11th day: Wolfgang is still not well

Unfortunately, despite getting plenty of sleep, Wolfgang is still not feeling better. He feels nauseous as soon as he gets up and can hardly eat. He plans to wait out today and if he doesn't improve, we will go to the doctor tomorrow. This can't go on.

We visited the Wilson Family Botanical Gardens. In the 1950s, many Italians immigrated here and cleared a large part of the forests to make farmland. The American couple, Robert and Catherine Wilson, also bought a large piece of land and saved it from deforestation. In 1962, they turned a part of it into a botanical garden and established a research center called 'Las Cruces'. Today, it is managed by the Organization for Tropical Studies. One of its focuses is educating children and teenagers. You can also stay there and volunteer. The grounds are vast and contain many different Heliconias (lobster claws or false bird-of-paradise flowers), which are Costa Rica's national flower and can be found in every garden. There are also a lot of bromeliads and orchids, and a part of the garden has been preserved as a rainforest.

Unfortunately, Wolfgang didn't get to enjoy much of it.

Afterwards, we went to the town to refuel and buy drinks.

In the afternoon, it was time to relax again. The balcony is just wonderful. Around 4:00 PM, we had our first rain since we've been here. The dry season is slowly coming to an end. A downpour in the rainforest is quite an experience. It has also cooled down quite a bit. Good thing we brought jackets.