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Costa Rica (Rich Coast)! The first Europeans to land on its shores gave this country its name for the gold they found the indigenous peoples wearing. Today tourists like myself find other riches.

This is an afternoon thunderstorm brewing in the Pacific at Manuel Antonio. They said we were visiting during the rainy season(often referred to as the Green Season by tour operators), but we never had an entire day spoiled by weather. Thunderstorms like this one blew in off the ocean in late afternoon and were gone by evening, but boy did it RAIN!!!

Melissa took this great shot of a Purple Throated Mountain Gem. We watched this one and about one thousand of her friends at a humming bird garden. There were so many humming birds I would recommend wearing glasses if you go. Melissa was clipped in the shoulder and I had my eyelashes brushed by these frantic fliers.

White Faced Capuchin monkeys like this mother and baby were very prevalent at Manuel Antonio. Both fortunately and unfortunately they have become amazing scavengers off of lazy tourists. You will see a good example of this later on.

Although it may not look it by the picture this sighting was by far the highlight of our trip. It is a Resplendant Quetzal. To see it is to understand the word majestic. This bird's irridescent feathers will flash a rainbow of colors as it flies over head. This is a male. Notice that gorgeous two foot long tail. WOW!

This three toed sloth was caught doing what all three toed sloths do... not much. The hotel we stayed in near Quepos, the "Mono Azul" or "Blue Monkey", is home to Kids Saving the Rainforest and this organization takes in baby animals (particularly sloths) and helps rehabilitate them. Everyday we would eat lunch as a baby sloth stared at us not five feet away.