A couple of observations about road signs in Costa Rica. There are not enough of them along many stretches of roads. It was not uncommon to come to a fork in the road with no signage at all. Make your best guess. Other roads had too many signs apparently installed by different authorities. One sign might say 10 km to Monteverde while another sign 100 m further down the road might say 15 km. It is not a large country and considering the number of tourists that travel through it, I would recommend that some state resources be directed towards a comprehensive review of the road signage. I could do it in a month - just give me a 4x4 and a bottle of gravol.
Arenal Volcano during an eruption
Volcano Light
"The human mind ... is one central fire, which flaming now out of the lips of Etna, lightens the capes of Sicily; and, now out of the throat of Vesuvius, illuminates the towers and vineyards of Naples. It is one light which beams out of a thousand stars. It is one soul which animates all men." - from Emerson's lecture "The American Scholar."
Getting back to the education theme of this trip - Emerson might be a bit wordy, but this incredible piece better reflects my hopes for the education of my children than anything I could write on my own. Despite the references to Italian volcanoes, it truly fits this moment.
Insect House
Our Costa Rican rental house came with some interesting guests - mostly strange and wiry worms, large angry ants, spiders, a scorpion and an assortment of blood sucking flies.
Everyday, Kristin would become annoyed at the new carcasses that showed up on the bedroom floor. I was more concerned about the creature creating the carcasses.
I was up in the wee hours to visit the the toilet when I found what appeared to be a baby tarantula. Instinctively, I must have let out a few expletives because Maeve popped out from behind the door and asked what's going on? I told her that I went to the washroom. She said "I don't like being lied to." Subsequently, I confessed to the spider incident. It took a while to go back to sleep after the extermination.
On another day, Kristin and I found a large scorpion in our bedroom washroom. It was black, between 3-4 inches in length and I killed it without mercy using an umbrella that I found hanging in a closet. I did this before I thought to take a photo.
I guess you have to take the good with the bad.
The Deadly Brazilian Wandering Spider?
Patio View