Day 8 -- We really don't want to leave!!

I heard Jason unlock the balcony doors this morning but I decided to stay in bed for just a bit longer.....He came in saying the monkeys were everywhere and putting on a pretty good show.  I decided to get up and just as I stepped out there were at least 20 monkeys swinging from the branches as they made their way down to the beach.  We also managed to spot two stunning toucans sitting in a tree just above us.  We had mixed feelings today...because it was our last day here, but we also wanted to go out with a bang!  We geared up and waited for a shuttle to pick us up to go on the canopy tour.  The tour included 10 zip lines, 2 rappels and one tarzan swing..what that meant, I wasn't sure, but I found out pretty quickly:)  We were picked up by Jorge, a Packer fan, who onced lived in Minnesota and drove about 40 minutes outside of Quepos on a gravel road.  It was bumpy and we crossed over some pretty unsteady looking bridges, but we made it.  As we drove down the gravel road, the guides handed us another waiver to sign.  It basically said that if we were hit with something, bit by something or fell off of something they were not responsible and that there was no medical attention anywhere near!  This meant that if you were bit by a snake you didn't have a chance.  I can't say that I liked this part, but what are the odds??  Anyway, we arrived at a small restaurant way up in the jungle.  The first thing that we did was tour the butterfly garden and terrarium.  We then gathered for a brief safety talk and  were put into harnesses and divided into groups.  The first few zip lines were pretty tame and not very high.  That was only the beginning....after about the 3rd line things started to get crazy.  As our group made our way across the treetops in the jungle we would zip one at a time and all end up on a tiny platform at least 150 feet in the air.  The guide would unattach you from the line and quickly hook you to a line around the tree for safety.  The platform would gently sway as we all hugged one tree.  For a minute I was sure that I would freak out, but there was no way down!  Then came the tarzan swing.  On this swing, the guide attached a rope to your equipment and you swung from one platform to another by just a rope!....THIS WAS CRAZY!!!  We were so high up and if the guy across from you didn't catch you I'm pretty sure you'd just be hanging in the middle of the jungle.  The rappels were fun, but it still seemed strange to dangle yourself high above a platform when you really had no idea what was going on!  After we finished, we had some more traditional Costa Rican cuisine before we were bused back to our hotel.  We decided to run down to the beach and catch one more sunset!  After the sunset, we headed out for a bite to eat and listened to some lived Costa Rican classical guitar played by Raf A Mor.  It was beautiful!  Jason and I are definitely sad to be leaving such a gorgeous and kind country.  It was good to get out of our element and see a part of the world that we were always curious about.  It made us thankful for what we have and appreciate the small things in life:)  We are so tired..in a good way, and will be waiting for our shuttle driver at 8am.  Back to the good old USA!!!!  We love you Costa Rica!  Thanks for teaching us about pura vida!!  We will be back:)

Day 7

What can we say about today....just another day in paradise...honestly!!  Today we decided to sleep in.........  We woke up around 9am and took a long uphill walk to one of our new favorite Costa Rican style restaurants.  We were the only couple sitting on the patio overlooking the Pacific as we listened to Bob Marley and ate some American style food:)  After breakfast, we lazily strolled back to our villa where we lounged on the patio and took a quick nap before being picked up for our catamaran tour along the Manuel Antonio coast.  Before we left for the trip, we had one hilarious moment while we were walking to the sidewalk to be picked up by the shuttle....I was in front and said "Jason, be careful because this is when the iguanas like to catch their sun."  We continued to walk as I saw a fairly big iguana laying in our path.  Of course, he didn't move as we clapped and tried to get him to shuffle off to the side.  He started running towards us so I took off running back to our room.  Jason continued to clap, but I ended up back near the room where I ran into a gecko.  It was a lose lose for me vs nature.  I had to conquer my fear and walk past the iguana, who of course, minded his own business.  I hope that was on video:)  After being taken to the dock in Quespos we boarded the sailboat and found a perfect spot along the side and took in the beauty of our surroundings.  We managed to see some spotted dolphins feeding in the warm waters.  We realized quickly that we were on more of a "booze cruise" than a nature tour, but we can adapt:)  We had some drinks as the boat pulled into an alcove where people could jump in and snorkle.  Jason quickly jumped in while I played photographer.  The sea was fairly calm and Jason said that he saw some beautiful fish.  He jumped back aboard and we were served dinner....scewers of jack fish and vegetables, fruit and pasta salad.  The tour ended with an amazing sunset and some Lady Gaga as we docked in Quespos.  Jason and I were then dropped off at Jeff's Cantina to watch the end of the Packer game..obviously, my choice:)  The food and drinks were great and we got to see a fantastic Packer win.  I had a great burrito and met a sweet dog who was a local at the restaurant:)  She was pregnant with puppies and I made sure to feed her some extra cheese:)  We took a cab back to our local grocery store to pick up some water and beer and then took a quick dip in the hotel pool before retiring into our room.  This was by far our most laid back day here, but still amazing!  There's nothing to complain about when you're surrounded by the beautiful nature and people of Costa Rica!!!  Tomorrow...stay tuned for the zip line!!!!

Day 6 -- Dad...this blog's for you!!!

Our alarm went off bright and early at 5am!!  We stumbled around in the dark and sifted through our luggage to figure out what we needed to bring on the fishing boat.  As Jason went through our bags a tiny gecko climbed out and ran across the floor.  Of course, I was screaming as Jason chased it out of our folding balcony doors.  Our driver picked us up at 6am and by 7am we were out on a 27 foot fishing boat.  The waves were huge and the sun was SO hot!!  We trolled with some big bait and about an hour in Jason hooked a giant!!  He fought the fish for about an hour and when he finally brought it in, it was HUGE and beautiful!!  It was a roosterfish, the one that we were looking for:)  The guide thought the fish weight about 60 lbs!!!  About an hour later, Jason pulled in one more...a little smaller, but still amazing!  I got a few bites, but missed them...the giant roosterfish made up for every missed bite that we had.  We came back to shore around 1pm and we were super sunburned and VERY hungry.  Justin, who runs the the fishing charter, was from Colorado.  He took us to a local cafeteria in Quespos where we enjoyed some traditional Costa Rican cuisine.  We lounged around Quespos for a few hours and took a taxi back to the hotel.  As we made our way down to the beach we found a sloth hanging on the railing right outside of our room!!!  It was crazy!!!  We finally made it down to the beach to enjoy some waves and the sunset along with a few pina coladas.  On our way back to the room, Jason was in front of me on our path.  I asked if there was anything on the path that I should be looking for and he assuredly answered "no."  As soon as this happened, I was almost on top of the same sloth that we had seen earlier.  The sloth put up his hand as if he were waving and we retired into our room to sit on the balcony.  We're getting ready to shower up and head out for another night of amazing seafood and amazing people!  Like I said, one day is better than the next......and we still don't want to leave:)

Day 5

Every day that we wake up we don't think that it can get much better...but somehow it does, I guess that's how Costa Rica works!!  We woke in our villa minus any critters which was a bonus.  Right before bed, we were on our balcony with a gecko jumping around on our patio table.  I was certain he would somehow wind up on my face in the morning but thankfully, he didn't:)  I did have one small catastrophe which included the air conditioning unit splashing cold water onto my face and pillow in the middle of the night.  I had no idea what happened but once I figured it out everything was fine.  We enjoyed our morning coffee on our balcony with the company of a couple of different sloths.  We spotted the one with the baby as well as another one in a tree directly in front of us.  We felt pretty good about spotting a little bit of nature, but it got much better.  As we walked down to the beach to catch breakfast, we saw howler monkeys swinging with ease from the trees.  They stopped to pose for us and we got some great pics!  We ate breakfast as the waves roared up onto the beach.  Jason just couldn't wait to jump into the ocean!!  We put on some sunscreen, I grabbed a chair, and Jason grabbed a boogie board.  The waves were much bigger than I thought!  Jason finally convinced me to get into the ocean where I got pummeled by waves and somehow after sommersaulting in the sand ended up beached:)  I'm pretty sure that the other guests got a pretty good laugh out of this, which is all that matters because I saw some equally, if not worse, incidents:)  The hotel has a very private beach and it was so nice!!  They provide boogie boards, sea kayaks and life jackets that I chose to wear after I got smacked into the sand:)  We took a sea kayak out around a point where we could see the mountainous areas from the water.  It was absolutely breathtaking!!  After I noticed Jason's sunburn, we headed back up to our villa after taking a quick dip in a cold pool.  It is super hot here and I definitely can't complain.  On our way up I spotted an iguana and quickly made my way past....but after we got back to our villa, we looked up in the trees and saw a giant iguana that absolutely dwarfed the one that we had originally seen.  We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the sloths lazily climb and eat leaves.  We are heading out to a local soda to catch some dinner.  We have a super early morning fishing expedition to rest up for.  I'm sure tomorrow will be crazier than today.  I love it here...I think I might just buy a condo:)

Day 4

Today Jason and I woke up super excited for the next leg of our journey.  We said a final goodbye to the Arenal Volcano and our awesome breakfast buffet and met our next driver, Adrian, at the front desk.  We hopped into our private van and set off for Manuel Antonio, a national park on the Pacific coast.  Adrian came fully prepared with cerveza, coca cola and snacks:)  The first few hours of our journey consisted of curvy, rural mountain roads.  We were able to make a stop in San Ramon, where we saw an amazing church as well as a city park and tons of multi-colored homes.  We also made a quick stop on a famous bridge on the way into Quespos where huge crocodiles lounge in the sun!!  It was truly an amazing sight.  We arrived at the Buena Vista Villas around 4:30pm and were once again amazed by the kindness of the people here.  They were so welcoming and we were soon in our villa in the treetops overlooking the Pacific ocean.  Our shuttle driver mentioned that just prior to our arrival a sloth carrying a baby sloth was just above the main building.  We quickly grabbed the camera and headed down to the beach to see our first sunset.  The path down to the beach was actually more rugged than we were prepared for.  The rainforest is thick and for a minute I was a little nervous.  We got down to the beach just in time to order margaritas and watch a gorgeous sunset.  As we watched the sun go down, crabs, bats and small lizards surrounded us:)  We grabbed the last shuttle back up to our villa where we plan to stay and order in tonight.  I thought our first stop was beautiful, but I have honestly never seen a more beautiful private beach or sunset in my life!  We are happy to be spending the next five nights here!!! 

Day 3

This morning we woke up to POURING rain!!  The cloud cover was extremely low and we couldn’t see any of the volcano.   Apparently in the Arenal area of Costa Rica it is still the rainy season.   We didn’t care about the rain at all….we threw on our rain gear and off to breakfast we went.    The hotel restaurant is a little bit of a hike from our villa.  Breakfast was fantastic…fresh papaya, pineapple, eggs made to order and as always, fresh mango juice.  After breakfast we got geared up and were picked up by a bus that took us to our next destination….the Rio Balsa.  The Rio Balsa is a large river in Costa Rica near San Isidro….this is where our rafting adventure began.  We were split up into groups and quickly taught the ins and outs of Costa Rican rafting.  We also signed a crazy waiver that said the company is not responsible for “crocodiles, snakes, insects, landslides, falling trees”…pretty much everything that can kill you!  Our guide, Carlos, was amazing and knew every twist and turn to the river.  The beginning was wild and I wasn’t sure if we were all going to stay in the raft.  Jason was up front and swallowed about a gallon of river water…it’s a good thing we got our shots before we leftJ  Halfway down the river we stopped on the shore and the guides cut up fresh fruit for us to eat and we all got rehydrated and ready to roll.  We were drenched by the end of the tour, but I guess that means it was a good trip!!  On the way back to La Fortuna we stopped at a tiny restaurant (a “soda”) to have some lunch.  The lunch was rice and beans, fresh pico de gallo, yuka (a lot like potatoes), fresh vegetables and chicken.  We lounged around the restaurant and had a few beers..the Costa Rican way of life is very mellow and slow…pura vida is their motto.  Pura vida literally means "pure life" but for them it's a way of living.  It means to live simply and be happy...I feel like that's a pretty good motto:)  After lunch we jumped back on the bus and headed back to La Fortuna.  We grabbed a great latte at a local soda and did some shopping.  We caught the last shuttle back to Mountain Paradise Hotel and are getting ready to hop in the pool for a late night swim.  Tomorrow we are off to the Pacific coast bright and early.  We are so excited to see what the next few days have in store for us!

Day 2

Today we awoke from an amazing night of rest at around 9am...we opened our patio door to see beautiful blue hummingbirds buzzing past the flowers in our courtyard.  We skipped breakfast at the hotel and took the shuttle into La Fortuna..a town about 7km away.  Here we had an amazing brunch...perfect for vegetarians (beans, rice, avacados, and cooked veggies) and for others...a perfectly grilled cheeseburger:)  After lunch we walked around the town where we managed to catch a perfect few of the Arenal volcano without many clouds.  We also saw multi-colored homes, a beautiful church and a number of stray dogs that I am secretly wishing that I could take home.  We returned back to our hotel and changed around 2:00pm and took off for a hike around the volcano.  We were impressed to see an anteater, a monkey and many different types of vegetation.  Our guide was extremely kind and knowledgable as are all of the people that we have met so far.  The hike was just enough of a workout to make us hungry for dinner.  We headed into La Fortuna and had an excellent Mexican dinner and margaritas.  We are so impressed with the people and the culture!!!  We returned to our hotel and will spend the rest of the night by our hotel pool.  (no mosquitos, 1 snake...we're okay so far:)