COSTA RICA, MY HOME AWAY FROM HOME. I'VE BEEN THERE THREE TIMES IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS. THIS LAST TIME I WAS THERE ON BUSINESS. I'M HELPING SOME FRIENDS JORGE AND NACHO WITH THEIR SOUVENIR SHOP IN TAMARINDO. FISHING TACKLE IS HARD TO FIND. SO I'M SETTING THEM UP IN THE TACKLE BUSINESS. BUT MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY WORK ALONE. I STAYED IN MARBELLA WHILE VISTING. MARBELLA IS A QUIET LITTLE TOWN THAT TOURISM HAS HARDLY TOUCHED. THIS IS THE REAL COSTA RICA THAT I LOVE. TRUELY FRIENDLY LOCALS THAT MAKE ME FEEL AT HOME. MARBELLA IS ALSO KNOWN FOR ITS BIG SURF. THE BEACH IS UNCROWDED AS IS THE SURF. MY GOOD FRIEND JEFF TRIED TO TEACH ME TO SURF WITH NOT MUCH SUCCESS. THE WAVES KICKED MY ASS. I NEED TO GET IN BETTER SHAPE. THESE ARE PICTURES OF JEFF DOING WHAT HE LIVES FOR, SURFING. TWO NIGHTS I WENT OUT WITH SOME GOOD TICO FRIENDS SPEARING CAMAROINES ( FRESH WATER SHRIMP ). WE WENT OUT A FEW HOURS AFTER DARK WITH HEAD LAMPS AND SPEARS IN HAND. WALKING UP STREAM THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED CREEKS YOU LOOK FOR GLOWING RED EYES OF CAMARONIES. PLACE YOUR SPEAR A COUPLE OF INCHES AWAY AND THEN STICK THEM IN THE BACK OF THEIR HEADS. IT WAS FUN AS WELL AS ADVENTUROUS. I SAW SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF FROGS. ONE SPEICES OF FROG MADE A NOISE THAT BLEW ME AWAY. I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED IT WAS A FROG. THERE WAS GAINT WATER SPIDERS EVERYWHERE. UP TO FIVE OR SIX INCHES ACROSS. THE CONGO MONKEYS HOWLED AT US WITH DISAPROVAL AS WE WADED UP THE STREAMS. AND MANY OTHER ANIMALS WENT CRASHING THOUGH THE BRUSH AS WE DISTURBED THEM. THE FIRST NITE WE CAUGHT MAYBE TWENTY CAMARONIES ANDONE CRAB. MY FELLOW SHRIMPERS GAVE ME ALL WE CAUGHT. I ATE THEM FOR BREAKFEST THE NEXT MORNING WITH SOME RICE AND BEANS. IT WAS SOME GOOD EATING. HERE YOU CAN SEE MY CAMARONIES BEING PREPAIRED. THEN I TRIED A SECOUND TIME A WEEK LATER. THIS TIME BETWEEN THREE OF US WE SPEARED BETWEEN FOUR AND FIVE POUNDS AND ATE THEM AGAIN FOR BREAKFEST BUT AT MY FREIND MARLINS HOUSE WHERE HIS WIFE COOKED THEM ON THEIR CLAY STOVE/OVEN. AGAIN WITH THE RICE AND BEANS.

DURING OTHER FREE TIME I WENT TO FIESTA FIVE NIGHTS. THERE WAS BULL RIDING, GOOD LOCAL FOOD, AND LOTS OF CERVEZA (BEER). TWO NIGHTS I TRAVELED TO BRASILITO ABOUT A HOUR AND A HALF SOUTH OF MARBELLA. BULL RIDING IS QUITE DIFFERENT THEN IN THE U.S.. HERE SOME RIDERS USE BOTH HANDS ON A ROPE WITH HANDLES. OTHERS RIDE WITH ONE HAND TIED TO THE BULL LIKE HERE IN THE U.S.. AND OTHERS RIDE WITH BOTH HANDS FREE. IN COSTA RICA ANYONE CAN ENTER THE BULL RING DURING THE BULL RIDING. YOUNG MEN WILL CHALLANGE THE BULL AFTER THE RIDER FALLS OR JUMPS OFF. AND SOME PAY THE PRICE. MY LAST WEEKEND IN COSTA RICA ( FRI,SAT, AND SUN) I WAS AT THE MARBELLA FIESTA. A LOT WAS GOING ON. BULL RIDING, PARADE, CROWNING THE QUEEN OF MARBELLA, TOBE AND DANCING IN THE BAR. THE TOBE WAS ON SATURDAY. LOCAL HORSE RIDERS WITH THEIR BEST HORSES GATHERED AT MARBELLA BEACH. THERE WAS LIVE MUSIC AND ALSO MUSIC FROM A TRUCK WITH A SOUND SYSTEM. LOTS OF CERVEZA , LIQUOR AND SOFT DRINKS. AND SOME FREE FOOD. AS WE ATE AND DRANK THE MONKEYS WATCHED FROM THE ABOVE SHADE TREE WHILE WE PARTIED. AT AROUND 3:00 PM THE RIDERS MOUNTED THEIR HORSES AND RODE TO THE FIESTA ABOUT TWO MILES AWAY. FIRST THE TRUCK WITH THE SOUND SYSTEM, THEN A SUV WITH THE VIRGIN MARY ON TOP, AND THEN ABOUT TWO HUNDRED HORSE RIDERS. LATER THE HORSE RIDERS GATHERED AT THE LOCAL BAR WHERE THEY HAD FOOD SET UP. IT WAS A GREAT TIME. SOME RIDERS SHOWED THEIR RIDING SKILLS BY HAVING THEIR HORSES TROT IN PLACE. OR DANCE TO THE BEAT OF THE MUSIC. OR HAVING THEIR HORSES TROT SIDEWAYS DOWN THE STREET. IT WAS FUN TO WATCH. THE BIG DRAW AT THE BULL RIDING THAT EVENING WAS A YOUNG NICARAGUAN BULL RIDER. SHE IS FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. I WAS INTERDUCED TO HER AND HER HUSBAND BEFORE THAT EVENINGS EVENT. WHEN IT WAS HER TIME TO RIDE, ABOUT THIRTY OR SO MEN ENTERED THE RING I PRESUME TO HELP TO SHEILD HER FROM THE BULL ONCE SHE FELL OR JUMPED OFF. WHEN THE GATE OPENED ALL EYES WHERE TRAINED ON HER AS SHE RODE FOR A FULL EIGHT SECOUNDS. IT WAS AMAZING. AND HER BULL WAS NOT A EASY RIDE. THIS TRIP WAS ONE I WILL AWAYS REMEMBER. FULL OF FUN AND ADVENTURE.

COSTA RICA IS TRULY MY HOME AWAY FROM HOME. HERE ARE A FEW MORE PICTURES OF MY TRIP.

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