Technically, being north of the Equator, it is winter here. The days are short and by 5.30 pm it is quite dark.

Daybreak comes about 6am and this morning we had our own alarm in the form of a vociferous howler monkey somewhere in the canopy outside.

We put some pasta and fruit out on the bird table. Immediatley a flock of multicolured birds flew in. But then suddenly, for the briefest of moments, two toucans appeared - or more correctly fiery-billed aracari. One stayed just long enough for us to steal its photos and then they were off, hiding in the orange trees nearby. Amazing!

Joan had some urgent County Council business to do.... Kevin was reading Steven King's The Stand. It would be possible just to pass this week in the gardens of the house, watching the comings and goings of birds, dogs and grass cutter ants.

Around midday we walked down the steep bank that zig zags from the house to the stream below. We keep looking up in the trees in the hope of spotting a sloth or a monkey but...... The stream at the bottom was rocky and remarkedly clear. The gardens to the house are large and are planted with bright flowers and banana trees.

In the afternoon, it rained so we decided to go to a cacao plantation to see how cocoa is made. Having learned how the cacao pod is harvested, fermented, dried, roasted, shelled, ground and eventually mixed with corn and chili to make the original drink - it left you wondering how cocoa was every created.

We also learned that it was the Spanish conquistadores who added sugar cane to chocolate to move it towards the confection we know today. And that Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) gave Costa Rica its name - the rich coast as well as the name of the currency - colones. We wonder also if the word colonial came from him too?

The tour was fun and Kevin got to grind some beans. At the end we were given molten chocolate to eat which we could flavour with different seasonings. It was very delicious and rich.

Back at home, it had gone dark and streetlights are few and far between. The supermarkets here are well stocked but have a limited range of foods. So tonight it was gnocchi with nushrooms and french beans.