APRIL/MAY 2008: This was my first caving experience in Costa Rica since the exploration of Venado Caves in 2004. I took "Level I: Introduction to Speleology" given by Anthros Costa Rica Grotto, a two week course covering geology, caving photography, topography, cave biology, techniques in speleology and on and on. The course was superb and I learned that there is much, much more to learn. The first weekend we practiced rapel and ascension techniques at an abandoned bridge. The following weekend we made the long journey down to Ciudad Neily, camped, and explored "Los Corredores" cave. We also made it to a lovely waterfall where we practiced vertical descent. The caving was magnificent and the company was absolutely wonderful!

On the evening drive back to San Jose, just outside of San Isidro de General, we encountered a two toed sloth crawling across the road. It was fascinating to watch.