Playas Del Coco

Ugh, JUST as I was publishing my update the power went out and destroyed everything I had written, so I'll make this one a little quicker! Christmas in Coco was grand. We substituted a turkey dinner with some chicken/stuffing rolls and subsequently created the best dinner any of us have had since we left home 3 months ago. I was not a fan of lubing up with sun screen on Christmas day...just something unnatural about it, and have vowed to spend next year's holiday season in a more inhospitable climate. One of our original goals of our Costa Rican tour was to take advantage of the country's extensive eco-tourism industry, but have since resigned to lounging around the pool and reading! Our plans of scaling volcanoes and swinging through jungle canopies have been squashed one by one as the almighty dollar has pushed these activities out of reach. Luckily no one really minds lying around all day or visiting the odd beach, so we've declared the trip a smashing success. Dev, Ryan and I finally got off our butts and headed out to the Catalina Islands to do 3 dives. Each dive had its highlights but the white-tipped reef shark and his spotted eagle ray friends stole the show. While puttering around out there I spotted a a whale sending up his watery greeting card, and although we could hear them all chatting underwater, these elusive giants stayed while out of sight when we were actually diving. Somehow Dev managed to see a whale shark on one of his certification dives and has since become a minor celebrity in the Coco diving community. Tonight Dani and I are heading out for my first steak dinner since leaving home courtesy of my Mom, while Devon and Michelle take this opportunity to devour some sea food. Tomorrow should be quite interesting, seeing as the four of us (Mike, Jason, Ryan and myself) have dedicated the day to our local frenchman Frank, and more specifically his speedos. Starting in the morning we'll each don our pairs of stretchy underpants (gifts from Mike....who seemed unusually excited to do this activity) and strut around the pool in celebration of the New Year, France and tan lines. By nightfall the party should be pretty good in town and we'll mosey on over to see what trouble we can stir up there. Usually by about 10pm the strip is shoulder tight with people and I can't imagine new year's eve being an exception! The two main bars have an ongoing battle between their stereo systems, with the only losers being the poor people who live behind them. Following that, on New Year's day is when Dev, Dani and Michelle depart and begin to make their way back home. It's been awesome having them here and they really helped make the first christmas on the road bearable. Ok, time to get back to the pool, Happy New Year!

Pictures! Wanted to put more...but this connection isnt too great and I have dev's camera (with subsequently larger pictures!). Not to worry Committee Members, numerous bragging shots will be posted in due time. One there is a classic Blanchet photo op that for some strange reason we take each year! It also introduces the new, thinner and streamlined version of Jason...we call him 'James'.