going to the falls has a little more story. Their friend Andre was there too.  He knows Lane - a guy we met at a House Dinner a while back. Turns out Andre is also imbibing in the traditional medicines in the area. Hmm. Maybe this is how city troubles finds its way to smaller towns?  We stay late enough to catch some entertainment. A couple of excellent guitar players. One of my new favorite tunes is "Me Gustas Tu." Here's the YouTube link of the original:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs6Y4kZ8qtw Capo on 2nd fret: Am, G, Dm, Dm. Reggae strum pattern.  Fun stuff to play along with: "Mi corazon, mi corazon!" Tuesday we drove out to the Butterfly Conservatory, largest in C.R. Excellent roads, and I mean in comparison to the Falls road Excellent all the way. Ample parking. Knowledgeable staff, beautiful displays and live environments: Blue wave Butterfly Malachite Butterfly Clear wing Butterfly Doris Lon...

Yesterday around 10:30 a.m. I was ticked, grumpy and more than a little disgruntled.  Our mission: Vientos Fresco Falls.  Google maps indicated that the small-intestine shaped road that was the last 3 km of the trip was yellow a.k.a. slow traffic. That was a very subtle way to say "cow trails with a chance of washouts." I have never been over such rough terrain in a vehicle, short of a quad, in my life.  You could not see the trail in front of the hood of the car. I know a vehicle can't go up a forty-five degree slope, but these sure looked like it. I should have realized the condition of trail when the ol' guy selling tickets said, "Your vehicle will do just fine!" - that was my try at translating his Spanish, but in fact, he was saying, "The clearance and 4-wheel drive capabilities of your vehicle will definitely get a work-out on this trail! Check your insurance, and I don't mean for the vehicle!" The last of the trail and the very worst of...