Over but not forgotten...........

 We are home.    It was a memorable 10 days and we are left with privileged experiences and opportunities.........................and one of us is still harboring a respiratory bug but it didn't slow us down one bit.    
Mindy, the artist, has been involved with the Sloth Sanctuary for many many years and includes it on her tours.    Judy, the owner, is originally from Alaska and married a Costa Rican and they bought beautiful land and settled in.    They received a sick and injured sloth and cared for it and thus began a life that now includes over 150 of these delightful creatures.   They receive sloths regularly and try and release as many as possible.   They have tiny babies in incubators to the oldest and original, Buttercup,    

 comfortable in her swinging lounge.   She is 18 years old.    I won't go into sloth details but they are very interesting in their habits and life cycle.    We did see one in the wild on our drive one day.  

The grounds are beautiful and so well cared for with birds and flowers.    Students come from the world to study and they welcome volunteers for short periods but mostly it is maintained by staff and supported by tours and donations.   If you go on a cruise and dock at Limon, CR, this visit is an option and I highly recommend it. 

 Oprah is this little girls name.     She is a different type than Buttercup as you can see by the hair.  

 After we arrived and had a wonderful lunch, we were informed that we were to be filmed as part of a documentary by the Discovery Channel.    Mindy drew and spoke to the camera and us about the details of a sloth and what to notice to make it authentic.   ( I have no intention of drawing one but I learned a lot while she was being filmed.)    We all had our cameras and Nancy instructed us on capturing a particular angle or exposure.  

 I tried to stay out of range as much as possible but with two cameras shooting, it was not easy.    It should be out in about a year.    Look for me, I'm easy to spot with the bad hair.  

 Leaving the Sanctuary, we headed to the coast and passed miles and miles of banana plantations.   They keep them in the blue plastic to protect them.  

 We stayed overnight on the Caribbean Coast in a lovely tropical hotel.    We all said that we would have liked 2 nights there but soon it was off to another rainforest and research center.   Nancy, the photographer, had a lovely butterfly choose her  in the Butterfly house.    
And so, we headed back to San Jose, a farewell dinner and the trip home the next day.   Our group was very interesting, very compatible and I learned so much about the country and the eco systems and how serious Costa Rica is in safeguarding their unique habitats and rich diversity.  
I would go back in a minute............but first I need to get rid of this bug.