We left Monteverde and headed for toward the Pacific.  There were some steep overhangs with the bus, but not as rough as getting there.  Nice views...

More of the simple mountain-country life...


We had one stop along the way, a non-descript gas station.  I didn't even buy postcards, though I got a shot of expresso to add into the Imperial mug some folks got to help me through these deadly 90-minute coffee deserts.  Here, by the way, is our group bus...

We passed Puntarenas--Erick talked about the "entrance," as if these were a small peninsula, though it seems to also be a province (?).  A quick glimpse of the jail in passing (none of us has yet needed to visit)...

and then reached our destination, on the steamy, lowland estuary of the Rio Tarcoles.  A big adventure ahead, a whole separate post.  Meanwhile, here's a bit of the gift shop--the carvings that are omnipresent in Costa Rica.  I still haven't asked Erick whether we do good (economy) or harm (ecology) buying these gaudy hardwood handicrafts.

(And I still haven't seen a sloth this trip.  That may have to come on another visit.)

later, bob