Although we would have been thrilled to have Bill crew with us until the breakwaters of Ventura Harbor, Bill had decided it was time to head home. The sentiment of responsibility was gnawing at Bill, but truthfully, he deeply missed his family, Nancy and Cassie, and it was time to go home.

Bill's flight was out of San Jose, and we looked at options to get him there, also considering it as an opportunity to see the interior of Costa Rica. Our plan had been to leave the Gone Native at the marina at Los Suenos, Costa Rica, but it was not a logistical option. However, we were pleased that our dilemma of "Otto" (autopilot) had been resolved since our new one had been shipped from Miami to the marine store at the Los Suenos marina. It certainly would make our return to Ventura much less of a strain, as time is becoming of the essence. It could otherwise be a very long and fatiguing 2500 miles without Otto to assist us home.

We were anchored in the bay, and many cruising miles ago, our safety policy has been not to leave the boat alone overnight. After looking at various possibilities and knowing Dave was the only person capable to install Otto, it was decided that myself, Bill, Ryan and Wesley would drive up to San Jose. From our present location, it was about a 4 1/2 hour drive to the capital, so we decided to take a two-day car rental to see a bit of inland Costa Rica.

We drove through Orotina, the fruit "capital' of Costa Rica. We stopped at a roadside fruit stand, and enjoyed delicious mangoes. We continued onward, searching for a local-appearing lunch spot. One caught our eye, and then we saw an advertisement on a billboard for Zoo Ave. It looked interesting and we turned a quick U-turn. We had a delicious lunch and then crossed the street to enter Zoo Ave. We all figured it was a "typical" zoo, but what an incredible find. It was not a zoo per se, but a wild animal rescue site.

The animals and the variety of species were absolutely remarkable. The intense coloring of the macaws (pictured above) were startling beautiful. Interestingly, these animals were perched freely with no surrounding cage or enclosure. Apparently if fed, given water, and treated kindly, they do not fly away, and contentedly stay side by side with their mate for life. There were numerous animals roaming freely in the park, including iguanas and peacocks. There were monkeys, wild cats, turtles, swans and numerous types of wild birds. Apparently there are 850 species of birds in Costa Rica, and they had representatives of so many of them. The one fact that was very disturbing, however, was that poaching continues to be a serious problem in the country. Many of the signs displayed attempted to educate the public.

Ryan and Wesley have seen a number of zoos in their lifetime, and their enthusiasm was absolutely contagious. They were running ahead of Bill and I, telling us what excitement lay ahead of us. As much that they have seen on this trip, I smiled inside that sights of the world still put sparkles in their eyes and childhood minds.


Check out the "Sailing Twins"http://www.sailblogs.com/member/sailingtwins/?xjMsgID=83141

Check out the "Sailing Twins"http://www.sailblogs.com/member/sailingtwins/?xjMsgID=83145