Back with Hank

Climbing into the Jeep felt like seeing an old friend I haven't seen in a while -- at first a little unfamiliar but after a short time, it felt like we had seen each other just yesterday. I am very grateful to Rodrigo and his dad, Carlos, for allowing Hank to stay at their place in Santa Ana, close to the airport. Hank had a great view of the Central Valley, and probably appreciated the break. Rodrigo has a nice collection of Mustangs that he is restoring. Rodrigo was so nice to give Hank a bath before I arrived. I spent the night on their property enjoying the view with the sunset and sunrise. Such a nice family. So good to see them again.

Rodrigo arranged a 4x4 outing with his friends for the next weekend and welcomed me along. I had a few days before the weekend, so after spending a day getting organized and packing the truck, I took off for the Tonorio Volcano National Park and the Rio Celeste waterfalls. The Rio Celeste is a beautiful torquoise color that is the result of the unique geology of the area. The color is the result of a physical phenomenon when two rivers combine, one with a large concentration of aluminosilicate and the other with high acidity. When the rivers meet the aluminosilicate particles aggregate when the pH is lowered to cause the bright blue color. Beautiful. Nice hike to the waterfalls, views of the National Park, and the place where the two rivers meet.

After visiting the Rio Celeste, I decided to drive to Monteverde and eat dinner at the Morphos, the restaurant where I made two friends a couple months ago. When I walked in, Matt and Jeff were standing there and recognized me right off. I had dinner with Jeff and then headed to his property in the hills for the night. He has a fun place with lots of cool family memorabilia and art. Nice cool night in the mountains. Went out to breakfast the next morning. It was a great visit. On the way to breakfast, I also saw Charley at Camping Verde. He was wearing the hat I gave him! Cool! After breakfast I headed back to Santa Ana to start on our 4x4 weekend.