A walk to the beach

There are several beach coves along the coast that stretches from Quepos to Manuel Antonio National Park. The one nearest our house is Rocky Beach, so about a week ago we took an exploratory walk to see what it was like. We went early to avoid the heat.

Our first view of the sea. The road down passes through a private resort
but the beach itself is open to all.

Ray checks a stand of bamboo.

Near the bottom of the hill are a couple of deserted buildings that
demanded exploration. We're told they are deserted homes.

The coast itself looks much like Oregon's;
 just swop the tropical trees for firs and spruce. 

Surprisingly, the beach was deserted except for a couple from the resort.
At low tide you can walk from one cove to another
along this stretch, but our timing wasn't right.

This beached log was covered with tiny hermit crabs,
who scurried away when we approached. These are the slowpokes.

The walk back about 10:30 a.m. was hot, humid, and hard, the road being very steep in several places. An old pickup carries the resort residents and their lounge chairs down and up the muddy, bumpy track but we were satisfied to be walking despite the effort. It's a nice beach and we'll definitely go back, taking our suits next time.

Unfortunately, our explorations were curtailed this week, for as soon as I recovered from my cold Ray developed a case of flu (this is day 4 and he's feeling a little better). The weather is improving though, with the rains coming far less often. Sometime soon we will hire a guide and visit the National Park. With his help we should spot lots of wildlife—I'm really hoping for a sloth.