Having had 2 1/2 weeks of being looked after I now have another couple of weeks in Costa Rica on my own. Quite randomly I picked Monteverde as my first stop. After a 4 hour minibus trip on roads that quite honestly I would probably not attempt to drive on in the uk (Road is a very loose term here - dirt track with potholes is probably more accurate) I arrived at Pension Santa Elena hostel. I had treated myself to a private room with bathroom and breakfast for $20...

Even in Costa Rica I can't escape my IT roots! Having already spent a few hours reviewing the project's website, I was then needed for some switch cabling troubleshooting, and then an error in Outlook which I had to try to translate to english before fixing. Hmmm I might keep my occupation to myself from now on. My last few days at the project were good fun if a little wet. Point to note when cleaning animal cages near a river, when its raining AND when using a ...

Various animal stories to tell this week. Last Sunday I went into La Fortuna, the nearest 'tourist'town to where I am staying. Hannah, a new volunteer from Sweden had suggested that we go on a horse riding trek near the volcano.Yep - I thought, I have been on a couple of nice scenic touristy plods on previous holidays, that would be great. We arrived at the stables and after signing a rather scarily (is that a word?) translated disclaimer which seemed to mention ...

Well I have been here a week now, and you couldn't get a bigger change from my hotel in Mexico. I am volunteering at Proyecto Asis, a wildlife sanctuary about an hour from La Fortuna. I am at a homestay with a local Costa Rican family, they are very friendly but speak no english!! I have my own room, and have now got used to the cold showers as they have no hot water. I have all my meals prepared by Carmen, who is the Mum in the house. They eat a lot of rice and ...

I did the most amazing thing today - I released some baby turtles into the sea! On the hotel beach is a small fenced off area, where the turtle eggs are. Basically when the turtles lay their eggs in August, the hotel turtle guys re-bury them further up the beach in a protected area, being sure to bury them at exactly the same depth as the mother did. Then they label the date they were laid and approximately 60-80 days later they start to hatch. I have been here...