Sloths, Beach & Sunshine (17.02.2022)

Actually, the day can be summarized relatively quickly. Longer sleep at Kathi's, morning routine at Hannes'. Great breakfast in the late morning with a wonderful buffet and delicious served dishes. Around noon, we explored where the "hotel" sloths are located. So far, we have found 3 out of 4, all in a great mood (meaning asleep). Kathi managed to take some good photos, and we also watched some parrots and iguanas feeding on the tree. Thanks to the beautiful location of the hotel and the loungers, it's easy to relax and unwind. Good books naturally contribute to this (currently the compact version of 7 Habits by Covey).

If there is some time, we also have video calls with our dear (in-laws) parents to exchange news and have a relaxed chat. The sea is pleasant in terms of temperature (I estimate 27 degrees) even though there are always a lot of waves. We also had time for sports today, doing gymnastics on the balcony and running on the beach (which can be damn exhausting...). The "passive sport" highlight of the day, Rapid's victory against Vitesse, was of course followed via live ticker.

In the evening, we decided to take a short drive again and drive about 10 minutes to the "main town" Porto Viejo for a restaurant on the beach. Like most of the restaurants, it was very busy. The colorful hustle and bustle on site was entertaining, and you can strongly feel the Caribbean influence with colorful colors, many happy people on the streets, and interesting smelling smoke that does not come from cigarettes. On the way back, we were able to do some sports and clear the branches of a fallen tree from the road to get to the hotel entrance.

The Daily Duo:

Insight: Today, we could tell you a lot about the cute sloths again, but we don't want to bore you with that ;-) - we'll let the pictures of the cuties speak for themselves. A few facts about the weather/climate. The temperatures on both coasts (Pacific & Caribbean) are relatively similar in the annual average, ranging from 25-34 degrees. In the highlands in the interior of the country, it is naturally cooler. Unlike Europe, there are only two seasons, namely the rainy season (usually from May-October, called winter here) and the dry season (November-April - "summer"). The Caribbean coast also has slightly more rain during the dry season (but in terms of quantity rather low), with the least rainfall around Tamarindo in the northwest. The area with the most rainfall is from Manuel Antonio southwards, where the dry season effectively only lasts until March and over 5l/m2 falls per year.

Moment of happiness: The "baby" sloth right by the parking lot stood out today. At first glance, it looks like a coconut hanging on a thin branch, but with various poses (yes, it does move a little), it also showed its smiley face.