October 5, 1997 Liberia, Costa Rica {Hotel Liberia} We hung out and rested, reading up on Costa Rica. I made some calls back home. Using AT&T from Costa Rica is almost as easy as using it from the states or Mexico. However, I've only found three public telephones that I can call from without purchasing a telephone card first. Unfortunately, none of them are near an electrical outlet which is what I need to exchange E-mail. We've been out of contact since Chetumal, Mexico almost two months. We didn't try in Belize. Guatemala, the AT&T direct access number didn't seem to work, however we didn't try from Guatemala city. In Honduras, the AT&T access number got me to an AT&T operator not allowing direct dial up which presents some timing problems with the dial up software we have. In Nicaragua, even though this poor country has nice new digital public phones, The AT&T access number is only accessible from private phones. The military saver plan through AT&T is definitely the way to go for short computer dial up. A call from Costa Rica to Chicago on a calling card is $5.33 for 1st minute, $1.33 for each additional. On the military saving plan, it is always $1.25 per minute on week days, or $1.19 on weekends. Mexico and Panama are equivalent prices. We ate at Pizza Pronto for the second time in a row. Last night we had a wonderful meal there. They cook their pizza in a wood burning dome adobe oven which makes a wonderful toasted crust unlike any other kind of oven. We had some foccacia bread made on adobe oven toasted pizza dough with fresh spices, and olive oil sprinkled on top. We ordered a margarita pizza which throughout central america and Mexico is a pizza with cheese, thin slices of fresh tomato, garlic and oregano sprinkled on top. This was so good that we came back for the same meal. Last night we sampled the local beers Pilsen, Imperial, and Bavaria beer of which Pilsen is our favorite. Joanne who we met in El Remate (near Tikal), travelled to gather ideas, and menus to start new theme restaurants back in Australia. This got me thinking about this restaurant. Some Chicagoan's pride themselves with the idea that local Italian immigrants invented pizza there based off a similar food from Italy. The distinguishing ingredient being the tomato which being a new world ingredient and key to pizza didn't exist in Italy when pizza was invented... so the story goes.... I think the best pizza in the world comes from that area, however I might be biased. Anyway, I think this Pizza Pronto restaurant would do well anywhere in the States, even in Chicago. The reason being the adobe ceramic ovens, the artsy Spanish colonial feel of the restaurant, the open air hacienda court eating garden area, the natural style of the all wood furnishings, green plant surroundings, ceramic tile roof of garden area, etc, but most of all because the pizza is excellent, cooked in the out in the open adobe oven. Haven't tried the calzones... I'm not in the start-a- restaurant-business nor plan to be, but if someone uses this info, I request a .1% finders fee. :-) Sharon claims it's the best pizza we've had on our trip. October 6, 1997 Liberia, Costa Rica {Hotel Liberia} We planned to go to Santa Elena Peninsula which is one of only a very few dry tropical forests. It's also home of Colonel Oliver North's air strip that he built to supply the contra rebels during the Nicaraguan civil war. It's also where William Walker's mercenary army was defeated by volunteer local army. We were only interested in visiting to see what a dry tropical forest looks like. Unfortunately, we had difficult time getting there. Since we had arrived on a late Saturday afternoon, all the banks were closed, making it difficult to change money. The cost of the park entrance fee is US$15 each of which we only had about US$8 in local currency (Colones). We had our breakfast, and then went to the bank which opened at 9:00am. The ATM at this bank was for local bank transactions only. Inside the bank, there was a line of about 50 people, and only two tellers. From past experience, we usually have to visit two lines in order to get a cash advance on a credit card, or traveller check. This was going to take over an hour. We left, heading back to our hotel. The hotel clerk told us the best place to go is the cash exchange business next to the bus terminal because the banks take a steep service charge.. Since this was easier accessible by bike, we hopped on the bike and headed over. The cash exchange was closed.... and we were pointed somewhere else which sounded like back to the bank we just left. It was now 10:00am. We wanted to be heading back around noon since in Costa Rica, it seems afternoon showers can happen at any time, and can be a serious downpour lasting for several hours which is normal given that it's the rainy season. The closed cash exchange was our last try. Since we were on the motorcycle, we decided to go for a ride and check out the countryside. At El Muerte, 11km North of Liberia, we turned of the PanAm Highways onto a little road that headed up to Volcano Rincon de la Viaja ("Remote place of the old"). There were signs pointing to a resort called Buena Vista. Not having any other agenda than to see buena vistas at the moment. we headed up that way. The road was nicely paved up to the town Canas Dulces; after which, it turned into a rough gravel dirt road. Sharp rocks stuck out of the road sometimes impossible to navigate around. Having intended to travel on paved road, I still had the full luggage and Sharon on the R80G/S. Usually I prefer to take off the luggage system before she climbs on and we go down rough roads. Taking them off reduces the back weight by about 80 lbs, which is very noticeable in the suspension and handling of the bike, plus it reduces the chance of luggage rack breaking, rear subframe breakage, stress on the shocks, and load on the rear tire. I don't feel completely comfortable with the durability of the R80G/S luggage system yet, I have no worries about the R100GS system however. The road was really rough, and climbed steeply. So steep that even at around 10mph, I felt the front tire air born in a couple places. This road would be fun and challenging on an empty dirt bike. The whole time we were saying...it better be worth it. It took approximately one hour to traverse the 19km. The last 4 miles we ascended over 1500 feet. with part of that being level and/or down hill. At the top, we could see this was a ranch resort. We were greeted, and then for our effort in getting there, offered a complimentary cold fresh squeezed juice of an apple/orange like fruit locally called naranjilla or translated to wild orange. They gave us a tour and showed us the bungalows which were very nice. We could hear howler monkeys off in the distance. They had a toucan which they had raised from a chick, and was quite tame. It hopped on my arm, and allowed us to take plenty of colorful photos. In Costa Ricas this is called a keel billed toucan, however what they call a keel bill toucan around Guatemala doesn't have any green like this one did around the eyes and beak. It's funny that after a couple months of being down here these exotic birds are only slightly more exciting than spotting a cardinal back home. "Hmmm, there's another scarlet macaw... oh, there's a toucan..., those damn wild parrots are so noisy when there in a flock...". Monkeys are about as common as seeing a raccoon or possum back home. We've seen Black howelers (locally called congo monkeys), spider monkeys, and white faced monkeys. We haven't seen any squirrel monkeys yet. Those four make up all the different types in this region. We walked around checking out the view. From 2300 feet up the volcano, we could see the coastal plane below, and the Pacific coast 20 miles off in the distance. The best views were actually along the drive down, near the top. We thought we might have lunch up there, however it's a set meal which wasn't cheap, and not necessarily served when one wants it. We heard some thunder off in the distance, which pushed us along. If it started raining, we definitely would have to spend the night given the road conditions. We hopped on the bike forty minutes after arriving, and headed back down. In the evening, we walked around town. We stopped in a bakery. I saw what looked like peanut butter cookies, and attempted to ask the clerk if that's what they were. She smiled, and didn't seem to have a clue what I asked. I later realized I said something that may be construed as some kind of euphemism for "is that chicken shit?" ...she said "No, that's a butter cookie." Later we found a nicely stocked grocery store, and thought we would pick up some carry along food. However, we couldn't find any peanut butter. I asked the cashier, "do you have any peanut butter?". She thought for a moment, and then asked "for the skin?" We snickered, and said "No, to eat." She wasn't sure, so she called over a stock boy, and asked if they had any peanut butter. The stock boy said "to rub on your skin?". I said, "No, to rub on my head and make me more intelligent." He smiled, and said "No, we don't have any". Later, we found several kinds of peanut butter (Jiff, Skippy, etc.) in this store. However we also discovered that unlike the rest of Central America and Mexico, in Costa Rica, peanuts are not called "cacahuetes", but rather "manis". So peanut butter would be called "crema de manis" rather than "crema de cacahuetes". October 7, 1997 Playa Brasilito, Costa Rica {Hotel Ojo de Azul} Yesterday, we had met a couple who had the hotel room next door to ours. Harry (72) and Karen (50s) had a 44 foot powerboat which they hangout in most of the year in the Caribbean usually around the Bahamas. During hurricane season, they take off usually touring Central America especially Costa Rica and Guatemala. We had met two other couples up in Guatemala who do the same except with sail boats in the Caribbean near Rio Dulce. Anyway Harry was eager to recommend places to go, and hotels to stay in in Costa Rica. He loaned us his guide book on Costa Rica (Moon publications), which was an excellent source of info. The two that we carried for this area spanned all of Central America, and so were short on detailed information on Costa Rica. We found out that at Playa Grande, near Playa Tamarindo, the leather back turtles nest, and that October was the beginning of their season. The leather back turtles are the largest of the sea turtles sometimes getting up to 2000lbs. We also found out later, that there are only four known nesting sights in the world for leather backs. Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Irian Jaya. It's amazing to think that an entire species could be wiped out by trashing four beaches in the world. Talk about having all yer eggs in one basket... Harry recommended a place called Ojo de Azul (blue eyes) which was a hotel of cabanas run by a Swiss couple on Playa Brasilito. We decided to spend the night there. From Liberia, we drove 72km over a flat green pretty landscape. We checked into our nice roomy cabana, washed some clothes, and then walked down to the beach. Playa Brasilito is not a tourist beach. It's long and open, with a few houses along the beach. There's a lot of driftwood, and plastic garbage washed up along the silica sand beach. On either side of Brasilito beach, there is a resort beach. To the North is Flamingo beach which supposedly has one of the most expensive beach resorts. To the South is Playa Conchal (Conch shell beach). We walked South along Brasilito, and crossed to the next cove to Conchal beach. Near where the two met, there were several pelicans diving from the air into the water, catching fish, and then swallowing them as they floated on the waves. Playa Conchal was an entirely different beach. The entire beach was built up from broken sea shells. There wasn't a spot of sand. Unlike Brasilito, the beach had a steep rake into the water. It was a very clean looking beach. The white from many of the shells turned water to a beautiful blue green similar in color to that of beaches around the Yucatan. Also unlike Brasilito, this beach was spotless... no garbage or driftwood in sight. It was beautiful. While the shells were beautiful, they were a little more difficult to walk along, as my foot would sink. Taking off my Tevas, it felt like any callouses if I had any would come off in no time. We were getting hungry, and so walked back to the tiny town of Brasilito. The first restaurant we stopped in only served breakfast The second one was way overpriced. We got a recommendation to go to restaurant kokomo which we did near our hotel. There we had a wonderful steak and onions with delicious red beans and rice and grilled plantains. Before coming to central america, rice and beans always sounded blah to me. However, I've had so many wonderful beans, that it's really changed my opinion. We went back to the hotel and waited until evening when the turtles come on shore to lay their eggs. Just before sun set, we drove out to Playa Grande which for the most part was pot holed dirt road. About a 100 meters from the beach we stopped at what looked like a beautiful new age style outdoor cafe with a tastefully back lit garden. It turned out to be a leather back turtle museum. There were two very friendly French people running the place. Corena, told us about the secret wonderful places to visit in Costa Rica and which touristy places to avoid. They told us all about the turtles, and then we took a tour of the museum. It's an audio cassette tour of a picture museum all tastefully done, and informative with new age music playing in the background. The air conditioning was a welcome relief. Definitely worth the visit. Afterwards, we parked the bike 100 meters further near the beach and park station. The way it works here is that a turtle researcher spots the turtles on the beach. They radio into the park station that they've found one, and then the visitors are escorted to the spot. This way they minimize the impact of a zillion tourists swarming the turtles. We put our name on the list, and then waited in the outdoor balcony luxury restaurant hotel next door cooling off sipping on strawberry milk shakes. When they called us, they were in a hurry. They indicated we were going to drive to the sight, so we hopped on our motorcycle, and followed the two other cars about 10 minutes, and then an additional 5 minute walk. Only the guide was allowed to carry a flashlight which cast a red glow. Also no flashes were allowed, reducing the stress on the turtles. When we arrived, the turtle was just finishing laying eggs,and was beginning to cover up the hole, as the researchers finished taking measurements. The turtles shell was 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. The guide told me he estimated it was a 350 kilo (~800 lbs) turtle which I guess is medium sized since they get up to 2000lbs. The turtle brushed sand/dirt over the hole which was so far up the beach that we could smell dirt as she covered it. Apparently if the eggs are incubated above 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the warm sand, then they will all be females. If it's below 85, then they will all be males. The turtle pushed it's way back into the sea pausing to catch it's breath along the way several times. When the waves picked it up displacing it's weight, it quickly swam off. We never got a good view of it's front side since our guide was careful to point the red hue dim flashlight only at it's backside away from it's eyes. When we had packed for our trip we were heavy on gadgets. I had joked with Sharon about getting some night vision goggles. This is the first time where they really would have come in handy... October 8, 1997 Playa Brasilito, Costa Rica {Hotel Ojo de Azul} Yesterday, two Kawasaki KLR650 dirt bikes pulled up to our hotel. Today we met the owners. They were two Israelis who bought their motorcycles in Los Angeles, and drove them down, and were now looking to sell them here since they heard taxes were cheaper in Costa Rica than Panama. They had gotten good prices on them. One was a repossession form a bank, and the other someone sold after 5,000 miles for $2k. They were hoping to sell them for $4k-$7k. They had done their trip from Mexico to here in two months, however they felt like they missed a lot travelling so fast. Recently, they were travelling with an Israeli couple who had rented a jeep in Costa Rica and were carrying the motorcyclists luggage. We got caught up on laundry. My pants are disintegrating. After washing them, they are full of holes that need to be patched up before I can wear them again. I didn't realize how much dirt was holding them together. I'm hoping they will hold out until I can find another pair. Sharon is having the same problem of which she has nicely decorated hers with colorful stitching. In the afternoon, we drove on the R80G/S over to Playa Flamingo which is the next beach North of where we're staying. It's a beautiful resort area where much of the prime property has been developed into beautiful homes owned by foreigners. It's a nice place to have a million dollar cottage on the beach. However the surrounding area offers little else which is great if one just wants to get away. We then drove over to Tamarindo beach, just South of Grande beach where we saw the leather back turtle the night before. Tamarindo is built up for tourism with overpriced hotels and restaurants that appear to lack value considering some of the other beaches in the area. We stopped at a nice bakery and had some good pastries, and then at the beach for lunch where we were disappointed. October 9, 1997 Fortuna, Costa Rica {Hotel Fortuna} R80G/S 29735 R100GS 20793 We wanted to get an early start since it seems to rain hard every afternoon. Before the clouds overcast the skies, the sun is harsh. A few minutes in the sun, even at 7:00am, and we would break us out in sweat. We were on the road by 8:30am. By 3:00pm, we were 300km further in Fortuna at the base of volcano Arenal. Along the way, just before reaching Liberia, we stopped at _the_ German bakery in Costa Rica. It's easily missed on the road with clothes hanging out to dry on a front porch. The bakery sits alone on the highway with only a couple small signs outside identifying it. Since we had passed it, we turned around, and drove back. Boy were we glad we did. They had all sort of goodies baked fresh that day. We picked up two delicious loaves of moist bread; one being a 5 grain full of texture, and the other a moist sesame covered wheat bread. We picked up the best tasting macaroon I've ever had in my life. It was huge, not very sweet, and probably made with fresh coconut off the tree. We bought two apple pastries, that were so wonderful, I wish I bought a dozen. They consisted of a small baked apple wrapped in a sort of phyllo dough topped with powder sugar. The whole baked apple inside was cored, and filled with raisins soaked in rum, butter and cinnamon. This was a treat straight from the black forest. They had many other fresh baked goodies of which I now wish we bought. For future reference, the bakery is called Horna de Lena (Lena's oven), or Holtz-Ofen Backerei is at Apdo 8 Liberia- Guanacaste, Tel 667-0146. WGS84 GPS coordinates: N10d34.947m, W85d33.909m. The last 20km before San Ramon, the traffic picked up, and the winding roads up the mountains were full of trucks crawling the inclines spewing vaporous oily diesel exhaust. Sharon was feeling bold and making some courageous passes. I came close to being obliterated on one of these passes, and so we slowed down a bit. Fortunately after San Ramon, traffic almost ceased to exist. In San Ramon, we stopped at a gas station for a little break. I ate my baked apple, and for a moment was whisked away to shwarzwald. I noticed my right boot had some oil on it, and so I looked at the bike and noticed that the transmission pressure vent where the speedometer cable connects had vented transmission oil. I let the bike cool off a bit, and then opened up the transmission fill hole. When I removed the plug, some oil came out which meant the level was a little high. The oil was an opaque tan which I believe means that some water may be getting in, which would also account for the increase in volume. One of the air box screws screws into the transmission. If this screw comes loose, water that gets into the air box might be able to get into the transmission. I'll have to look into this later. Since the gas station I was at had some transmission oil, I picked some up. Esso premium 80W90 for 640 colones ($2.68). BTW, they had Mobil 1 synthetic for $9 per quart which is only slightly less than the outrageous price it sold for in Mexico. While we were at the gas station, a well dressed man walked up to the bikes, and then over to us carrying a glossy BMW brochure of an R1200GL (?). He said he just put in an order for this $14k bike yesterday. This particular bike had only just started to appear in the magazines after we started our trip. He seemed to think it wasn't available yet in the states.... He asked how our motorcycles performed on the way down... to which we told him great, no problems (no real mechanical problems). He gave us his card, home phone, and cell phone number, and told us to call if we need anything while in Costa Rica. Later, a gas attendant handed me an out of circulation 5 colones bill of which I had asked about since they had them on display. He told me to keep it as a souvenir. When we had mounted our bikes, and were ready to take off, An old man who worked there too and had given us directions on our map, handed Sharon a key chain with a picture of the Bomba Chury (this) gas station on it. Nice guys... and all we had done was buy a quart of transmission oil, and ask directions on a map. The first 40km of the 75km from San Ramon by way of Los Angeles, and La Tigra to Fortuna, rates up there among some of the best rides we've had on this trip. The road winds over the top of hilly terrain through a range called the Cordillera de Tilaran with beautiful green scenery the entire way. The road passes by several waterfalls, and bridges over beautiful rocky rivers. There is very little traffic along this route. Since we were driving in the afternoon, it was overcast keeping us cool, but we were in fear that it might start raining at any minute. Fortunately the rain held off until we were only about 8km from Fortuna. We drove up to the hotel which had a sign that said "HOTEL, RESTAURANT FOR TUNA". We were looking for Hotel Fortuna, and guessed this was the place. It seems this town is mostly Spanish caucasian descent. Only a small few of the locals seem to have any indigenous native blood. It seems odd to see caucasians around here fitting in with the Central American style and not looking out of place. Future reference note for when we do this next time with a four wheel vehicle: While in Honduras, and Nicaragua the four wheel drive vehicle of choice was by far the Toyota Landcruiser jeep. This is true around here, but there are also a large number of the old Landrover (predecessor to the Defender 90) style vehicles. Haven't seen any new Landrover, other than Discovery's, later than a Range Rover though. The Toyota brand is very popular in Central America for pick up trucks too. October 10, 1997 Fortuna, Costa Rica {Hotel Fortuna} It rained this morning, so we stayed inside. We ate our wonderful German bread with real pasteurized butter, and Smucker's Apricot Jam, with a cup of dark Costa Rican coffee. Yum! When the sky cleared up, we took off the panniers on the R80G/S, and went for a ride. We wanted to check out the surrounding area around the volcano. Volcano Arenal is a perfect cone volcano which smokes intermittently. On a regular basis it erupts shooting molten boulders the size of houses out the top. Red lava then flows along all but the East side. Until July 1968, this was a dormant volcano. It awoke with a bang killing 78 people in surrounding villages. Two of the villages were completely wiped from existence. A couple of years ago, it was the second most active volcano in the world (second to Jamaica). The volcano's red lava is visible at night. We took the road which goes counter clockwise from Fortuna around the base and ends at the volcano observation lodge. The road goes by the Tabacon hot springs. About 10km before the end, the road turns to a volcanic ash and rock road similar to a rough dirt road. We drove by the park, through a couple stream crossings, and to the research observation lodge which has 24+ rooms. The observation lodge is the place to be. While hard to get to without a 4WD vehicle, or an off road motorcycle, it by far has the best view. We took a look at the rooms. For two people, the rooms range from $75 to $150 including meals. In these $150 per night rooms, one entire wall is glass. The bed faces the volcano such that should it erupt in the middle of the night, you'll be staring right at it. The restaurant, deck, and upper covered deck all have excellent views of the volcano, and of the Arenal lake below. We had lunch at the observatory restaurant. While there, it started to rain. The volcanic ash road was so steep and pot holed that it would be dangerous to drive in the dark or in the rain, so we were worried that we might end up having to spend $150 for the night. Not too bad. It would be worse if we got stuck in a no view $75 per night room. About 1km out from the observatory, we had asked the gate keeper about camping. He said we could camp near the stream about 100 meters from there. We checked this out. It would be rough camping, but spectacular view almost as good as the observatory lodge, free, and with probably a better chance of seeing wild life. We would likely be the only ones since it's not really a designated camping area. The observatory lodge had on display 17 different alcohol pickled poisonous snakes found in the Costa Rica area many of which are pit vipers and coral snakes. They're on display so that hikers know which snakes not to taunt. October 11, 1997 Volcano Arenal, Costa Rica Currently we are camping at the base of one of the most active volcanos in the world in a rain forest during the rainy season while it's raining, waiting for the volcano to blow... We have a beautiful view of the volcano which fills the entire front window of the tent. Off in the distance we can here a troop of congo monkeys (black howlers) howling. Unfamiliar birds sing all around. There are geckos chirping, and other insects buzzing. Toucans are about as common as blue jays are back home. In front of our tent there is a parade of leaf cutter ants carrying chunks of leaves four times taller than themselves. Ten feet further in front and below is a rocky river bed made up from volcanic rocks with a heavy stream flowing through now. When the rain lets up we can see misty clouds float through the tree tops. We're about as close to the volcano as the park rangers will let people go. Any closer, and one begins to run the risk of being squished by flaming flying magma boulders, or engulfed in sulfer dioxide clouds. If the rain lets up, we're going to make a spaghetti dinner, else, it'll be peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. However I see blue sky in between the columns of rain clouds, so the end is near. This weather is so unpredictable here. The only constant is that there is a hundred percent chance of rain each day. One of the guides from the observatory came by with a group of four hikers. He recognized us from yesterday. He pointed out where the leaf cutter nest is, and warned us to be on the lookout for snakes. I wish I studied the pickled snake jars a little better. The rain let up just before sunset, so we went down into the river bed, and had some peanut butter and jelly rather than cook spaghetti in the dark and risk being rained on midway. We ate it on the last of that moist German sesame wheat bread. The bread alone made it one of the best PBJ's I've had in a very long time. We sat in the river bed, and watched the sky clear as it turned to night. The moon was almost full, and lit up the river bed. Our eyes switched from cones to rods making for a cool black and white Ansel Adams nature scene of a rocky river bed with Volcano Arenal in the back ground. We could hear rocks tumbling down the volcano. All around us near the river bed, we could hear what sounded like dozens of ceramic wind chimes clanking the same note which we assumed was coming from some unseen frogs. At 4:15am, we woke up to grumbling as the ground shook. It felt like we were rapidly bobbing up and down on a water mattress. We looked up, and could see lava spewing out of the top. We could hear boulders tumbling down the side, and then a wide river of yellow rapidly advancing lava flowed down the side. It flowed about as fast as a snow avalanche down a mountain. Anyone up there would have no chance of escape from instant vaporization. October 12, 1997 Volcano Arenal, Costa Rica {camp sight #2} A guide came through crossing the river bed with a group of four hikers. He told Sharon that he had just seen a snake sleeping up near where we had parked the motorcycle. One of the hikers was quick to add, "and if you get bit, you have to be rushed to a hospital in San Jose..." We drove along the North side of lake Arenal. This is a beautiful drive along twisty roads with sometimes 40 foot walls of green tropical plants on one side, and a beautiful view of the lake on the other. The entire surroundings of the route we drove were covered in lush green tropical vegetation. Sometimes, the paved road was washed out and we had to navigate around the ruts. In some places the road was narrowed as the underside had washed away, and the pavement fell down the cliff. We stopped at the Heroes Hotel which is a Bavarian Lodge looking hotel overlooking the lake with an inviting scenic patio. We stopped in for a drink outdoor on the patio. It's very quiet there with little development on the lake. There is a 6km stretch where the road isn't paved. I wanted to see what this looked like. At Playa Brasilito, the two Israeli motorcyclist had told Sharon that the 6km stretch of unpaved road might be too much for our heavy bikes, although they weren't bad for their light KLR650 dirt bikes. Sharon doesn't like unpaved roads. Hearing this from those two, had convinced her that she did not want to do it. As a result, we had a wonderful drive up from San Ramon to Fortuna on among one of the most enjoyable rides of our trip. However, the Arenal lake drive looked promisingly scenic, and we were both curious to what we missed. As it turned out, these two guys telling Sharon (a woman with a bigger bike) she couldn't do it, were full of it. The roads around Tikal were far worse. The road between Antigua and Escuela in Guatemala was also much worse. The 6km of unpaved road was a volcanic ash gravel road with potholes, and washboards ruts. Literally a pain in the butt, but not so difficult. Yesterday, we camped on the South side of volcano Arenal. Despite that being where the observatory lodge was, several people told us that the best view is on the West side, and that there were camp sights along the West side. Our camp sight on the South side was just a tiny clearing of trees not intended for camping, and a little rough. Sharon wasn't keen on spending another night in the poisonous snake and leaf cutter ant infested area, nor the rough ride to get out there, Several times we had looked for the public camping along the West side. Finally we asked a park ranger who after many questions told us that it had been closed two weeks ago. They had bulldozed the entrance making it nearly impossible to get into. One of the reasons we chose the GS motorcycles is because they could be driven on most terrain. While not as light and nimble, they can handle most terrain that a true dirt bike can. While not liking at all the alternatives, I was determined to camp tonight. One of the bulldozed entrances wasn't quite as well blocked. It had a two foot drop followed by a three foot ditch, then a steep soft volcanic ash gravel embankment that because of a lack of material only climbed up about four feet in a spot. It was impossible for a four wheel drive utility vehicle to pass, and challenging for a dirt bike. Sharon hopped off the back, and I gave it a try. The front shocks handled the two foot drop into the ditch fine, and then up again over the four foot embankment, and then the bike stopped with the front wheel in the air, The mid section of the bike had plowed through the soft gravel/ash only to get stuck suspending most of the weight. Spinning the rear tire managed to further bury itself. I hopped off the bike. The bike self supported itself on the oil pan and exhaust which fortunately was protected by two bash guards. I took off the side panniers to lighten the back. We began to dig the bike out from underneath. A Canadian guy and a British woman just happened to walk by as we were doing this. They offered assistance. I thanked them, and turned them down saying that we deserved to be covered in dirt since we weren't suppose to go back here anyway. They said nonsense, set there stuff down, and helped us anyway. After we had dug out the underside, I placed some small flat rocks along the front of the rear tire for better traction. With their help pushing, and the engine slowly turning the rear wheel, the bike came out. The campsite was not one of the more ideal ones on the lake, however it had an excellent view of the volcano. The ground was volcanic ash gravel which absorbs the rain water so we didn't have to worry about the tent sitting in a puddle when it rains. Sharon made some spaghetti and garlic bread while I set up the tent. We used the motorcycle panniers as a seat while we ate. They make for a comfortable stool. There were a couple flashes of lightening that even with the near dusk light, my vision was whited out for an instant. Brighter than I had ever seen before. We could see the rain clouds rolling in over the lake, and so we quickly finished up dinner and put things away. The volcano erupted around 6:00pm, and continued until around 11:00pm. Throughout the night a cloudy mist would creep around the side of the volcano coming between Arenal, and the extinct one next to it. Occasionally this would cloud over the full moon, and obscure the view of the volcano. However we could still hear the landslides of boulders coming down, and the occasional vapor jet blast that sounded similar to shuttle craft launch in the distance. Sometimes it looked like a movie scene in prehistoric times with lava erupting from the volcano, smoke billowing forth, lightening in the air, and misty clouds all around in a tropical jungle setting with howler monkeys howling and funky birds chirping. Around 3:15, we awoke hearing a loud grumbling outside. We saw a 4,000 square foot two story house size molten boulder tumbling down the mountain sending a wide trail of red glowing rocks flying from each bounce. The debris path of the boulder glowed red for several minutes afterwards. In the morning, The volcano was back lit with the sunrise behind it. The rain clouds had cleared during the night, and the only cloud that could be seen was a sulfur dioxide cloud that streamed from the apex forming an off white yellow creamy cloud just above. October 13, 1997 Fortuna, Costa Rica {Fortuna Hotel} The weather in Costa Rica is so unpredictable. It may look like clear blue skies, and then a half hour later, the sky is completely cloud covered during a down pour. An hour later, and it may be blue skies again. This usually happens several times in a day. We enjoy it when the sky becomes overcast but doesn't rain since the sun is so intense. Temperature wise it's very comfortable, but being in the direct sun we'll always break out in a sweat in a matter of minutes. As we packed up our camping gear, the sky turned from clear skies to cloudy, with a slight misting of rain. I drove the motorcycle out of the camp area to the blockade, where I managed to get it stuck again. This time I had no problem going over the embankment, but the oil pan bash plate got stuck when climbing the ditch and stuck on the edge of the road. The front tire was on the road while the rear was in a ditch and the bike was propped up at a 45 degree angle perpendicular to the road. The accelerator spun the rear wheel just eating away at the edge of the volcanic ash gravel road. Of course, Chac was on cue, and unloaded a downpour of rain at this moment. I removed the panniers, and piled up some rocks under the front of the rear tire. I started up the engine and was about to attempt to get it out when a van drove by so I waited for it to pass. At he same time, an American in a Jeep pulled up and over. I guess we look like we're in distress with our big motorcycle hanging off the side of the road in the downpour of rain. I don't think the help was necessary, but with the first try it came out. It was difficult to communicate over the sound of the rain and engine running. It didn't matter that we were wet. Since our next destination was the hotel. I couldn't talk Sharon into stopping at the hot springs. There was an undeveloped hot spring creek that ran through the forest where we could take a dip in for free. However after now being hot, and wearing all of our motorcycle protective gear, the incentive was diminished. We checked into the hotel we had stayed in earlier. It's really a bargain. For $8 we get a good size room with three beds, hot water shower, very clean and only six months old. The hotel had burned down last year and was rebuilt. The owners didn't have insurance, so it cost them 40 million colones ($167k). We spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry, and sewing up our pants. Both our pants seem to be disintegrating. If we were in the states, and I could buy a new pair I would. However, here I can't find the same kind, and so have to repair. I spent three hours sewing mine. Sharon making artistic creatures out of her repairs took a while longer. We had lunch at a restaurant on the outskirts of town. Some of the local dishes we had were fried Yuca, which the way this was served was like giant french fries. We also had chorizo and potatoes, corn and chiote. We had what was called a gallo carnes en salsa which was a spicy pot roast type beef in sauce which was eaten on tortillas. I made the mistake of feeding their parrot, Leo, some fried Yuca. The parrot wouldn't leave us alone afterwards. It would crawl down from it's perch, along the floor, up the wood table leg and on to our table attempting to snatch our food. It crawled onto my leg, up my back, and on to my shoulder. It would crawl along my arms until finally I was able to rid myself of it. It didn't like people interfering with what it wanted to do, as it would snap in protest with it's beak. thompson@pdnt.com www - http://sdg.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~mag/Thompson Net-Tamer V 1.09 Palm Top - Registered