Mar 26 - drove up the Okanagan Valley, to Oyama and our friends' Jose (from PEI) & Len's. It's been a long time since we were here - early 80's??? The new Coquihalla Highway is great, smooth, straight, but some good mountain views too. They have a great lake view & soon after we arrived they were home also. Took Mia the dog out for a run in the park, or more like Mia chasing the ball until she could run no more! Back to watch Jose prepare a beautiful pork tenderloin, salad & wild rice, delicious, a gourmet delight!! It stays light until 7 pm + now, so quite a change from the south. Great to catch up on all the news in this part of the world & to see everyone on their own turf! Monica was home after her cooking class & met Len's Mom, Bea, also.

Mar 27 - after breakfast, short hike in the nearby park around part of Lake Kalamalka, beautiful with lots of geese. Got a chance to wash our sheepskin bike seats that the dogs at the Lookout Inn had played with (ick!) & lay them out in the sun to dry....hopefully they smell better too! Jose took the afternoon off, so we took Monica and picked up Jose from work & went to the Wild Apple on the Okanagan Lake for lunch, awesome view, funky restaurant and great food, good choice!! Drove to Summerhill Winery, where they have a pyramid shaped wine cellar. Wine tasting was great, very knowledgeable staff & yummy wines. Next up to Knox Mountain - what a great view of Kelowna!! Beautiful sunny day, so lots to see. Picked up red snapper, back to Jose & Len's to have a shrimp appetizer, snapper, salad with Jose's homemade dressing & asparagus, yum!! Lots of food talk, recipe sharing and then the pictures from CR came out (think home videos from years gone by, ha!).

Mar 28 - left Oyama after breakfast & drove up thru Vernon, into the country town of Armstrong, where Jose told me there was a good quilt shop. Couldn't resist that, and sure enough Clea had some great fabrics, so I left her some money.... Very cute town. Drove on along the Shuswap Lakes & Salmon Arm (reminders of my youth when I came here with the Brownlees to visit their relatives ...). Beautiful area, where you can rent houseboats to travel the lakes. On over to Kamloops and then north. Very scenic area and a lovely sunny day. Stayed overnight at a campground in Clearwater. We were the only campers, got to plug into the only electrical outlet available, no water or sewer. Nice walk around town, many shops closed, but nice view of the town & river below from the main road.Went out to eat at the local Country Inn, next to the RV park. That was a mistake..Gerry's ribs and my soup were great, but ick to the rest ...oh well, we didn't have to do dishes...

Mar 29 - another sunny, warm day & we drove to Jasper. Gorgeous views and mountain sights along the way. We were looking for bears and moose, but only sighted one coyote. Mount Robson was amazing, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The info centre was closed by the time we arrived (1 hr time change), but the outdoor outfitter store had all the hike info, so we got that & took off for the 4 km Old Fort Point hike. Quite steep to start, awesome views of the town of Jasper, the Athabasca River and the mountain sheep on a knoll partway up. Deja vu for Sher (Rosemary did we do this hike on our visit here in 97 for the Tourism meetings???) If not , I must have been a mountain sheep in Jasper in another life!!! Find a site at Wapiti Campground, the only one open in the park in the "winter"! Lots of snow around in the trees & tons of ice on the trail on our hike. There are lots of other campers though, our first experience of this all winter in Canada... Stirfried veggies, some shrimp and left over ribs for dinner tonight. It's light here until 8 pm, what a change!!

Mar 21 - leaving Costa Rica today. We had the choice of driving in a cab for 2 hrs over the road we had biked, or flying for 8 minutes. Of course the cost was different, but decided to spend the extra & fly, instead of getting hot and dusty before getting on 2 more flights. The flight was in a Cessna 206, 4 seats, arrived in Puerto Jimenez, then found out that our Nature Air flight was gone, too late to wait for the next one, so had to charter the same plane to San Jose to connect up with our Air Canada flight leaving for Toronto in the pm. Just a little mis-communication by our tour planner....
Anyway, the resulting flight over the country gave us a great view of the landscape that we had biked, from the air, lovely sunny day. Couldn't upgrade to 1st class on the next flight, but it was fine, with several movies and lots of food and drink. Arrived late in Toronto, straight to Novotel hotel near the airport.
On reflection of our gruelling, hot bike tour, it was a wonderful way to see parts of the country we would not have seen otherwise, and forced us to have lots of exercise, maybe even motivating us to do more in the future..!..At any rate, we will be looking for this TYPE of adventure on future vacations, maybe not quite so ambitious... :c)

Mar 22 - stayed in hotel room until 2 pm, pouring rain outside, caught up on reading the news, etc. Off to the airport at 2, great afternoon in the Maple Leaf Lounge, internet access, so caught up there, called our kids, everyone is fine, TJ auditioned for a TV comedy show (didn't get on but has lots of original material ready for open mike nights), Dean & Anne heading to Toronto for a weekend "One of a Kind" craft show for Anne's work. It was a long day waiting for an 8 pm flight to Victoria, then taxi to our motorhome (stored at Carls office/house in Langford, thanks again, Carl!), at 2 am body time....zzzzz

Mar 23 - after sleeping in, getting groceries & the permit for the RV, that will allow us to drive it for another 15 days, off to Dan & Joanne's for dinner and a visit. Barbecued steaks, and delicious fixins, great change after the beans & rice of CR! Great to see everyone again and start planning a future trip together!!

Mar 24 - off down the road, the start of our trip east, caught the ferry from Swartz Bay to Tsawassen, then drove to Carl & Kim & Justin's in Surrey. Monique, Danielle & Michaela came over later and John was also there. Great dinner of Yellowtail tuna steaks, wild rice, greek salad and several yummy appy's, with wonderful company, catching up on all the news. Stayed overnight, parked in driveway.

Mar 25 - Sunday morning, after a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage & toast, burp, on the road again. Drove to Harrison Hot Springs, found an RV site, several parks not open yet... Got in a short hike around the town and on some trails. It's a great little tourist town, beautiful lake and lagoon with a beach. Carl, John & Justin joined us later and we took a soak in the hot springs public pool, ahhh, very soothing! Carl drove us all up the mountain road for some awesome views, then back to the RV to cook chicken & potatoes on the barby. Added a veggie stir fry and we had a great meal for 5 in the RV, our first dinner guests!

A selection of pictures of Costa Rica. On the left a hill we biked up, a very good road. One of the many streams we crossed below and an unusual bridge made of 2 halfs of a tree, yikes!


Gerry with Margarita the Lookout Inn dog, on a hike. Monkey mama and baby at the banana feeding station. Leaving La Fortuna for our biking day. S kayaking over the surf.

The biking crew ready to leave on the last day out, from Port Jimeniz to Carate. A scarlet macaw and a lizard.

Harvesting palm seeds, and a farming view.

A typical church at the end of the town square/park. The wedding party - Jamie, Amy, Jaime, Stephen, Dan and Cindy.

Mar 11 - 21 - Our bike tour of Costa Rica, wow, where do I start??
Kevin picked us up at 9 & we met our biking buddies, Ann & Tony from Britain & Paul, our biker guide, a Costa Rican bike racer. We drive toward Lake Arenal, leaving behind the dry, hot lowlands in Guanacaste province, and begin seeing the tropical forest and the cooler mountain air. Driving thru dairy farming areas, we come to the lake, with windsurfers enjoying the wind at the north end. On to the small town of Nuevo Arenal and our lunch stop for a "casado", the typical hearty mid-day meal of rice, beans, meat or fish and a cool tropical fruit drink before getting on our bikes for the first time. It is pouring rain, but this turns out to be the coolest ride we have, and once we are on the road & wet, it doesn't matter, it is actually quite refreshing! We bike about 15 miles, around the lake, mostly paved & a beautiful lush route, to La Fortuna at the base of the Arenal Volcano. The bikes take a bit of getting used to for us as the gears are different, but they are real mountain bikes with great shocks, so the riding is smoother. We check in at Hotel San Bosco, in the middle of town and get right into the hot tub for a soothing break for our tired muscles. Unfortunately, it is foggy due to the rain and we cannot see much of the volcano. After a nice shower and dry clothes we walk around the town. It is similiar to a mexican town, but much cleaner, with wider streets and better stores. People are very friendly and helpful. Dinner is steak, lemon chicken, veggies and avocado salad, with red wine of course.

Day 2 we bike right from the hotel, thru prime agricultural country, with papaya, yucca, sugar cane and heart of palm plantations along side our route. The 20 miles today is all paved and the countryside is amazing. Paul stops to point out monkeys or various birds that he somehow spots while biking!! We cross several streams and rivers and the bridges are unbelievable. Many are just metal strips laid down beside each other, all uneven with no barrier on the edge, some have some metal sections missing, so you have to watch carefully! We go thru small farming towns and by many homes and farms of all sizes, well off and poorer areas. Our biking buddies Tony & Ann are in much better shape than us & so they stop occasionally to wait for us to catch up & we all take a break. We were worried that they would be younger & fitter than us, they are slightly younger, definitely fitter, but very serious bikers, so we are constantly challenged. However, the good thing is we can always get in the Land Cruiser with Kevin & hike a ride! We all pile in after our bikes are loaded on top of the truck and trailer when we arrive inland at Bayo Rodriguez, southwest of lake Arenal in Alajuela province, after biking the very scenic valley. We drive thru beautiful mountain scenery, heading southwest to the pacific coast. We stop at the Rio Tarcoles bridge to see CR's largest crocodiles in the river below. We pass thru the cooler, lush rain forest area at Carrara National Park, then head south along the coast and reach our destination near Parrita, at the wonderful Beso del Viento. It is owned by a french couple and the food is to die for, and a welcome relief after a hot day of biking and driving.

Day 3 we drive south and cut inland just before Quepos and start biking along a nice quiet road near Naranjito, with the mountains to our left. The road is rougher but not much traffic as we are alongside the African palm plantations. They have replaced the banana plantations in many parts of CR. The palm seeds which grow in bunches under the leaves are processed and mostly used for margarine. They are huge and provide lots of shade. Our route takes us back out to the highway and we shuttle down to Dominical, then bike again along a section of beautiful coastline to our destination at Finca Bavaria, a total of about 20 miles. We find the ride brutal today due mostly to the heat and humidity, but we finally make it! Finca Bavaria as you can guess is owned by a German couple and again the food is to die for, a fish barbecue over wood coals. The view from the dining room and our room is awesome, high above the ocean below, overlooking Isla Ballena. Dining is all together at big tables, for all the guests and the meals are set out on a buffet table, one choice only, but always delicious!! We are here for 2 nights to enjoy the howler monkeys swinging in the many trees on the property, and listen and observe the thousands of bird and butterfly population right outside our door.

Day 4 we are picked up right after breakfast by our kayak guide and taken to a nearby bay in Parque Maritimo Ballena, to learn to ocean kayak in the waves. The kayaks are shorter and wider than ours and are open. So first the lessons on how to read the waves, how to get out past the waves, into the ocean and how to surf back in on them. What excitement!! Our guide, Eric was excellent, and after the lesson he held our boat one at a time while we got started crossing the wave, then he came out and we all came back in, surfing the waves, holding onto our paddle to guide us. We all got dumped at one time or another in the 4 hrs or so that we were out, so we all learnt quick!! After getting out again past the waves on the beach we paddled past the point and over to another bay where we surfed in thru those waves and walked up the beach to see the huge caves that we could kayak thru at lower tide, but not today! It was a real challenge to get back out thru the larger waves that were now coming in, but after a few tips we all made it out and back to our starting point. It was quite a workout of different muscles and a fun learning experience!! We might have to get one of these kayaks and try it at Sheep Pond beach!! It is a free afternoon, so I take a hike up in the mountains while Gerry reads and relaxes. There is a well marked trail, but no exciting wildlife to observe while I am there. Back at the hotel when we hear the howler monkeys for the first time we think they are dogs barking off in the distance, but then realize and once you really listen, its like being in a horror movie, very strange sounds they make, often starting at 4:30 am!!

Day 5 we bike right from Finca Bavaria, on the paved, mostly flat highway south. It has a nice wide shoulder in most places. Some hills are long and steep and it is gruelling at times due to the heat - about 30 most days. We stop at Palmar Norte to attempt to replenish our cash supplies, a challenging experience at a bank where the bank machine will not take our cards at the ATM. So its inside to wait in line, but it is airconditioned, so we cool off at least. Then we shuttle down to the cute, touristy town of Sierpe for lunch. It is on the Sierpe River and has a little marina. We take pictures of the boats and the typical town square with the Catholic church at the end of the park, as seen in all towns in CR. After lunch at the waterfront, we have a boat ride down the river and out into the ocean to get to our next destination for the night, at Las Caletas in Drake Bay. This is another ocean experience and if I had known I would have asked Betty to hang her rosary beads on the clothesline for good luck for us!! When we got to the mouth of the river to enter the ocean the waves were all across the wide opening, with no break for us to go thru. The captain of the 25 ft boat studied and studied the waves and consulted with his friend in Spanish, they waited, (just for the perfect wave they told us) they went forward, they turned back, wait, go thru one little opening, turn back, and about 20 minutes later and alot of patience, there it was, that little break and off we sped, past the waves and out into the open ocean, down the coast to the bay where we jumped out into the water and ran and kissed the beach!! Somewhere in there we also pulled out the mickey of rye and took a slug to celebrate!! Las Caletas is owned by a CR (Tico) man and his Swiss wife, David and Jolanda. All the electricity is by solar or hydro power, so there are few lights. Our accomodations are in a "tree house", a main door that locks but all the other windows and door to the deck upstairs are wide open. They have curtains and the roof hangs over to stop the rain coming in, but no glass or screens. We are here for 2 nights and have no wild visitors while we are sleeping...yeh! There is hot water in the showers, but it is the last thing you want in CR, you need at least 3 cold showers each day or the pool or ocean to cool down in. Delicious dinner in the dining room where we meet people from Wyoming, Ontario, New York. This is a remote setting, so meal times are are set for time and choice. You choose from a small selection, but it is always excellent and varied.

Day 6 is a free day, no biking! We relax, read, the ocean is quite rough, but we do venture out into it abit. We miss the best snorkel time, Gerry is not well today, so he rests and recouperates. This is a great place to watch the birds, we see many species just sitting out near the dining area and on the point, with a beautiful view of the ocean. A large iguana comes for a visit on the grass and monkeys drop into the trees later in the day. So the cameras are clicking away. I take a lovely hike up the beach & along the shoreline trail in the woods, by several other lodges and tent camps where others are staying. This trail goes for many miles in each direction. The shoreline of CR is all public access, great idea!! At night I go on the night walk with "the Bug Lady", along with the couple from Wyoming & a couple from North Bay staying at the tent camp down the beach. Tracy, the bug lady, & her husband John, scout out intersting things for us to observe with our flashlights, as we walk thru the woods on a trail. We are first warned of the the safety tips, watch each step for vipers on the trail, and bugs that are poisonous in the leaves and trees ...great start!!! ...we all stay closer together now. I had no idea what you could see at night, like the (poisonous of course) wandering spider, large & white, snakes, luminescent bugs and beetles, frogs that shoot poison out, many other spiders, locusts, cock roaches. We saw crocodiles in the pond and an opossum in a tree, lots of shining eyes peeking out. Well, what an experience!!!

Day 7 starts with a boat ride to join up with our bikes at Agujitas, then we bike up the coast & inland across the northern section of the Osa Peninsula, near the edge of Corcovado National Park, and lush rain forest. When the mountainaous area starts, we shuttle across the mountains then begin biking again for a section into the town of Rincon for lunch. Gerry is better today, but not A-1 & I am sick full out this morning, so take it easy. We shuttle to Port Jimenez to the Choza de Manglar for a shower & rest. Then a walk uptown to check out the action, as this is the last town we will be in. We both recover, so head out for a sunset kayak with Joe. It is a beautiful evening, its low tide and we have a quiet paddle on the Golfo Dulce, which is very calm with quiet fisherpeople joining us. We have a leisurely paddle, hearing all about the area, a stop on a beach, some fresh pineapple then back to shore in the dark. After a quiet shower & change it is off downtown to a restaurant for dinner with the group & then an early to bed before our last day of biking.

Day 8 - After a fresh fruit and toast (with peanut butter - the hotel is owned by Canadians!), we head off in the already hot morning at 8 am. The route from Port Jimenez around the southern tip of the Osa Peninsula is fairly flat, very varied, lots of shade from palm and other large trees. This is real mountain biking as the road is "gravel" with large rocks, lots of mud & streams to cross and some long steep uphills and an incredible long decline back down to the flatter pasture land. At the end of one steep hill there is a stream that we all climb into to cool off, sneakers and all, it feels great. This is where Gerry jumps in the truck (mile 18), but I am determined to do the complete 27 miles today. It is hot, a few brutal hills, but I am pumped to complete the biking challenge. We arrive at our destination near Carate at the Lookout Inn just before 2 pm for lunch, tired and very hungry. But what a destination! It is high atop the rain forest with a great view of the ocean, the tree tops and tons of birds and monkeys. The owners Terry & Katya have built a wonderful secluded paradise. They have amazing chefs and staff & the veggie pizza that awaits us is devoured quickly. The rooms are comfy & large and we relax and enjoy the pools, the view and the company. There is a couple from Kenora that biked and drove by us and we enjoy their company over dinner, discovering that they know our friends there..!

Day 9 & 10 - we have lots of time to relax now, the area is very romote, we explore several hiking trails, photo the many flowers and birds (especially the scarlet mackaws), review the maps of the routes we have biked and say goodbye to Kevin & Paul as they head off to plan a bike trip to Panama. We have 2 full days to relax and see the area before flying home on Day 11. Lots of time to enjoy the awesome meals and company. The long beach is just below us, and the waves/surf crash non-stop 24 hrs a day. The surf is very high and is not safe much of the day, but is great to walk on the beach and watch the surf. If you close your eyes you would think you are in a severe winter windstorm in PEI & it never subsides!! There is a waterfall hike nearby, so we take that and the dog Margarita comes along with us all the way! Lots of reading and pool time, in between the meals Miguel & Johnson prepare. By 10 pm everyone is exhausted and in bed regardless & noone notices the surf noise then!! Tomorrow its time to leave, so we sit outside and look at the stars, trying to find the southern cross and the differences in our night sky vs this one....one last look...
The trip back to Victoria starts tomorrow, then we start to head east, pictures of CR to follow...

Thurs to Sat - Mar 8 -10 - Just hangin out here, had a wonderful dinner at the Oriental restaurant on Thurs. night with Paul, Faye, Jeannette, Jamie and Kaden. Then off to the air conditioned bar and check out the disco, but the music is not our style tonight, so off to la la land by 10.

Fri. G went on a deep sea fishing trip with Paul, Jamie, Stephen and Jamie the bestman. Stephen caught a very pretty fish, don.t know the name of it. They had lots of fun and heat. I went on the shopping excursion to Liberia with Faye, Jeannette, Judy and Lawrence. Alot of clothes and crafts, more variety of crafts than I expected. We check out the supermarket and the local bar as well. Coffee tasting at one shop, with a great selection and prices, this is one of the main industries. Carlos the guide gives us all kinds of info about the town and the country, we are now well educated as well! G and I had reservations for the Italian restaurant, they put us outside on the patio, gorgeous evening, awesome food. They serve great Chilean red wine here too, Fronterra or Sunburst??

Sat. our last day here at the resort. We pack up abit, wash our clothes by hand and then head to the beach. We have massages booked on the beach at 11, side by side. Ah, the sound of the ocean lapping while we are being handled, pura vida (excellent)!! Time for lunch, then a sit in the sun.
Pool volleyball coming up and then the sunset walk we didn{t have time for the other day, before our last dinner with the group at the Buffet tonight.
Tomorrow at 8 am, we are being picked up by Kevin Hill of Bicostarica, for our 11 day bike tour mostly of the Osa Peninsula. We are so excited, there is alot of different stuff in our itinerary, so looking forward to seeing much of the country!!! We are now in the north and will be seeing most of the south pacific coast. More later!!

Well here we are in beautiful, hot Costa Rica!! I haven't completely figured out this spanish keyboard, but the internet use is free here in the hotel business room. So, I will do some updates before we leave for our bike trip on Sunday, and am working on getting pics online...

Mon. Mar 5 - So, we did manage to get on first class for the flight from Toronto to San Jose, and since it was late leaving due to wind, we didn't have much time to catch our flight on Sansa air, to Liberia. We had a 2 block walk around the corner from the airport to the little regional airport, check our bags, pay extra for the weight, go thru security, which I held up by carrying the duty free booze, cigars, had to go back to check those. Then we boarded our 12 passenger flight to Tamarindo, then on to Liberia. Taxi from there to our hotel, where Stephen the groom, Jaime the bride and Paul and Faye were waiting to greet us. We were starving, so after getting checked into our room, got some snacks at the Buffet, showered then went to dinner with a gang of 14 at the Italian restaurant, followed by a little lights out planned for the birthday boy, with a little cake Rosie had arranged!!

Tues. - Mar 6 - to the beach first off, great soft sand beach, lots of volcanic rock on the ends of the beach and a big reef out one side. Quite windy today, so gusts of sand blowing up. Then off to the pool for a calmer break, with breakfast and lunch in there somewhere. It is very hot, over 30 degrees and thank goodness we have air conditioning as it does not cool down much at night. Great ocean view from our room, lots of unusual bird calls in the morning. It is very dry here and the trees are brown, as this is their dry season. Dinner in the buffet, relaxing around the pool, up to the bar where it is cool and general lounging around and visiting. Here for the wedding are G\s bro Paul, Faye, their daughter Jeanette, Jamie and son Kaden, their son Stephen and Jaime the bride and groom, and G\s sister Rosie, Brian, their son Barry and daughter Suzanne and Alexi. As well, the brides family and lots of friends. So it is quite a crew.

Wed. Mar 7 - this is the wedding day, so off to the pool for more tanning, G plays volleyball in the pool, I go for a manicure after lunch. A workout in the gym for awhile, then get cleaned up for the 4.30 ceremony. It is a bit windy, but not as much as yesterday. The ceremony is on a knoll, overlooking the ocean. The bride is beautiful in her ivory gown, with bridesmaids and groomsmen wearing pale mint green and calla lilies. It was a sweet ceremony performed by a female spanish attorney, with a flower petal tossing event. The guitar trio played and sang spanish music while the pictures were being taken and we drank champagne. Then it was up to the reception where the bar was open while we waiting for a surprise from the bride and groom. After dark it was an amazing display of fireworks put on by a local group. The whole hotel is buzzing about the free show they all got last night! The 4 course meal followed this, all very delicious, the speaches and then a slide show of the bride and grooms life, very well done! Dancing started and then continued in the disco. But after another day in the sun, too much eating and drinking, the old folks were in bed by 10.... thats us!

Today we went for a short snorkel after breakfast, a walk on the volcanic reef at the beach and now are going to do our separate workouts, G in the gym on the bicycle and elliptical machine and I in the pool. Then we\re off for a sunset walk and dinner in the Oriental restaurant. Life is tough! It\s a great place, staff very friendly and helpful, just have to get used to the heat....but we\re not complaining!!!

Happy 57th birthday to the young Gerry!!! We are at the Air Canada lounge again this am, love this place, breakfast, coffee, computers! We think we are being upgraded to business class for our flight to Costa Rica, bonus birthday present, yeh!! Got our shorts & hats in the outside compartments of our bags, very ready for this!!

Yesterday, we got booze taken away at security, daaaa we forgot that was a liquid! Today, no problem with anything including the extra containers of creams & lotions tucked away. Here come the sun!!

Thurs. Mar 1 - the 4 of us went on a day trip to Salt Spring Island, caught the ferry from Swartz Bay to Fulton Harbour, great crossing, lovely sunny day. Explored around the town of Ganges, had lunch at the Oyster Catcher Seafood Bar & Grill, on the harbour. Great calamari for an appy & we all enjoyed our meals, tho too much food, so we rolled out of there. A little more walking around, stopped in the Griffen Room of a small bookstore, where the Griffen & Sabine books are displayed & sold, as well as the other books written by Nick Bantock, any kids remember the conundrum book "The Egyptian Jukebox" from many Christmas' ago? I guess Nick lives on this island. Did a loop drive up to the top of the island, stopped to check out a spa we had called to stay out & then came across a farm selling lamb. Gerry & Joanne went into the shop to purchase some, nearly getting attached by the guard dog, Dan supervised the van, I was the happy photographer of the baby lambs playing in the yard. Back to Dan & Joanne's , ordered chinese food for supper & rolled onto the couch for an evening of relaxing & visiting.

Fri. & Sat. Mar 2 & 3 - these 2 days are consumed with preparations for us & the RV, for our next 18 days away in Costa Rica, for nephew Stephen & Jaime's wedding & then our 11 day bike tour of the south west coast. Hair cut, pick up a few more items, clean, pack, etc. There are enough leftovers on Fri for 10 people, so we hoe into those, yum! Sat. Joanne & I treat ourselves with facials, G gets the RV over to its storage spot for while we are gone & Jo cooks the 2 racks of lamb from Salt Spring Island. They are not as tender as expected, disappointing given the exorbitant price that was paid!! We somehow manage to fill up tho, thanks to the lovely greek salad, baby potates & asparagus, double belch on that one! It's an early morning tomorrow, so we attempt to get to bed early. A big huge thanks to D & J for putting up with us for the last 4 days, they joked that they would be sending an invoice, as we took over their dining room with our computers, printer & business stuff, a bedroom with our suitcases, the driveway with the RV & they really got worried when mail came for us, eek! At least we think they are joking, ha!

Sun. Mar 4 - we are up early to catch our 6:30 flight from Victoria to Toronto, the only consolation is that it is business class, on aeroplan points, as we booked it last June. I am presently updating this in the Air Canada lounge in Toronto, just arrived safely. Thus there are no pictures.
I do not know whether I will be able to post any updates, as have no idea what the internet situation will be in CR. Our flight from here is tomorrow morning & we have an overnight in Toronto on our way back as well, arriving TO on March 21st.
If you are interested in our bike trip from Mar 11 - 21, we are doing #4 - the Osa Odyssey, with 3 added days, along with another couple from the UK & a guide & support vehicle, you can view details on www.bruncas.com/bicostarica As some of the bike rides seem long, Gerry expects to be getting to know the support vehicle driver quite well, ha! Should be fun, anyway...
Pictures to be updated later as well, chow for now!

Took a hike down by the river...

Tues. Feb 27 - took a walk around the RV park, in the woods, to see where we parked last night in the dark! On the road by noon as usual, drove to Sooke via the Humpback Road, which was one lane in places & barely enough room for our little RV to get thru, luckily there was hardly any traffic coming! Found a spot at the Sunny Shores RV park, but can only stay one night, tomorrow they are sold. We find out from someone else that it will be condos going in here, lovely spot with its own marina...progress I guess... Into Sooke to look around, check out a few shops & take a little hike around a park & down by the harbour. Very pretty area, lots of nice shops with native art & a store with all the red hat society things you'd ever want. I find a lobster hat that just can't stay in the store, my souvenir of Sooke. It's a nice evening & G barbecues chicken, we have it with salad & a potato, using up our fresh stuff for our last week in the RV for awhile.

Wed. Feb 28 - we drive to the Sooke Potholes Park & wait for the snow to stop falling so we can take a hike. Great trails in the park, up to a waterfall & back down via some of the Galloping Goose trails which covers many miles on the lower mainland, excellent trail system! We check out the home for the RV at nephew Carl's office house in Colwood, while we go to Costa Rica for 2 weeks on the 4th. Then off to Dan & Joanne's for a burping good meal of ribs on the barby, along with potato casserole, salad & a bean casserole. Joanne has been in the kitchen doing wonders again!