http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU_0CFdAgZU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hSm-zbilKA
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
33
Our last day of vacation dawned bright and clear. We had a delicious breakfast at our lodge of gallo pinto (ricea and beans), eggs, cheese, fruit, toast and tortillas.
Thus fortified, we headed for the Arenal National Park. We hiked a few miles in, and ended up on lava fields left by the 1992 eruption of the volcano. Samuel made it as far as you are allowed to go.
We saw lizards and birds, very tall bamboo and beautiful flowers on the way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eb69OWaJ9E video of the cicadas and tall trees:
There were three loud rumbles signifying mini eruptions while we hiked! They made up for not seeing any lava at night, due to the cloudy skies.
Next we drove to the hot springs that flow from the volcano. We joined lots of Costa Ricans in swimming in the hot pools. Samuel and Sarah had a ball riding the swift current of water through a chute under a bridge where an abandoned hot springs resort was.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcBsQmjpgw0
We returned to the lodge and found an even more elaborate towel sculpture awaiting us.
The kids had a last swim in the pool.
We had dinner at the lodge steakhouse.
Sarah had a big steak,
and we relaxed on our last evening in Costa Rica. The pool is lit up very pretty at night.
Tomorrow it is time to return home. See you all soon!
Your last chamce to comment:
Thus fortified, we headed for the Arenal National Park. We hiked a few miles in, and ended up on lava fields left by the 1992 eruption of the volcano. Samuel made it as far as you are allowed to go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eb69OWaJ9E video of the cicadas and tall trees:
There were three loud rumbles signifying mini eruptions while we hiked! They made up for not seeing any lava at night, due to the cloudy skies.
Next we drove to the hot springs that flow from the volcano. We joined lots of Costa Ricans in swimming in the hot pools. Samuel and Sarah had a ball riding the swift current of water through a chute under a bridge where an abandoned hot springs resort was.
We returned to the lodge and found an even more elaborate towel sculpture awaiting us.
The kids had a last swim in the pool.
We had dinner at the lodge steakhouse.
Your last chamce to comment:
Sunday, August 1, 2010
32
As I write, there is a large and active volcano outside our wall of windows. It has rumbled and spouted steam/smoke a few times today. We are hoping to see some lava flows on it tonight.
We began the day under cloudy skies, with only the lower third of the volcano visible below the clouds. We enjoyed breakfast in the hotel restaurant with panoramic views of the lake and the volcano.
Sarah really wanted to swim in the infinity pool, and since she hadn’t been in the water since Wednesday we let the kids play for an hour there. Sarah actually picked this hotel when we were planning our trip, and she had been looking forward to the pool for months. The hot tub/cold pool was a big hit.
We got dressed and drove to a place called Hanging Bridges. There are 8 of them suspended over beautiful mountain scenery and offering great views. We had fun walking across gorges and riverbeds and climbing through tunnels. There was the requisite giant spider.
We finished there and went to lunch in Fortuna. The clouds began to lift and we got our first view of the full volcano.
A short time later, a boom and a puff of smoke let us know a small eruption had occurred.
The view remained clear as we returned to our hotel. There we found towel sculptures the maid had left us.
We all went swimming and enjoyed a drink at the “wet bar” with the volcano in the background.
Amy found a lot of unusual and beautiful flowers during a walk around the grounds.
For dinner we drove to a place we had heard of called Pizza Johns. A hippie from California has a little restaurant in a village of 60 people at the end of our horrible dirt road. He makes pizza and homemade ice cream, and thrives on talking to all the odd assortments of people who arrive there. He was fascinating, but the kids mostly liked writing their names on the walls.
His pizza oven was carted there from Fortuna over 10 miles of bad road. The food was very good and a welcome respite from rice and bean fare.
Tomorrow will be our last full vacation day so we have lots of plans. Hot springs, butterfly garden, hiking on lava fields, and a big steakhouse dinner are all on the schedule. Details tomorrow!
You have 2 more chances to COMMENT.
We began the day under cloudy skies, with only the lower third of the volcano visible below the clouds. We enjoyed breakfast in the hotel restaurant with panoramic views of the lake and the volcano.
Sarah really wanted to swim in the infinity pool, and since she hadn’t been in the water since Wednesday we let the kids play for an hour there. Sarah actually picked this hotel when we were planning our trip, and she had been looking forward to the pool for months. The hot tub/cold pool was a big hit.
We got dressed and drove to a place called Hanging Bridges. There are 8 of them suspended over beautiful mountain scenery and offering great views. We had fun walking across gorges and riverbeds and climbing through tunnels. There was the requisite giant spider.
We finished there and went to lunch in Fortuna. The clouds began to lift and we got our first view of the full volcano.
A short time later, a boom and a puff of smoke let us know a small eruption had occurred.
Amy found a lot of unusual and beautiful flowers during a walk around the grounds.
For dinner we drove to a place we had heard of called Pizza Johns. A hippie from California has a little restaurant in a village of 60 people at the end of our horrible dirt road. He makes pizza and homemade ice cream, and thrives on talking to all the odd assortments of people who arrive there. He was fascinating, but the kids mostly liked writing their names on the walls.
His pizza oven was carted there from Fortuna over 10 miles of bad road. The food was very good and a welcome respite from rice and bean fare.
Tomorrow will be our last full vacation day so we have lots of plans. Hot springs, butterfly garden, hiking on lava fields, and a big steakhouse dinner are all on the schedule. Details tomorrow!
You have 2 more chances to COMMENT.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
31
We broke camp at Miramar at 8:30. Saying goodbye was made a little easier by the weather. Yesterday we had gloriously clear and sunny weather, and no rain at all. It was a great way to spend our last day, and we thoroughly enjoyed the house and view. Today, however, was overcast and gray, so packing and leaving weren’t quite so hard. Sarah posed by the pool one last time.
Samuel has an increasingly good eye for wildlife, and spotted a praying mantis on the light by our gate.
We got on the road and made good time all the way to Jaco where we stopped for brunch. We went to a local landmark, the Taco Bar, where they have seats that are swings. Sarah had a citrus iced tea (tangy!) and Samuel tried to figure out if he was a mujer or an hombre.
We pushed on, passing a bridge over the river Tarcoles, where crocodiles lounge in the mud.
This guy is about 9 feet long. That’s a butterfly on his back. Nobody wanted a swim break, for some reason.
Then we crossed some very rural and mountainous terrain on our way to the Arenal Volcano area. This house in San Ramon has its own nativity scene on the 3rd floor (zoom in).
These mountain people were having a celebration with mariachi music and cowboys on horseback drinking beer.
Finally we got to Fortuna, which is the service town for the volcano and National Park. We ate at the Lava Lounge. Sarah’s rice came shaped like a volcano!
We are now ensconced at the Linda Vista del Norte hotel (after a 5 mile ride on a bad dirt road).
http://www.hotellindavista.com/
More news and some videos tomorrow on what we get up to.
Samuel has an increasingly good eye for wildlife, and spotted a praying mantis on the light by our gate.
We got on the road and made good time all the way to Jaco where we stopped for brunch. We went to a local landmark, the Taco Bar, where they have seats that are swings. Sarah had a citrus iced tea (tangy!) and Samuel tried to figure out if he was a mujer or an hombre.
We pushed on, passing a bridge over the river Tarcoles, where crocodiles lounge in the mud.
This guy is about 9 feet long. That’s a butterfly on his back. Nobody wanted a swim break, for some reason.
Then we crossed some very rural and mountainous terrain on our way to the Arenal Volcano area. This house in San Ramon has its own nativity scene on the 3rd floor (zoom in).
These mountain people were having a celebration with mariachi music and cowboys on horseback drinking beer.
Finally we got to Fortuna, which is the service town for the volcano and National Park. We ate at the Lava Lounge. Sarah’s rice came shaped like a volcano!
We are now ensconced at the Linda Vista del Norte hotel (after a 5 mile ride on a bad dirt road).
http://www.hotellindavista.com/
More news and some videos tomorrow on what we get up to.
Friday, July 30, 2010
30
Our final day in Uvita was a sad one. We had a lot to take care of this morning. We found Donne at the Soccer complex, and he and the kids played a while. We gave him our excess paper and markers, and they were a big hit. Some of the other local kids showed up, and they all drew pictures and colored together.
We also dropped off some clothes for the church mission that we didn’t want to bring back with us, to make room for things we bought here. I also left my guitar for the church, in hopes they can find an interested local person to learn to play it.
Samuel got a Costa Rican haircut.
When it was time for us to say goodbye to Donne. we got him an ice cream cone. Amy gave him a hug and a big bag of goodies to make the farewell easier. He got a Spiderman bookbag, Spiderman boxing gloves, lots of American clothes (highly prized here) and some Iron Man boots, among other things. He will be the best outfitted young man in Uvita for some time. It’s very odd to say goodbye to someone you have gotten to know, when it is unlikely you will ever see them again.
We drove up the mountain and ate our last meal at Miramar, then packed our suitcases. We took some pictures of ourselves around the pool. You may see them on Christmas cards this year.
We have really enjoyed being here. Again, it is odd leaving a place you have lived in for a month, knowing you will probably never see it again.
We headed down the mountain around 4 and stopped by the Uvita Information Center one last time. Sonia is away in San Isidro but her very capable assistant Marcella helped us with driving directions for tomorrow and the purchase of our final international calling card. These ladies have been extremely helpful to us, and we can recommend them highly to anyone who comes this way.
We drove to Dominical and watched the surfers in the late afternoon light. Amy spotted som flowers she had never seen before. She thinks they are related to poinsettias.
We had planned to go to a sushi restaurant at 5, but they were not going to open until 6. We walked to a church festival and listened to the music for a while, but when we returned, the sushi place was still not open.
We wandered .around and found a great place with a sweet view of the beach at twilight.
I am enjoying a rain-free evening, with our pool and palm tree lit up one more time..
Tomorrow we travel to the Arenal Volcano area. We hope to arrive mid-afternoon, so I will update you on our trip, accommodations, and the state of the volcano and lava tomorrow evening.
Hasta!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
29
Our time here has been remarkably free of injury, mishap, or complications. Considering the new activities, situations, and environments we have been in, we have been blessed with good health, no accidents, and general well-being.
Samuel had a slight mishap on Tuesday. He was walking on a slippery walkway near the beach after our marine tour when he managed to bump into a shelf in front of a restaurant and scrape his cheek under his eye. We were worried it would bruise and cause a black eye, but he was lucky and just has a little pink abrasion to show for it. It’s hard to distinguish from the chocolate ice cream smears.
Sarah on the other hand, developed a minor skin rash our first week here. She had a little itchy irritation on her legs that we thought was probably from mites in a hammock she liked to swing in. We quit the hammock but the irritation continued. In recent days it spread and got worse. We went to a farmacia for help, and got some ointments and an antihistamine, but after two days there was no improvement.
So today we went to a clinic and saw a doctor. He thinks she is coming in contact with a plant of some sort, and that the sun, pool water, and sea water are intensifying the irritation. He gave us 2 more ointments and another antihistamine to add to our arsenal.
The worst part (other than a steroid shot in the butt) for Sarah is no sun, no pool, and no beach until it improves. With only 2 days left here, she was looking forward to a last time or two swimming, but that is doubtful now.
To lift her spirits, we drove to Dominical and went out to lunch and rented some movies (in Spanish!) . When we return them tomorrow afternoon, we plan to get some sushi, and go to a festival the church and school there are having. It will be a busy day, as we have to pack, deliver donations, buy some supplies for Saturday’s drive, and stop by the Information Center for a few things too.
This morning as we drove to the main road, Amy spotted some beautiful orchids growing wild on somebody’s rusty gate. We see them all over here, because the climate is ideal for them.
Further down the road, a huge limb that had fallen in last night’s Pretty Big Storm blocked most of the road. We managed to sneak the mighty Terios around it.
During lunch in Dominical , this lady got out of a bus. She is wearing a traditional Costa Rican dress, the first we have seen here.
Sarah posed by an indigenous sculpture, and Samuel admired some artwork.
When we got home, Samuel spotted this varmint eating bananas from the tree outside one of our bathroom windows. It’s a relative of the raccoon, but it has a long straight tail. He came back three times and ate half a dozen overripe bananas. I also took some video I’ll try to post tomorrow.
I also spotted two toucans (twocans?) sitting together pretty close to the house. All month they have kept their distance (maybe due to the kids squealing when they are in the pool) but now they come quite close. These two appear to be a couple.
Tonight as the sun went down (or as night fell, to be more exact- its been very rainy in the late afternoon) I brought Sarah outside and explained to her that it would probably be the last time we watched it get dark over the ocean from our patio (since we will be in Dominical tomorrow night). We talked about all the things we had done and seen, and how we would always remember our time here. She was very thoughtful and spent a few minutes on her own, enjoying the last rays of light. Later she said she might like to have her wedding or honeymoon here. Despite her skin trouble, I think she has really enjoyed being here, and has learned and grown a lot.
Speaking of growing a lot, Samuel weighed himself while we were waiting for Sarah today, and he weighs 58 pounds!! That’s a lot of rice and beans!
Comment!
Samuel had a slight mishap on Tuesday. He was walking on a slippery walkway near the beach after our marine tour when he managed to bump into a shelf in front of a restaurant and scrape his cheek under his eye. We were worried it would bruise and cause a black eye, but he was lucky and just has a little pink abrasion to show for it. It’s hard to distinguish from the chocolate ice cream smears.
Sarah on the other hand, developed a minor skin rash our first week here. She had a little itchy irritation on her legs that we thought was probably from mites in a hammock she liked to swing in. We quit the hammock but the irritation continued. In recent days it spread and got worse. We went to a farmacia for help, and got some ointments and an antihistamine, but after two days there was no improvement.
So today we went to a clinic and saw a doctor. He thinks she is coming in contact with a plant of some sort, and that the sun, pool water, and sea water are intensifying the irritation. He gave us 2 more ointments and another antihistamine to add to our arsenal.
The worst part (other than a steroid shot in the butt) for Sarah is no sun, no pool, and no beach until it improves. With only 2 days left here, she was looking forward to a last time or two swimming, but that is doubtful now.
To lift her spirits, we drove to Dominical and went out to lunch and rented some movies (in Spanish!) . When we return them tomorrow afternoon, we plan to get some sushi, and go to a festival the church and school there are having. It will be a busy day, as we have to pack, deliver donations, buy some supplies for Saturday’s drive, and stop by the Information Center for a few things too.
This morning as we drove to the main road, Amy spotted some beautiful orchids growing wild on somebody’s rusty gate. We see them all over here, because the climate is ideal for them.
Further down the road, a huge limb that had fallen in last night’s Pretty Big Storm blocked most of the road. We managed to sneak the mighty Terios around it.
During lunch in Dominical , this lady got out of a bus. She is wearing a traditional Costa Rican dress, the first we have seen here.
Sarah posed by an indigenous sculpture, and Samuel admired some artwork.
When we got home, Samuel spotted this varmint eating bananas from the tree outside one of our bathroom windows. It’s a relative of the raccoon, but it has a long straight tail. He came back three times and ate half a dozen overripe bananas. I also took some video I’ll try to post tomorrow.
I also spotted two toucans (twocans?) sitting together pretty close to the house. All month they have kept their distance (maybe due to the kids squealing when they are in the pool) but now they come quite close. These two appear to be a couple.
Tonight as the sun went down (or as night fell, to be more exact- its been very rainy in the late afternoon) I brought Sarah outside and explained to her that it would probably be the last time we watched it get dark over the ocean from our patio (since we will be in Dominical tomorrow night). We talked about all the things we had done and seen, and how we would always remember our time here. She was very thoughtful and spent a few minutes on her own, enjoying the last rays of light. Later she said she might like to have her wedding or honeymoon here. Despite her skin trouble, I think she has really enjoyed being here, and has learned and grown a lot.
Speaking of growing a lot, Samuel weighed himself while we were waiting for Sarah today, and he weighs 58 pounds!! That’s a lot of rice and beans!
Comment!
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