Any Excuse to Travel

Stories from travels in

May 2017

A Little Time at Sea

Cappy got to us. We caved. Before heading cross country to Alajuela (with its fabulous cathedral) where we’d spend our last night in Costa Rica,

Pacific coast beach in Costa Rica

Okay, so I was wrong – about the West Coast of Costa Rica

The west coast fights back. Costa Rica has its say. Irish woman proven wrong. Pick your headline. I am suitably chastened.  I said I was

Blue Bottle and Blue Water

When God finished painting the sky…

Mr Frommer (or whoever penned his guide to Costa Rica) describes the hike into the Rio Celeste as ‘an easy trail’ that could be jogged

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble

Earlier this week, I caught myself disparaging the Pacific Ocean and its beaches, saying in the same breath how much I preferred the waters and

Moved by art

I bought a piece of art today because it made me cry. Titled Grasses in the Night,  it’s a monotype by Costa Rican artist Lorena

Coming down the mountains…

I have no meas on money. It’s there to facilitate day-to-day living. I don’t aspire to great riches or a six-figure bank account (they’re easy

Fresh and green are the pastures…

I learned a valuable lesson a few years ago from my good friend GM. Cut your losses. If you’ve paid to see a movie that

Jaguar Rescue Center

Catch anyone looking treeward in this part of the world and you can almost be certain that they’ve spotted a sloth. And it’s exciting. The

The end of the road

Google maps said it would take 4 hours 25 minutes to travel from San José to Puerto Viejo. They were just a tiny bit out

A dead Irishman

I just found a dead Irishman from Limerick, I said, quite pleased with myself. Well, he said, there are a few of us alive here,