Tarcoles

Wow!  We've just finished four days with Anne, mom and Ardith Jarvis, our old cottage friend.  They rented a great house right on the beach in Tarcoles, a perfect Costa Rican town built mostly around a successful fishing coop. There are few other gringos in town, the streets are dusty and full of life, and everyone is friendly to us. A few highlights:
Fresh fish every night, and fruit smoothies for breakfast - banana, papaya, mango, guava, pineapple...
Spending time with Mary, almost 90 but game to be toured around by Annie-a-gogo, with the rest of us trying happily to keep up - lots of good conversation and laughs, and great to see Ardito again.
Manuel Antonio, a small but perfect park with forest, hills and sublime coves.  Sloths and more Capuchin monkeys, including one devouring an iguna - eww!
Eating out (when not at home) at restaurants ranging from simple rice, beans and fish joints on a quiet beach to outrageously beautiful places hanging off high cliffs overlooking the Pacific
A canopy skywalk and another jungle walk with knowledgeable guides
Checking out an absurdly high end gated community, with more fat-ass yachts and overly tanned people than you can imagine. I know we're just tourists too, but glad to be staying in a real village!
The best, today: an all day boat trip with our amigo Gino to secluded coves where we hiked, swam, fished, snorkelled among beautiful fish, and grilled fresh-caught lobsters on the beach
Tonight we crept a bit up the local river to listen to incredibly loud tree frogs and other creatures.
It's been nice getting to know this little town, and I'd come back in a heartbeat.  Off to the Nicoya peninsula in the morning, far from the blizzard we hear is hitting Canada. I actually miss the excitement of a snowstorm, but this is a workable substitute!