
Forty-five minutes into our trip (with an interesting bonus: Costa Rican law requires semi-trucks to pull over and wait out the commute between the hours of 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM) the GPS told me to exit off Highway 1. A dim cartoon lightbulb went on above my head and, with growing suspicion, I followed the GPS directions...I had expected to continue west for at least two more hours. Then I pulled over to check a folding map. We were (correctly) going to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, "a small pueblo located in the province of Heredia known for bird watching, wildlife observation and adventure" which is several driving hours closer than Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. I'd have made a huge mistake without the GPS, (but this type of confusion isn't surprising when I have telephone conversations in Spanish).

In addition to transferring the precious orphaned howler monkey to us, Marisol loaded the back of the Honda CRV with local fruit...mangos, pipas, and guabas. (Most North Americans haven't seen either pipas or guabas, which aren't imported, so a translation won't be meaningful - Google for photos if you're interested.)
To be continued...