What a superb and wonderful 2 weeks. So much to see and be amazed by, something new every day and so many wonderful birds and animals to try and photograph. Good accommodation and we were never hungry. Costa Rica is a very forward thinking and developed country and they are rightly very caring of their wildlife and forests. We had a wonderful guide (Carlos) and driver (Mau) and they helped us see everything that we would have completely missed without their help. It was all so wonderful that it is hard to pick out highlights but loved the day out looking for dolphins, the boat trips at Tortuguero (and Tortuguero itself) and the zip lines.
Good to see the country but not my favourite. I think I might have fall too much in love with the relative remoteness and untourist nature of Patagonia and the Galapagos Islands. Costa Rica has embrassed tourism and while it 'sells itself' as eco orientated I was left unconvinced. I think the animals and birds are disappearing, at least moving away from where the humans are. We toured a lot of the country on unmade roads which was a good part of the adventure, travelling from the swamps, to volcanoes, to rainforest, to the coast, the jungle and the mountains. We did see a lazing sloth in a tree by the road and hummingbirds defying any attempt to be photographed with their speed and agility. There were some nice touches, the trip the school and the homstead in the mountains.
Manu was very positive from the very start and showed great enthusiasm to get the group mixing, always very helpful before the trip during and even after the trip organising our trip onwards. He showed great knowledge and interest in informing us about Costa Rica and safe to say was a great tour guide for the group.