Day 8 - The Fun Boat

A bit sad this morning at the bakery La Panaderia de Paris when she said, "hasta mañana" and I had to say no. 

Craig and Reene livened up our adventure today!  We kayaked into the estuary of the Rio Matapalo.  Our guide, Minor (nicknamed Tarzan) took grandma and Kate in his kayak. It didn't take Kate long to decide she wanted out of his kayak because he was dripping a little water on her. So she joins Craig and Reene. No sooner than Craig tells her that her job is to keep the camera dry - and next thing  we know, they roll the sea kayak over!  Kate is screaming for her life - afraid she is now crocodile bait. I'm not sure why?  It's not like we saw any, and hopefully they aren't so dumb to choose her over Craig!  I scooped her out just in case.  After Craig and Reene surfaced from under the kayak, Reene can't stop laughing!  Amazingly we recovered everything that fell out, including the camera Kate was assigned to...dry no thanks to Kate but to Ziplock!

I wish I could say our adventure was full of wildlife. We saw lots and lots of crabs, and some very rare pink el bag-o "birds" in the trees.  We even got out of the kayaks to walk to the monkeys, and saw ... More crabs!  I am sure Craig is convinced that Costa Rica's wild life has flown the coup!  The resort monkeys didn't visit him, and his room was too soundproof to hear the howler monkeys. 

We checked out of the condo and moved to another beach an hour's drive north - Playa Hermosa. The hotel is much smaller, simpler and very nice. We are spending the next  3 nights at Hotel Bosque del Mar; it has a tree house feel to it, as huge trees weave through the property and balconies. 

With our move came the arrival of Glenn and his family - we are all here now and ready for our adventure to begin!

Iguana coming down the tree to say hi to Greg. 

Day 7 - Last Day in Tamarindo

Just pictures today.

Day 6 - Surf's Up

Tamarindo is a surfing mecca. Jeremy wanted us all to surf together so today Chris and I took lessons with Greg and Jeremy next to us on their boards and Kate on a boogie board. It's a shame Greg didn't capture a pix of my grace and style...not! If only I were a natural, like Chris and Jeremy. At one point I ran smack into Greg. I was sure my board knocked him out but apparently it only hit his board, whew! I told Jeremy I was going to be pretty sore tomorrow and he asked, "why, for doing a bunch of nothing?" I didn't know surfing required so much agility - and I didn't realize how much agility I lack. That was hard work for my old body!

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the board rentals, but best of all was the arrival of grandma, Uncle Craig and Aunt Renee!

Day 5 - Just Another Day

Nothing to report today, just more of the usual: run, walk, relax, swim, read, eat, drink, sunset.  This morning at low tide Kate, Greg and I combed the beach for shells - it's like looking for treasure! In addition to finding several great shells, Kate found a perfect sand dollar and asked if it was worth anything... I remember thinking that as a kid too!

We walked around the hostel part of town looking for (cheaper) surfing lessons. (What we found was the same price as the guys hanging out at the beach in front of the hotel.). Do not come to Tamarindo on vacation during the wet season and stay in a hostel!  These were up a hot, dusty road far from the beach. And the ones with A/C only allowed you to use it at night.  Tamarindo would be unbearable without A/C! 

Last night we tried to watch one of the movies from the condo. Jeremy was excited at the selection and couldn't narrow it down. We popped it in and were confounded by what played on the screen... a video recording of a movie screen. Wait, it gets better. The videographer has skills!  He got the seat in from of him but not the heads of the actors!  Our guide in Peru tried to describe this to us but it was lost in translation - until we saw it firsthand. Classic!!

Day 4 - On Top of the World

Maybe today I fell in love with Costa Rica. There I was walking down their rinky dink street at 6:30 this morning on my way to the bakery, and it occurred to me: I like this place!

Our adventure today was an ATV tour to the "top of the world". It was amazing! It was absolutely beautiful - so lush and green and pretty - and a thrill at the same time! Kate said it was "like a dream" because she was really excited to do it, and butterflies flew around us! Chris got a kick out of his ATV's warning label: no drivers under 16, don't drive on public roads, and don't have passengers. We broke all 3 rules! The guys were a tad disappointed that they didn't get to take off on the beach (like we did in Mexico) because the beaches are protected here. We rode all the way up to overlook the coast for miles, and then returned by way of 5 beaches. Playa Danta was the best. It had "toys" to play on - rope swing, regular swing, a tightrope and hammocks.

Halfway through the ride we stopped to see some monkeys in a large cage (similar to a cage at the Folsom Zoo). They were so cute! This one came down to the bottom of the cage and stuck its arm out a small hole. It wanted food - grass. It held our finger; its fingers were so soft and its grip was delicate - kinda like holding a newborn's hand.

After the ride, Greg and I laughed as we watched our right thumbs...either from tired gas trigger fingers or old age, or both, they were twitching on their own accord!

Just as soon as we got back, Greg's statement, "I'm disappointed it hasn't rained yet" was just as effective as a rain dance. It rained for about 30 minutes and then called it quits for the day.

I have beautiful pix of today on my camera but unfortunately can only attach the bad pix my phone took through the waterproof case.

Day 3 - a "Less Developed" Country

Listening to the howler monkeys... They are so loud! We can't see them so Kate is wondering if they can kill us. (They sound like a very large ape.) I know we'll see one soon and she will laugh when she realizes they are closer in size to a cat.

Today we had to tell the kids to take a "vacation" from fighting. We will see how long that lasts.

I am trying to figure out a way to describe Costa Rica (at least what I've seen so far from my sun chair on the beach - the real sampling starts when our tour begins). Maybe a cross between Hawaii and Mexico, with a dose of butterflies and wild life. Hawaii prices, Mexico friendliness, super laid back. Hotter than Hawaii (perfect at 100 humid degrees - I only catch a chill when I am wet). Obviously rainy (they invest more money in the drainage than the streets). Beautiful sunsets. Warm ocean. What is unique is the town/street, and even though I saw a video before I came, it still wasn't what I imagined. The town has the 3rd world "less developed" feel - in a desirable way . It has one main, narrow, paved street with a regular flow of vehicles. The rest of the few roads are not paved and appear to go nowhere. No sidewalks; you either risk walking on the road or you walk in the dirt, gutter, bushes, etc. (After I saw the snake, the middle of the road was most comforting.) Everything is hard to find - with no street signs or addresses - just a description of where- abouts. No such thing as dogs on leashes (I am beginning to think the US invented leashes, and how odd they must appear to foreigners). Many restaurants don't lock because they don't have walls. The grocery store is hotter than the outside, so chocolate bars are for sipping, not chewing.

Our highlight today was all swimming and body surfing together in the ocean during sunset. It's a big deal because even though dad was a swimmer, no one else inherited it, and I practically detest it. But tonight, it was heaven!

For dinner we had our first taste of typical Costa Rican food: stewed meat, rice, beans, fried egg, plantain, and some sort of sweet vegetables. Thumbs up!

Today was definitely ... vacation!

Day 2 - Hotel Diria, Tamarindo

Today our lives have changed forever. We can now say we have seen an iguana poop, and I can even say I stepped in it. Just another precaution for Kate to add to her Costa Rica list: 1) don't get into bed without making sure there's not already a cockroach sleeping in it 2) don't go under a tree without looking for up for an iguana.

And the sound of the sea lions? Yup - monkeys. Next we have to figure out what sounds like a goat because we're pretty sure the resort doesn't have a farm! So the irony is that this morning, as soon as the sun came up, I went running down the beach and through the trees looking for wild life. It wasn't until I got back to our resort that we actually saw it all!

Some simple facts about Costa Rica:
- They accept the US dollar. Super convenient.
- They are on central time except during daylight savings - now they are on mountain time.
- They speak Spanish. It's a good thing we have Jeremy to translate for us (headed into Spanish 3) just in case we can't read the English translation right next to the Spanish sign.

Other than laying around at the beach/pool, our day's adventure was a very long walk on the beach. We were headed to a beautiful beach named Playa Avellanas. The tide was so low I thought we would have success but by the time everyone was ready, our timing was wrong. The tide came in with a vengeance so we couldn't get across the estuary. Maybe another day.

Our evening ended with meanie dad sending our condo resident to cockroach heaven. He claims he "accidently" chopped his head off. Hoping there's not a cockroach rebellion!

Arriving in Tamarindo, Costa Rica

 

Our trip started out with dad's rendition of On the Road Again (we had to drive to SFO), and horseplay in the backseat.  Other than the singing, our journey was flawless. Flights were on time, no luggage lost, everyone was nice and helpful, and our driver met us as planned!  Despite all this I think it was our hardest travel day ever.  Trading in a good night of sleep in exchange for a drive to San Fran, waiting til midnight to catch our flight to Texas, a layover, and finally arriving in Costa Rica was exhausting.  We seemed awake enough to eat lunch, but could barely move in the heat ("real feel" 100 degrees) and then we all passed out for the afternoon. As if it isn't bad enough that we never stepped foot on the beach - and we are staying at a beach front resort - the worst of all was breaking my #1 rule - to watch the sunset every night.  Luckily we are staying on the top floor so we saw most of it, but we weren't on the beach with foofoo drink in hand. 

We got lucky with our condo. Everyone gets their own room and bathroom - except Greg and I but that's ok because our bedroom is almost the size of the entire upstairs. And the view from the 3 balconies is priceless!  While we went to the grocery store, the kids found the pool which I think I read is the biggest in the country; it will be fun to try out the swim up bar. 

I saw more than enough critters already. On our walk I had to jump up 3 feet to avoid the 3-foot snake. Lovely. Hoping that was the first and last, and extremely glad I had a flashlight so it wasn't wrapped around my leg. (Oh, maybe that is why Tauck said to bring a flashlight!!). The other critter is the hamster- size cockroach sharing our kitchen.  I hope we still have food left in the morning. 

Time to call it a night!

Getting Ready to Go!

We are jumping on the Hecox bandwagon and heading to Costa Rica for our summer vacation!  Our 1st week will be spent on the beach in Tamarindo (Pacific Coast).  The 2nd week we, together with mom, Craig and Reene, and Glenn’s family, are traveling with mom's favorite, prestigious Tauck touring company across the northern part of the country: Pacific Coast - Arenal volcano - Caribbean Coast.

 

Preparing for the trip has been one of the easiest vacations yet...I guess that is what happens when you go with a tour company plus relax on a beach.  We had to renew the dang kids' passports, only good for 5 years - which we originally got unnecessarily (U.S. postponed implementing the new law) for a cruise (the last Hecox adventure) but have managed to use a few times since then. This time we waited until Jeremy turned 16 so at least his could be good for 10 years!

 

Not having been to Costa Rica, I am likening it to Hawaii - except with lots of critters (crocodiles, snakes, bugs) and lots of rain (it's the very rainy season)!  Jeremy thinks it is pretty "cool" we are going, "just because".  Chris thinks it's cool too - either because that is the only <clean> word teenager know, or he heard Jeremy; he is excited about the activities we get to do while we are there.  Kate, our adventurer who loves to be with us and do everything, is “really really excited!”   I am interested to see how this all plays out!  

 

We are leaving in just a few days on Friday June 21.  Yay it is almost here!  I will spend my free time obsessing about what to bring (because I hate bringing anything yet I hate having nothing), quarantining clean clothes from my kids, the obligatory process of being present during Greg's (my idea of "last minute") packing process, and a few other unimportant tidbits.  

 

I am getting very ready to experience "pura vida"!