Quanacaste Costa Rica - just out and about

I'm staying at the the Hilton Papagayos Resort and Spa. I was here for the Medical Studies Abroad "Basic Medical Spanish" course.  It's the end of January and the weather has been excellent, hot, with no rain. I've not worn a jacket or sweater the whole time I've been here. Mostly shorts, t shirts and sandals. I completed the course and got the certificate.  I booked a couple of days extra for scuba diving and hiking in the nearby national park where the hotsprings and zip lining in the jungle is.  Those pictures are to come. We've had time off in the day for sightseeing and I rented a car so could drive about a bit.  There's a lot of bicycling here and also motorcycling.  I found the driving a bit 'aggressivo' in Liberia but in the countryside it's been okay. The beautiful modern white church is in the centre of Liberia. Night time was worse and I suspect that some of the other drivers may have been drinking despite that being very heavily penalized here.  I'd certainly recommend day time driving in the Quanacastre region.  I was also out snorkeling on a boat dive and loved it. 

Snorkelling Quanacaste Costa Rica

I loved snorkelling in Quanacaste in January. It wasn't hot like Cancun.  The water wasn't as clear as Sea of Cortez.  I didn't see the big fish like groupers and tuna in close to shore like I did in Hawaii and the Mariana Islands.  Still there was a lot to see and pretty good visibility.  Most of the fish pictures I took were right off the beach at the Hilton Papagayos.  Though I'd brought my own snorkel and mask I was able to sign out flippers for free there.  The mottled green and brown fish posed for me off Coco beach. That's where I saw the herd of dozens of fish all about a foot across. That's the size of the puffer fish I saw off the Papagayos beach too.  Given the limits of my underwater camera, a Canon IXY with plexiglass housing, all the fish were within arms length.  I took some pictures of the coral because my brother has salt water tanks and grows it. I was most impressed with the blue worm like things sticking out.