We've been so blessed to have the opportunity to go to Costa Ricca for ten days. I have to say that it was the most amazing experience of my life. Think non-commercialized Hawaii meets rain forest filled with exotic animals and birds. We saw eighteen foot crocodiles, monkeys, sloths, turtles, viper snakes, large iguanas, huge Beatles, spiders, dolphins, toucans, King fisher birds, crabs, jelly fish, raccoons, flying fish, geckos and lizards. It's a beautiful country and is also really clean. The people are friendly and kind. The country really capitalizes on the tourism industry, so tourist feel quite welcome. The weather was perfect the week we were there. I'd recommend going during North America's winter because that is when Central America has it's dry season. I've heard that during their wet season it rains everyday. This was a trip filled with beauty, adventure, and romance. Truly awesome!
The first day we flew into SanJose and stayed the night in a hotel near the airport. Then we packed up early the next morning and drove on a bus for five hours to a city called LaFortuna, which has a volcano in an area called Arenal. The first day in the town we did a zip line excursion which was one of the highlights of the trip. It was so thrilling and the views were breathtaking. Then we ate a local restaurant and had the best fajita I've ever tasted in my life. It was the best meal of the trip! Last we checked into the hotel, and soaked in the hot tub.
The next day we did a hike up to a beautiful waterfall and swam in the river. After enjoying a cold swim we hiked back out and headed into town for lunch and some souvenir shopping. The shopping in Costa Ricca isn't cheap. I was actually surprised to find that the cost of living in Costa Rica is as high as the states, if not higher. The real estate their is quite pricey. Like wise the souvenirs weren't cheap. After the shopping we went and did another hike near the active volcano. It erupted three years ago, you can see the photo of it below, the white on top if the peak isn't snow it's steam from the volcano. We hiked up to a really beautiful view of the volcano on one side, and the forest and lake on the other.
After the hike is was off to the hot springs that are in Arenal. These pools are fed from a river that comes down from the volcano. The water is very warm, and was so amazing to soak in. This was one of Dan's favorite nights of the trip. There had to be at least a dozen or more little pools of hot water with small waterfalls, and surrounded by tropical plants, and trees. It was fun to walk around trying out each of the pools. It was probably the most romantic atmosphere I've ever been in. Most of the pools were just lit by tiki torches and the stars, incredible!
The next day we did a repelling excursion through a rainforest's. It was very cool, but I'd have to say that the zip line was really more of a thrill and more spectacular. Here is a photo of Dan and I together. They recommended to wear your swim suit because you get soaked from repelling down the waterfalls. I really wished I'd had just worn a t-shirt and sports bra, the majority of the time we were out of the water. It wasn't all that necessary to be in a full swim suit.
Then the repelling excursion provided lunch we changed and it was back on the bus for the longest drive of the entire trip. It was six hour drive to Dominical, which is on the pacific coast. We arrived late to the house that Dan's family rented. Each couple had a room, and we shared the kitchen and family room. The house also had pool.
The next day was Sunday and we decided to go to church at a branch about forty five minutes away. I wasn't overly excited to go since I don't speak Spanish, but afterwards I so glad that I went. The people there were so kind, and really nice. The spirit was very strong. Dan's brother Robbie speaks fluent Spanish and was kind enough to translate for us. It was very hot in the building because they didn't have any A/C, but the people still so faithfully come each week and sit for three hours in the heat. I was sweating by the time it was finished. One of the American sister missionaries told me that a few of the kids were talking about my hair color. I think bright red hair is really unusual in their country. Another really neat experience that came from attending church was our bus driver Ronald came. We rented a bus and had the same driver all week long taking us to were we needed to go. We spent alot of time on the bus and got to now him really well. He was a really kind person. So patient with the large group and always going the extra mile for us. Robbie invited him to church with us, and at first he declined. He was wearing shorts and I think that might have made him a little selfcounsious. He parked the bus and surprisingly he came in! He actually stayed for the full three hours, and said that he loved it! He was already familiar with our church because of some missionaries who had knocked on his door once. He also later told us that there was a LDS church right by his home. The last day of our trip Dan's mom offered him a Book of Mormon, and he said that he had been wanting to read one, and that he also had a desire to start attending the church by his home. It was truly so cool to have become friends with Ronald. We invited him to join us in our meals at the house and had some wonderful visits. Here is a picture of us with him on our last day.
Monday we did my favorite excursion which was a boat ride on the ocean. This part of the ocean is a marine refuge park. All of the marine life is protected in the park. We saw at least twenty dolphins swimming along our boat. I got a lot of great photo's. Then they took us to this awesome beach area, where we swam, and ate some fruit. It looked like one of the beaches from survivor. Picture a jungle with sand and beach. So gorgeous! Then we went and did some snorkeling. We saw a sting ray, and some fish.
On Tuesday we went to the Antonio Manuel National Park. It's a walk through a forested area with lots of animals. We saw sloths, monkeys, turtles, lizards, and bugs. There was also this gorgeous beach, really, really beautiful. We didn't swim but took some photo's. We ate lunch in a restaurant there, did some shopping, and then came back for dinner and relaxed and played games.
After going to the Anotnio Manuel Park we enjoyed a nice swim in the pool. The house had the most amazing view of the ocean. The pool was next to a steep drop off, so that is why you can see the ocean behind us in the photo.
The next day was a relaxing day. We went to the beach and Dan rented a boogie board. We shared it for a short while, but then I just laid out and did some shopping at some little souvenir booths on the beach while Dan kept boarding. I found a really sweet lady who was making jewelry. She couldn't speak English, but could see that I couldn't find any earrings to match the necklace I had picked out. She pulled out her supply of beads and stones and made me a pair right on the spot! The necklace is a turquoise stone shaped into a heart. It will always remind me of our romantic trip in Costa Ricca! I wore it on our last day, and you'll see it in a few photo's latter in the post.
Later that night Dan and I walked along the beach at sunset. It was gorgeous. This is probably the prettiest sunset I've ever seen. It was a little more pink than it shows in the photo. I'm so proud of this picture. It's probably my favorite photo of the entire trip! I don't know how anybody who sees the beach at sunset can question if there is a creator. I felt God's love so vividly. It was just gorgeous beyond words.
Thursday we packed up and said good bye to the house and staff. Here is a group photo Ronald took of us just as we were about to leave. I was having so much fun, but so excited to be getting home to the kids. I was missing them like crazy. I'm one who starts feeling home sick after being away from the kids for more than a few days.
On the way back to the airport we went and saw a crocodile tour.
This surprisingly became my favorite part of the trip. I'm not a huge crocodile fan, they are the creepiest animals I've ever seen. They feel prehistoric. It's like your starring at a ancestor of a dinosaur. I wasn't expecting this close of an encounter, and it was quite surreal and really extremely creepy. I felt like I was in some kind a strange movie watching fake crocodiles. They didn't seem like a real animal, so incredibly creepy. In the photos below you can see how close we were, we were in a small boat and they were right next to the boat. This Croc was almost as long as our boat.
This one they call Micheal Jackson because he has no nose. He was the first one we spotted on the tour. One second I was taking a photo of him thirty feet away from the boat. He goes under the water and disappears from sight. I thought to myself he's gone and swam away. A few seconds later he's popped up right next the boat and is starring at me. It was the scariest thing of my life. I never dreamed he could so silently swim so close to the boat. I wasn't expecting him to even come near us. He was so unafraid of the boat. He gave me this eery calculating look.
It was so creepy! This isn't a zoomed in photo, it's actually a little zoomed out, I was really this close to him. The tour guide said that these crocodile's stay in the same area's for years, and they see the boats everyday and think KFC sign. That's why he wasn't afraid of us.
This guy they call Osama Bin Ladin, because he hides so well. He was gigantic. So scary. The guy in the photo feeds all the crocs. They call him Loco as a nick name. I think it's well suited name for him.
Then after the amazing crocodile experience it was time to finish the long drive back to the hotel that's close to the airport. We had a very early flight the following morning, so we ate dinner in the hotel and went straight to bed. Our kids were so excited to see us when we got back, it had felt like we hadn't seen them in forever. It's nice to be home again. Costa Ricca is definitely my favorite vacation. Really was once in a a lifetime experience. Everything about the trip was amazing.
Out last Day in Costa Ricca!
Kirk got the Lord Of The Rings book series, the Hobbit, Helm's deep lego set, a beach towel, some baseball gear, and some clothes. Then the next day he had his friend's party. I don't know why every year I talk myself into doing another friends party. Last year I swore that I'd go to the every other year thing. I told myself I'd just do parties on the even birthdays. But alas I came up with the cutest party theme, and went for it. This year Kirk had a camping party. It was one of the more fun parties I've ever thrown. I borrowed a canvas from my friend and rigged it up like a tent in our living room. Then I had my husband set up a tent outside also. For the table decorations I just went to our local park and picked up pine cones, and pine needles that had dropped on the grass. I figured I was doing the city a service to help clean up the some of the dropped needles. Then I went to the fabric store and bought three yards of burlap fabric, cut it in half, and overlapped it on my table and used it as the table cloth. For plates I used old pie tins, When the kids arrived they played in the back yard until we were ready for the hike. We have a fun mountain trail behind our home. We took the boys on a walk up to the stream. 
