This guy was a suit-and-tie commodities trader in San Francisco for years before dropping everything and moving to Costa Rica, where he now runs a wildlife sanctuary that is only accessible by boat. We weren't there 5 minutes before a monkey peed on him.
The Kinkajou, which is not a Pokemon character.
Tonight on Fox: When Kinkajous Attack!!!!
Cathy bottle-feeding a baby monkey. Amazingly, if you go through the Carmichael family photo archives, both of my sisters looked EXACTLY like this when they were babies!
Glug glug.
There's Baby Lesley! I mean, the resemblance is UNCANNY!
All manner of animals were obsessed with Cathy's ol' fisherman hat. Monkeys, birds, you name it.
These parrots belong to the world's smallest parrot species.
A Scarlet Macaw, the king of brightly-colored Osa Peninsula birds. Two of these guys chewed right through the wall of the house the wildlife refuge administrator was living in, and set up a nest. The administrator responded by moving to another house.
Front yard of the wildlife sanctuary.
This hotel features beds that are not long enough, with footboards. Most Costa Rican hotels have similar amenities but do not tout them as much.
Us in our coordinated Christmas outfits at Matapalo.
The hamlet of Matapalo is free of artificial preservatives.
The bamboo gate in front of a surfer lodge in Matapalo.
A microscopic surfer riding a wave at Matapalo, which I heard referred to as the "Aspen of surfing." Not that there are a bunch of rich people, or luxury resorts, or much of a town even.
A bike outfitted with a surfboard holster. The board slides in between the purple tubes at the front and back of the bike.
Dawn at the Iguana Lodge, again. What else are you going to do at 5 AM?
The deck at the Iguana, which features hammocks, yoga mats, Adirondack chairs, and a weathered weightlifting machine.
The path from the Iguana to the beach.
Owen draws a tasteless word bubble on the front of yet another sarcastic postcard that would have been so pleasant if he had just left well enough alone and stuck to "weather is nice wish you were here."