Hey Jimbo-
   Good to hear from you. Minneapolis is fine without you for now. All you are missing weather wise is rain and wind and temps back in the 40's. Actually I guess that's not all that bad for March.
    Hey I went paddling this weekend also. Not sure it is as exotic as Costa Rica, but you know what it has a charm and character all its own.
     A freind and I paddled the Minnesota River outside of Mankato on Saturday. He has a Prism solo I have been considering for a solo of my own. I paddled his and he borrwed a freind of his Prism. We had a great time. First time I have ever paddled in Minnesota in March. And I actually was sweating as temps were in the upper 50's, fog and extremely humid-Man did that feel good!
     The Prism is a nice solo for a big guy with his gear for his trip. I am strongly considering it for my purchase and need to thank my buddy Wunita for his hospitality.

Sounds like a great time Jimbo.  On your way home bring some of that 100 degree temps home.  It might help the ice out!
qp

Woods & QP,

We could use a little of that ice down here!  I had #30 lotion on yesterday, spent a couple hours in the surf, & POOF - Mr. White Pasty Minnesota becomes Lobster Man.  We're a little on the sore side today as we head into the jungle to make like Tarzan on those zip lines.

No lightning so far, Woods.  It's still the dry season.  The weather seems unchanging.  Sun comes up, you get your activity in, sun quickly becomes overbearing by 9am or so, so you look for intermittent relief in shady spots.  By 10 or 11am it is brutal!  The surf merely provides deceiving relief.  It cools you off but those rays continue to work on you.  Balmy afternoon breezes deceive you, too, offering the same effect.  It's kind of neat watching the palm fronds wave around & a variety of hawk-like sea birds ride the thermals up & down the cliffs.  Lots of pelicans & hummingbirds, too.

Anyway, each day sort of repeats itself but no storms to report.  My oldest boy swears that it rained like crazy a couple nights ago.  He's been sleeping outdoors on the veranda in a hammock.  Says the "torrential downpour" drove him indoors and that he had to "side-step all of the cantaloupe-sized frogs" that had gathered underneath him!  You couldn't prove ANY of it by me.  If it rained, it got absorbed pretty quickly.  The numerous fans throughout the open-air type house droned out any sound from the outside, save the occasional screech of some kind of bird.

So far I've bought a hammock (like the one my boy sleeps in) for $20 ($150 or so in the USA) and a "jungle hat", so as to travel distinctively on my next trip into the Q.  Canoejack will appreciate the logo & name of "Imperial" on the front of the hat.

Adios, for now,


Jimbo

Quote:


Better keep an eye on what he's buying when he goes into town

Woods - the hammock is for lounging around the back yard at home... UNLESS I happen to be doing a base camp trip with Tripper.  He & I deny ourselves few luxuries & our site could easily be mistaken for a KOA campground.

Q_V -  turns out that Paco, my landlord, joined us for dinner last night.  He confirmed what my boy said about the "torrential downpour" and also about the Mega Frogs!  His main problem with Mega Frogs are the Mega Snakes that sometimes follow them into the house!!  Apparently the Mega Snakes do not follow the crabs (not Mega) into the house.  However, Paco's dog, "Big'n Nasty, WILL chase the crabs into the house.  Anyhow, I digress.  The upshot is that frog-massing WAS indeed a local "natural" phenomena rather than a drug-induced one.

Kawishiway - I haven't managed to get the yak out yet.  Water gets too rough much after Noon time.  Tarzan's "Boy" (neither of them) seldom sees the light of day before then, unfortunately.  The yak is so darned BIG that it will take 2-3 of us to haul it off the cliffside veranda down to the water & then, later, back up again.  This morning Boy, both of them, WILL be rising for the Tree-Top Canopy Tour.  Their 78 year-old grandmother is determined to show them up.

The bird life here is really remarkable.  They come is all sizes,  shapes, & colors.  I've seen a couple different guys fishing near where the ocean spray jets over the huge rock formations.  Haven't seen them catch anything yet, though I DID something in the 2-3 foot range do an aerial exhibition just beyond where the waves were breaking.  Pelicans & other fisher-birds are diving all over, too, so there must be some fish down there.

Well, I haven't learned the lingo yet but their "tunes" have made a deep impression on my brain cells.  I find myself whistling this same tune all day long & have visions of all the happy feet at Fiesta.  I think I'm "going native".  Speaking of which, there are some REALLY burned-out looking hippie-types all over the town of Jaco.  Ever wonder where all those folks landed at retirement age??  Well, here they be!!!!

Ok, gotta run.  Breakfast is ready.  Soon we're off to the Canopy Tour.  Getting there - or anywhere, for that matter - is a real driving challenge.  As if the winding narrow roads up & down the mountainsides through burning fields wasn't bad enough, the locals -both on bike & on foot - are fearless.  And so are the other drivers.  The timid get nowhere around here.  Keeps me sober, too.

Later,

Jimbo