The latest news, unfortunately, is not so great. I'm sorry to say that a thief somewhere in Manuel Antonio got very lucky. My laptop, along with all my photos that I quite ignorantly did not back up, was stolen out from between the metal bars on the window to my hotel room. The amazing thing is that it was actually underneath a pile of clothes and sitting in the top of my backpack about 6 feet away from the window when it happened. I was at the beach. ¡Que lástima! So I filed a report with the national investigation services, and hopefully they will find my computer on the black market. Who knows. I am frustrated with myself and a little depressed at losing the three thousand photos I worked so hard to collect over the past four months, but what can I do? I'll just wait and see what happens.

The past week saw more than a few positive things, though. Wayne and I had a blast in Manuel Antonio. We visited the National Park, which was absolutely stunning. Our hotel manager showed us to a hidden, locals only cove where the waves were small and the sand was almost pure white. The rainforest poured off the cliffs in shades of green almost too vivid to be real. The water was murky with runoff from the rains of the past few days, but no matter. Wayne and I played frisbee and swam to the far shore, where we discovered (but probably not for the first time) a secluded, tranquil waterfall nestled between two small, sun dappled rocks. The horseflies were very happy there, so we left rather quickly.

We met a couple from the Netherlands who regaled us with their tales of traveling throughout South America. He was a designer who landed a sweet contract to organize and produce a massive festival for the nation. The government paid him several thousand euros and basically said "You done good, boy. Go buy yourself a beer." So he took off with his girlfriend to tour the western hemisphere. Next they are headed up the west coast of the USA. I wish I had given them my email address in case they wanted to get in touch. But it is a small world. Maybe I will see them again someday.

Right now I am at an internet cafe in San Jose. It doesn't look like I'll be leaving this city until the day I fly to the airport. Lots of time for reading between now and then. I've been staying at a backpacker's hostel called Tranquilo that is super chill. Pancakes for breakfast every morning, and relatively free internet. Lots of Europeans and some Americans too. I think the building used to be a house for some very well off Ticos, but it has converted nicely into a hostel. There is a slumber party room with a television, a large common space with hammocks and skylights, an outdoor patio kitchen, and lots of bedrooms. Seven dollars per night gains admittance to this budget paradise four blocks from downtown central.

Today has been a day of email conversations and phone calls. This country is much more expensive than I would like it to be. A phone card here to call the parents and report the stolen computer, a bus ticket there, breakfast here, and then a snack on the bus ride, dinner, a beer. Ouch! The bills add up quickly. The fact that I am using colones instead of dollars seems to compound the problem, as I end up spending a great deal more than I thought I had. "Ah it's only a couple of hundred colones. No big deal," has become my call of impending financial disaster. I guess Costa Rica ranks pretty high among Central American countries in terms of priciness of living. But it is the Pura Vida, so who can complain.

This internet cafe is stifling. Must escape.