15 June 2011- Snorkeling Day
Hey guys,
So, I hope you've been able to check out the updates! I'm sorry if I've been confusing at all. And like I mentioned before, I'm going to try to do more concise posts from now on, because a.), I don't want to ramble on if hardly anyone is reading this, and b.), I want to enjoy what time we have left In Costa Rica.
Now for what happened today-
We woke fairly early and ate cereal again, then dressed in our swimsuits and donned white tee shirts over them. Then, in our new rental car (much smaller and with 5 seats and only 4 working seatbelts, as we later learned) we drove to Playa Hermosa and arrived around 9, our scheduled time, and met Adolfo, our guide. He spoke fair English, and had a small boat called the Sagitaria Par. We would highly recommend him to anyone who visits Playa Hermosa in the future. :) Shane wasn't a big fan of the snorkeling, but loved the boat ride out. The first place was pretty far out, and we saw tons of fish, along with jellyfish (which stung us!). Shane was wigging out because he didn't like the mask and was afraid of the deep water, so we quickly left for a different place. we went to Playa Penca, which was very small and remote, with white sand, tons o shells, and gorgeous fish. We wanted to just stay there, but we had to head back. :(
We played at the beach for a while, but then it started to rain, and we headed for home. We ate leftovers, then relaxed and swam in the pool until dinnertime. We dressed up because we were going to go to a nice restaurant- Ginger, a tapas place next to the hotel. Tapas style is where everything is very small appetizers and you get about 3-4 dishes. But each dish was 9-20 bucks! So, we left, and decided to try a nice restaurant next to a hotel, Hotel el Sueno (enyay over the n). The restaurant was amazing! It was in the middle of a beautiful garden with twinkling lights, and all the people were incredibly friendly. We even tried escargot! The kid's meals were gourmet as well, which was nice, and came with free ice cream! We had a wonderful time in a fancy restaurant, and it wasn't too expensive. Sadly, we were the only ones there. We hope they get more business soon!!!!!
Well, now we're relaxing, and Becca has swimmer's ear. We wanted to take a warm bath in our condo's jacuzzi tub, but the water pressure stinks. After 20 minutes, it still wasn't anywhere near full, so we started carting water from the sinks! And it wasn't even that warm...Also, be sure to check out the new pics for Hanging Bridges! Only one full day left here... :( Until tommorow,
~Beth
So, I hope you've been able to check out the updates! I'm sorry if I've been confusing at all. And like I mentioned before, I'm going to try to do more concise posts from now on, because a.), I don't want to ramble on if hardly anyone is reading this, and b.), I want to enjoy what time we have left In Costa Rica.
Now for what happened today-
We woke fairly early and ate cereal again, then dressed in our swimsuits and donned white tee shirts over them. Then, in our new rental car (much smaller and with 5 seats and only 4 working seatbelts, as we later learned) we drove to Playa Hermosa and arrived around 9, our scheduled time, and met Adolfo, our guide. He spoke fair English, and had a small boat called the Sagitaria Par. We would highly recommend him to anyone who visits Playa Hermosa in the future. :) Shane wasn't a big fan of the snorkeling, but loved the boat ride out. The first place was pretty far out, and we saw tons of fish, along with jellyfish (which stung us!). Shane was wigging out because he didn't like the mask and was afraid of the deep water, so we quickly left for a different place. we went to Playa Penca, which was very small and remote, with white sand, tons o shells, and gorgeous fish. We wanted to just stay there, but we had to head back. :(
We played at the beach for a while, but then it started to rain, and we headed for home. We ate leftovers, then relaxed and swam in the pool until dinnertime. We dressed up because we were going to go to a nice restaurant- Ginger, a tapas place next to the hotel. Tapas style is where everything is very small appetizers and you get about 3-4 dishes. But each dish was 9-20 bucks! So, we left, and decided to try a nice restaurant next to a hotel, Hotel el Sueno (enyay over the n). The restaurant was amazing! It was in the middle of a beautiful garden with twinkling lights, and all the people were incredibly friendly. We even tried escargot! The kid's meals were gourmet as well, which was nice, and came with free ice cream! We had a wonderful time in a fancy restaurant, and it wasn't too expensive. Sadly, we were the only ones there. We hope they get more business soon!!!!!
Well, now we're relaxing, and Becca has swimmer's ear. We wanted to take a warm bath in our condo's jacuzzi tub, but the water pressure stinks. After 20 minutes, it still wasn't anywhere near full, so we started carting water from the sinks! And it wasn't even that warm...Also, be sure to check out the new pics for Hanging Bridges! Only one full day left here... :( Until tommorow,
~Beth
15 June 2011- Updates!
Okay, i've finished the section on Venado Caves! I'll post for today tonight. Only two more nights in Costa Rica (sniff, sniff). Just a fun fact for the day- Costa Rica got it's name because gold was discovered here! It was a limited supply, and the explorers took it all, but that's why it's called "Rich Coast."
TTYL!
~Beth
TTYL!
~Beth
14 June 2011- Sorry!!!!
Okay guys, I am SO sorry! For some reason, the website program didn't publish/ post when I thought it did. So everything that I typed (I did a LOT of catch-up writing yesterday) didn't get saved! So, i'm going to have to redo it all. In the interest of time, I'm going to do more condensed posts from now on, just FYI. So, first, today- ( I recommend you read the updated posts up to today before)
We slept in, then woke up early to go to the beach before Vamos came to collect the rental car at 10 AM. Becca was still sick, so it was just Shane, my dad, and I. We got our amazing $5 kickboard/boogie boards, then hit the waves! It's about a 7 min. drive from here to the beach, and we were there early, so we had nearly the whole place to ourselves! We caught some fun waves, but mostly just swam and looked at fish in the perfectly clear water.
After a while, we headed back, showered, and ate breakfast. After a little relaxing, we decided to go do the Zipline Tour I've been dying to do! Becca was sick, my mom doesn't like heights, and though many 2 year olds have done it, we didn't want to pay and have Shane chicken out. So, it was just me and my dad. After a very pretty and fairly short drive to the tour place, we got our ticket and headed out! We wore lots of equipment and had tons of back up systems, and we flew very high up.
It's basically a tour where you do a combination of hanging bridges and ziplines to navigate the canopy. it was awesome! We were the only ones with our guides, and we saw a whole colony of howler monkeys right next to us, as well as some frogs. It wasn't so much educational but an adventure, like the caves, but better! I wished everyone else had done it. I am not that fond of heights, but had a blast and screamed alot! Also, the guides let us go upside down (Loops around your feet suspending you and NOTHING to hold onto) and fly Superman (a small loop on your tushie hanging you!). Those were some of the most terrifying moments of my life, but I knew I would regret it if I didn't. I'm so glad I did!!!!
Anyways, afterwards we grabbed some ice cream and headed for home. We relaxed, watched TV and ate hot dogs and mac and cheese for dinner. Shane went mini golfing for the third time since we were here, but we passed. Oh yeah, and they replaced the trampoline mat today!
Well, check out the updates...
~Beth
P.S. Most of the pics are too big to upload, Sorry! Also, my dates are off, so they're fixed now... I accidentally left out the day I was sick. :) Everyhting's been changed. Check out all posts as far back as the 10th, they've been changed. Sorry if I've confused anyone! I'll continued making up what I missed over the next few days, as well as talking about that day.
We slept in, then woke up early to go to the beach before Vamos came to collect the rental car at 10 AM. Becca was still sick, so it was just Shane, my dad, and I. We got our amazing $5 kickboard/boogie boards, then hit the waves! It's about a 7 min. drive from here to the beach, and we were there early, so we had nearly the whole place to ourselves! We caught some fun waves, but mostly just swam and looked at fish in the perfectly clear water.
After a while, we headed back, showered, and ate breakfast. After a little relaxing, we decided to go do the Zipline Tour I've been dying to do! Becca was sick, my mom doesn't like heights, and though many 2 year olds have done it, we didn't want to pay and have Shane chicken out. So, it was just me and my dad. After a very pretty and fairly short drive to the tour place, we got our ticket and headed out! We wore lots of equipment and had tons of back up systems, and we flew very high up.
It's basically a tour where you do a combination of hanging bridges and ziplines to navigate the canopy. it was awesome! We were the only ones with our guides, and we saw a whole colony of howler monkeys right next to us, as well as some frogs. It wasn't so much educational but an adventure, like the caves, but better! I wished everyone else had done it. I am not that fond of heights, but had a blast and screamed alot! Also, the guides let us go upside down (Loops around your feet suspending you and NOTHING to hold onto) and fly Superman (a small loop on your tushie hanging you!). Those were some of the most terrifying moments of my life, but I knew I would regret it if I didn't. I'm so glad I did!!!!
Anyways, afterwards we grabbed some ice cream and headed for home. We relaxed, watched TV and ate hot dogs and mac and cheese for dinner. Shane went mini golfing for the third time since we were here, but we passed. Oh yeah, and they replaced the trampoline mat today!
Well, check out the updates...
~Beth
P.S. Most of the pics are too big to upload, Sorry! Also, my dates are off, so they're fixed now... I accidentally left out the day I was sick. :) Everyhting's been changed. Check out all posts as far back as the 10th, they've been changed. Sorry if I've confused anyone! I'll continued making up what I missed over the next few days, as well as talking about that day.
13 June 2011- All better (and lots to tell!)
Hey everyone! So, I'm finally better after a nasty leave of absence. I was feeling awful and laid in bed and slept all day, drinking lots of Fresca (it's very popular down here, and Sprite, 7-Up, or anything like it is hard to find) and finally feeling well enough to eat dinner and get up that night. Now Becca's lying sick in bed, and Shane and I are very burnt (the worst this trip) and fairly miserable. Anyways, I'm just going to be editing old posts tonight (I'll tell what happened today tommorow).
Be sure to check out the post for the Hanging Bridges for pics, and the Venado post finished. Lastly, some of you might b wondering why nothing is osted under Photos on this site. Right now, it's hard enough to keep up the blog. :) But I will add ALL the pics after we get back.
Aloha till tommorow,
~Beth
UPDATE:
I will now tell what happened on the 13th. This is being written on the 14th...
Early in the morning after a breakfast of cereal (they have an amazing grocery store here!), we headed out for the beach here. I hadn't been since I was sick when everyone else went. It's very pretty, with nice sand, and calm surf that's still good for boogie boarding. There are several hotels and restaurants on the beach too. it's definitely more touristy than Playa Carillo, which was always empty, though very pretty. My mom tried for less touristy when planning. Now she says she's glad she did at least one place touristy! It's nice to speak english to people again...
Anyways, we like it. :) We went boogie boarding on these foam kickboards with no holes that cost my mom $5! They work great though, and we had a blast riding the waves. We stayed for about 3 hrs, then headed home for lunch. We had sandwiches, then relaxed, swam in the pool, and hung out. Later, we watched Toy Story 3 at the theatre on site. The entry fee came with a soda and refillable popcorn. It was $6. Talk about a good deal! Anyways, then we went on the play structure. It wasn't exactly standard US code, but well... It was really fun! But our parents wouldn't let us play after they examined it.
After that was a dinner of Spaghetti, then.... sleep.
Be sure to check out the post for the Hanging Bridges for pics, and the Venado post finished. Lastly, some of you might b wondering why nothing is osted under Photos on this site. Right now, it's hard enough to keep up the blog. :) But I will add ALL the pics after we get back.
Aloha till tommorow,
~Beth
UPDATE:
I will now tell what happened on the 13th. This is being written on the 14th...
Early in the morning after a breakfast of cereal (they have an amazing grocery store here!), we headed out for the beach here. I hadn't been since I was sick when everyone else went. It's very pretty, with nice sand, and calm surf that's still good for boogie boarding. There are several hotels and restaurants on the beach too. it's definitely more touristy than Playa Carillo, which was always empty, though very pretty. My mom tried for less touristy when planning. Now she says she's glad she did at least one place touristy! It's nice to speak english to people again...
Anyways, we like it. :) We went boogie boarding on these foam kickboards with no holes that cost my mom $5! They work great though, and we had a blast riding the waves. We stayed for about 3 hrs, then headed home for lunch. We had sandwiches, then relaxed, swam in the pool, and hung out. Later, we watched Toy Story 3 at the theatre on site. The entry fee came with a soda and refillable popcorn. It was $6. Talk about a good deal! Anyways, then we went on the play structure. It wasn't exactly standard US code, but well... It was really fun! But our parents wouldn't let us play after they examined it.
After that was a dinner of Spaghetti, then.... sleep.
11 June 2011- First day at Hermosa Heights
10 June 2011- Venado Caverns!
So, my mom forgot to tell me when she was done, so I wasn't able to post any pictures. But I'll post them tonight. :) Anyways, today was our last day at Arenal, as well as the day when we went to Cavernas de Venado! We woke up fairly early and ate a breakfast of Pancakes again, then headed back to the cabin to finish getting ready. We got dressed in grubbies (becca wore her tankini bathing suit top and shorts instead), then headed for the hills (literally)- Cavernas de Venado! It was a long, but relatively pretty drive through several villages and some countryside. We unfortunately saw lots of incredibly bony and skinny goats, cows, horses, and dogs, all roaming in the streets and along the roads, but unfortunately, you can see that everywhere in Costa Rica.
So, after a while, we finally got to the Cave site. it was relatively un-astonishing. It was a largish, brown building, next to no signage, and nearly empty except for a couple of Spanish speaking workers hanging around in the silence. We were all kind of wondering, Is this the right place???? But a man came up and asked "You here for tour?" and then we were slightly reassured. Soon we went to the bathroom, and were suiting up in hard hats and rubber boots and grabbing flashlights. We were introduced to our tour guide, Johnny, who spoke very little English, then our photographer, whose name I can't remember. Let's call him.... Juan. So, Juan seemed really nice and spoke great English, but was not our actual tourguide, and we were instructed to "act like he not there." So, we did. It was a steep,10 min. downhill walk to the cave entrace, which was in a brook. Needless to say, we were wet from the start. There weren't any walkways or altered areas, so everything was very natural. We climbed over a rock, squeezed through a crevice, then continued wading through the brook, which was basically filling the entire cave. We saw an awesome non-poisonous spider scorpion, which we got cool pics pics of dangling next to our noses! We also saw real tarantulas and catfish living in the cave.
We had to army crawl through flooded tunnels, walk through waterfalls, and squeeze through cracks. We had a blast! The experience was not exactly educational (we did not learn anything at all, other than how to army crawl), but it was very fun and adventurous!
After we were done, we headed out to the main building and showered and changed. We tipped the guide a fair amount, but did not tip the photographer. The website said it was $20 for a cd of pictures of you in the cave. We thought it sounded great, so did it. But they charged us FORT BUCKS!!! He said the $20 price was for couples, but for a family of five it was $40! My parents said it was a total ripoff, but got it anyways since the pictures looked nice.
So, after a while, we finally got to the Cave site. it was relatively un-astonishing. It was a largish, brown building, next to no signage, and nearly empty except for a couple of Spanish speaking workers hanging around in the silence. We were all kind of wondering, Is this the right place???? But a man came up and asked "You here for tour?" and then we were slightly reassured. Soon we went to the bathroom, and were suiting up in hard hats and rubber boots and grabbing flashlights. We were introduced to our tour guide, Johnny, who spoke very little English, then our photographer, whose name I can't remember. Let's call him.... Juan. So, Juan seemed really nice and spoke great English, but was not our actual tourguide, and we were instructed to "act like he not there." So, we did. It was a steep,10 min. downhill walk to the cave entrace, which was in a brook. Needless to say, we were wet from the start. There weren't any walkways or altered areas, so everything was very natural. We climbed over a rock, squeezed through a crevice, then continued wading through the brook, which was basically filling the entire cave. We saw an awesome non-poisonous spider scorpion, which we got cool pics pics of dangling next to our noses! We also saw real tarantulas and catfish living in the cave.
We had to army crawl through flooded tunnels, walk through waterfalls, and squeeze through cracks. We had a blast! The experience was not exactly educational (we did not learn anything at all, other than how to army crawl), but it was very fun and adventurous!
After we were done, we headed out to the main building and showered and changed. We tipped the guide a fair amount, but did not tip the photographer. The website said it was $20 for a cd of pictures of you in the cave. We thought it sounded great, so did it. But they charged us FORT BUCKS!!! He said the $20 price was for couples, but for a family of five it was $40! My parents said it was a total ripoff, but got it anyways since the pictures looked nice.
9 June 2011- So much for that...
Well, the early post thing didn't work out. But.... I'll try. :) Also, another thing has occured to me. I've been writing the date wrong! Just looking over my posts I realized that there is supposed to be no comma! Oh well, I've fixed it today.
Anyways, today we went to the Hanging Bridges! We had a blast, and took lots of pics. We got there around 8:30, and by pure chance, there was an English tour at 9. So, after meeting the other people in our tour (a couple from DC), we met the tour guide- Donald. He was very nice, and spoke great English. He also did an excellent Donald Duck impression! Anyways, we soon set out on the first hanging bridge. There were 10 normal, metal bridges, and 6 hanging metal bridges. Those were very swing-y and wiggly, but very safe, we were reassured. They were also VERY high above the jungle (the highest was 97 mtrs!) and not good if you are moderately acrophobic like my mom. But we were all fine. Other than the bridges, there was a path through the jungle with cool stepping stone things, and that's what we walked on most of the time. We were literally in the thick of the rainforest, surrounded by vegetation. The walk/hike was very pretty in of itself, and the amazing animals and slightly scary bridges made it a blast!
Donald had with him a telescope and binoculars, which he let us use to see the tons of wildlife around us. He also had an incredible eye for spotting wildlife, so we got to see tiny things we would have never seen otherwise. When walking he would suddenly stop, stare intently in to the bushes, then point out some brilliantly camoflauged animal or insect! He pointed out tons of howler monkeys, bugs, and interesting plants. He also found 3 extremely venomous Eyelash Vipers, which are tiny and hang out in trees. Apparently that's a huge amount! We also saw the nest of a special singing bird, which apparently are very rare, right beside the trail! He was thrilled, since he had never seen one before. Later, it flew away, and we got to see the eggs!
Anyways, by the end, we were all extremely sweaty and exhausted, and ready to head back. I guess they're having a huge heat wave here, with record temps. I'm gonna go now, so my mom can finish telling you what happened. She hasn't posted once!
Later,
~Beth
So, I've been told I have to post because Beth's wrists are getting sore.
For dinner, we decided to walk next door to Benedictu's. Walking into the restaurant (thatched roof with no walls) it was blessedly cool...ahhh....definitely a good reason to stay and eat regardless of the food. There was no one there, so we weren't sure how good the food was going to be. Too be honest, I didn't care. We looked over the menu & in a few minutes the waiter Manuel came out. A minute later, a smiling, genial Benedictu came it. He was the owner & chef. He talked us into an assortment of food that we wouldn't normally have ordered. A meat assortment (tenderloin, sea bass, chicken, porkchops) with fries (of course). It's like Europe, everything comes with fries. And Ceviche (which came with tortillas chips). Not a veggie in sight, well maybe some avocado in the ceviche. We all agreed the food was perfecto. Benedictu came over several times to make sure we were enjoying our meal. As we were leaving he made sure to give each one of us a hug (yes Tom too :) ~Jamie
Anyways, today we went to the Hanging Bridges! We had a blast, and took lots of pics. We got there around 8:30, and by pure chance, there was an English tour at 9. So, after meeting the other people in our tour (a couple from DC), we met the tour guide- Donald. He was very nice, and spoke great English. He also did an excellent Donald Duck impression! Anyways, we soon set out on the first hanging bridge. There were 10 normal, metal bridges, and 6 hanging metal bridges. Those were very swing-y and wiggly, but very safe, we were reassured. They were also VERY high above the jungle (the highest was 97 mtrs!) and not good if you are moderately acrophobic like my mom. But we were all fine. Other than the bridges, there was a path through the jungle with cool stepping stone things, and that's what we walked on most of the time. We were literally in the thick of the rainforest, surrounded by vegetation. The walk/hike was very pretty in of itself, and the amazing animals and slightly scary bridges made it a blast!
Donald had with him a telescope and binoculars, which he let us use to see the tons of wildlife around us. He also had an incredible eye for spotting wildlife, so we got to see tiny things we would have never seen otherwise. When walking he would suddenly stop, stare intently in to the bushes, then point out some brilliantly camoflauged animal or insect! He pointed out tons of howler monkeys, bugs, and interesting plants. He also found 3 extremely venomous Eyelash Vipers, which are tiny and hang out in trees. Apparently that's a huge amount! We also saw the nest of a special singing bird, which apparently are very rare, right beside the trail! He was thrilled, since he had never seen one before. Later, it flew away, and we got to see the eggs!
Anyways, by the end, we were all extremely sweaty and exhausted, and ready to head back. I guess they're having a huge heat wave here, with record temps. I'm gonna go now, so my mom can finish telling you what happened. She hasn't posted once!
Later,
~Beth
So, I've been told I have to post because Beth's wrists are getting sore.
For dinner, we decided to walk next door to Benedictu's. Walking into the restaurant (thatched roof with no walls) it was blessedly cool...ahhh....definitely a good reason to stay and eat regardless of the food. There was no one there, so we weren't sure how good the food was going to be. Too be honest, I didn't care. We looked over the menu & in a few minutes the waiter Manuel came out. A minute later, a smiling, genial Benedictu came it. He was the owner & chef. He talked us into an assortment of food that we wouldn't normally have ordered. A meat assortment (tenderloin, sea bass, chicken, porkchops) with fries (of course). It's like Europe, everything comes with fries. And Ceviche (which came with tortillas chips). Not a veggie in sight, well maybe some avocado in the ceviche. We all agreed the food was perfecto. Benedictu came over several times to make sure we were enjoying our meal. As we were leaving he made sure to give each one of us a hug (yes Tom too :) ~Jamie
9 June, 2011- An early post.
It's just occured to me that, because of the time change, it might be better for me to post earlier in the day. Unfortuantely, that won't always be possible,but I will try to when I can. I won't post everything for the day in one sitting, but I'll post some stuff.
8 June, 2011- First day at Silencio del Campo!
First of all, sorry I wasn't able to finish writing yesterday. We were all busy packing to leave for the next place... which brings me to this morning. We woke up early and ate a nice breakfast (eggs and toast), then loaded the car. We didn't take too long to get ready, so then said goodbye to beautiful Casa Sevana and headed for Silencio del Campo in La Fortuna. Sorry I've been doing short posts the last few days, we've just been so tired at night! Anyways, when we drove past the beach as we started to leave, my dad suggested we take a picture of it since it was such a gorgeous morning! Well, we all thougt this was a great idea.. only I couldn't find my camera! Becca's was dead, my dad's was broken at home, but where was mine? I had had it right before we left... When searching of the car produced no results, we realized we must have left it at the house!
So, we quickly turned around and drove the 5 minutes back to the house. Then, we leapt out and started searching frantically. When i still couldn't find it, I suddenly realized it was right where I had left it- my pocket! Slightly annoyed, and very ready to leave, my dad took off again. Then, when we got to the beach, we took pictures and left- finally! The drive to La Fortuna/ Arenal was 5 hrs long but gorgeous, so with mp3 players loaded with free audiobooks and a fully charged Leapster for Shane as well as tic tac toe supplies, it wasn't too bad. We saw tons of greenery and cows, and were relieved when at last we saw the huge Arenal volcano. Along the way, we also stopped at a decent gas station where we got peanuts and Spanish Cheetos (Quesitos) and took a bathroom break. Becca said the Quesitos tasted like plastic coated with artificial cheese (they kind of did), but they weren't too bad once you got used to the taste. Also, Costa Rican driving is NOT the same as US driving. We had to drive 126 miles to get to our destination from Casa Sevana, and it took us 5.5 hours going 25-35 miles and hour!
Anyways, we finally got there, and loved what we saw. The grounds are fantastic and covered with tropical gardens, and have a hot spring, two pools, restaurant, and spa. The cabins aren't bad, either. I'll post more pictures, but my camera died right as we pulled in. When we checked in, they told my mom how to schedule her complimentary massage and facial, and gave everyone yummy fruit smoothies for free! After setting up our stuff and looking around, we headed for the restaurant, where we got delicious Tilapia casados (combo plate things) and a quesadilla for Shane. Everything was delicious!
Then we changed and made a beeline for the pool. We swam for a while, then headed down to the hot springs on site (which are at the other end of the grounds, next to the bar and spa). From the hot springs, you have a perfect view of the volcano. It was great! We also (as a treat for being good on the car ride) got Virgin strawberry/ blackberry Daquiris! My parents got their own drinks, too. My mom loved her spa appointment, and we swam nearly all day. Around 7:30, we visited the hotel next door. We all thought it reminded us of Las Vegas. (It smelled like it, too!) After checking out their restaurant, we came back to the one on site, and decided, since we were not super hungry, to have just dessert! Becca got Chocolate Eruption (brownie with an ice cream mountain), I had ice cream crepes, and Shane had Pineapple flan. It was so good!
After all that we headed back to our room. Now we're relaxing, watching tv, and reading. (My dad is also sleeping.) Hopefully, we'll have a great day tommorow at the Hanging Bridges and take lots of pictures!
Oh yeah, and I jsut realized I forgot to tell you how yesterday ended. Well, at home, Shane and my dad did Legos and we all packed. Also, my dad made plantains fried in brown sugar too. Delicious!!!!
So, it's time to sign off for today. Enjoy the pics!
1. A giant toad we found in our yard!
2. Me and Shane on the couch.
3. Shane's Lego car
4. Playa Carrillo
5. More beach...
6. Us on the beach
7. A village as we drive through
8. The view
9. The volcano AT LAST!!!!
10. A pretty flower
~Beth
So, we quickly turned around and drove the 5 minutes back to the house. Then, we leapt out and started searching frantically. When i still couldn't find it, I suddenly realized it was right where I had left it- my pocket! Slightly annoyed, and very ready to leave, my dad took off again. Then, when we got to the beach, we took pictures and left- finally! The drive to La Fortuna/ Arenal was 5 hrs long but gorgeous, so with mp3 players loaded with free audiobooks and a fully charged Leapster for Shane as well as tic tac toe supplies, it wasn't too bad. We saw tons of greenery and cows, and were relieved when at last we saw the huge Arenal volcano. Along the way, we also stopped at a decent gas station where we got peanuts and Spanish Cheetos (Quesitos) and took a bathroom break. Becca said the Quesitos tasted like plastic coated with artificial cheese (they kind of did), but they weren't too bad once you got used to the taste. Also, Costa Rican driving is NOT the same as US driving. We had to drive 126 miles to get to our destination from Casa Sevana, and it took us 5.5 hours going 25-35 miles and hour!
Anyways, we finally got there, and loved what we saw. The grounds are fantastic and covered with tropical gardens, and have a hot spring, two pools, restaurant, and spa. The cabins aren't bad, either. I'll post more pictures, but my camera died right as we pulled in. When we checked in, they told my mom how to schedule her complimentary massage and facial, and gave everyone yummy fruit smoothies for free! After setting up our stuff and looking around, we headed for the restaurant, where we got delicious Tilapia casados (combo plate things) and a quesadilla for Shane. Everything was delicious!
Then we changed and made a beeline for the pool. We swam for a while, then headed down to the hot springs on site (which are at the other end of the grounds, next to the bar and spa). From the hot springs, you have a perfect view of the volcano. It was great! We also (as a treat for being good on the car ride) got Virgin strawberry/ blackberry Daquiris! My parents got their own drinks, too. My mom loved her spa appointment, and we swam nearly all day. Around 7:30, we visited the hotel next door. We all thought it reminded us of Las Vegas. (It smelled like it, too!) After checking out their restaurant, we came back to the one on site, and decided, since we were not super hungry, to have just dessert! Becca got Chocolate Eruption (brownie with an ice cream mountain), I had ice cream crepes, and Shane had Pineapple flan. It was so good!
After all that we headed back to our room. Now we're relaxing, watching tv, and reading. (My dad is also sleeping.) Hopefully, we'll have a great day tommorow at the Hanging Bridges and take lots of pictures!
Oh yeah, and I jsut realized I forgot to tell you how yesterday ended. Well, at home, Shane and my dad did Legos and we all packed. Also, my dad made plantains fried in brown sugar too. Delicious!!!!
So, it's time to sign off for today. Enjoy the pics!
1. A giant toad we found in our yard!
2. Me and Shane on the couch.
3. Shane's Lego car
4. Playa Carrillo
5. More beach...
6. Us on the beach
7. A village as we drive through
8. The view
9. The volcano AT LAST!!!!
10. A pretty flower
~Beth
7 June, 2011- What a gorgeous day!
Hooray! The rain has finally stopped! The afternoon rain ended right on schedule, just in time for a beautiful sunset (the sun sets at 5 here). This morning we woke up at 7:30 and headed straight to the beach, just in case it started raining again. The waves were great and we all body surfed and got sunburned. :) Like I said, the weather is perfect. We stayed for 3 hours, then came back and showered and swam in the pool. After chillaxing for a whilE we headed into Samara. We got our exit visas, ate dinner, then had ice cream and headed home. We ate at Pizza & Pasta a go go for dinner since my mom likes it so much. Well, I have to go. I'll continue tommorow. bye!
~Beth
~Beth
6 June, 2011- A relaxing day...
Well, there isn't much to tell about today. This morning, we had eggs, fruit, and yummy pineapple bread we got from a local bakery yesterday. It's still raining today, sprinkling off and on but still very warm. Around 9, we headed to the beach anyways and tried body surfing. The waves were huge and my parents said they were too big, so we left after 2 hours of wading and playing in the sand. At home, we swam and relaxed, playing games and doing puzzles, until we headed to Hula Jungla, a local soda nearby. We had Arroz con Pollo (delicious), combo plates, fries, and nachos (not exactly great.) Then we grabbed some ice creams from the Mini and headed back home. More swimming, relaxing, tasty homemade pork beans and rice for dinner, and now tv and blogging after an amazing sunset. No pics today... But maybe tommorow.
Until then,
~Beth
Until then,
~Beth
5 June, 2011- Lots to tell!: UPDATED
Okay, so where should I begin? Oh yeah... Well, so we started driving to our rental house in Carrillo from El Punto. It was a somewhat long but very pretty drive through rainforest, about 2.5 hours long. We had rented a GPS, and were using it. Unfortunately, after a little while, it got extremely annoying. It was the special "Tourist" version, meaning that every single time we drove past any sort of tourist attraction, it would launch into a 2 minute spiel on that topic and would NOT SHUT UP. Another "fun feature" of the GPS (which costs 8 bucks a day) was that whenever we neared a bridge of any sort (which are about every 5-10 minutes in the very water-y rainforest) it would beep and say "Dangerous bridge ahead." There was no way to turn it off without turning off the whole device.
Anyways, we soon got to the little town of Samara (accent on the first a), where we picked up the key to the house from a rental office. Luckily, the lady there spoke great English. Trust me, very few people know English here, (as you might assume in a foreign country) but my mom and I knew enough Espanol to make our way just fine. Soon, we drove the 10 minutes into Carrillo, the village closest to our house it was about a 1/4 mile walk from the house along a straight road directly into the village. Carrillo is on top of a hill, but it's a very easy walk to Playa Carrillo (the beach) from our house. Speaking of which, you probably want to hear about it.
It's designed and owned by a Scandanavian retired couple, Herbert and Sevana (hence the name Casa Sevana). They did a lovely job on it. The place is gorgeous, with an awesome ocean view. It has three bedrooms (actually four, but the fourth is private), perfect for our family. The living area is on th esecond floor, along with one small room containing a double bed, and a bathroom. Downstairs are the other two rooms, and no living area whatsoever.
I'll post some pictures so you can see. Anyways, there is a terrace on the top and bottom stories, facing the ocean, and a somewhat infinity pool, barbecue area, garden, lawn, and hammock in the yard. The view is amazing, like I said. There are full amenities in the house- it's totally equipped and appliance-ized. There's a tv too, with a couple English channels. All the furniture is very modern and IKEA-ish, and all quite nice.
Enough said about the house! Well, we got settled, then went to the a soda (small outdoor rice/beans kind of place) for din-din. No one spoke English, but the food was amazing, and the people were friendly. Pretty much all the restaurants down here are outdoors, with a small indoor kitchen. No one wants to pay for A/C! It was called "Soda de Plaza." Then we stopped by the grocery store for some necessities (bread, milk, rice, p. butter, beans, cheese, fruit). Grocery stores (they usually have "Mini" in their name) are indoor, but very small, not air conditioned, and the stuff is rarely labelled. Prices were outrageous, but we got our stuff and headed for the house.
For all you non-Ticos (native Costa Ricans), Costa Rican money is colones (co-lo-nays). 500 colones to an American dollar. When you're not used to it, it's very startling to see a jar of peanut butter labelled simply "500."
At the house, we swam, watched some Garfield (the only thing on), then hit the hay. Early this morning, we woke up for breakfast- scrambled eggs, toast, and cold rice with sugar, cinnamon, and milk. Yum! after breakfast, we got ready and walked to the beach. Playa Carrillo is a long, gorgeous white-sand beach. We played in the waves and sand, got very sunburnt, ate shaved ice, and stayed until the evening rain began. By the way, in the rainy season (May to October) it rains every day from about 2-4, or so say the locals. This was true yesterday, but today, it didn'y stop raining... and still hasn't! It's still warm while it rains, but man, is it pouring!
So after showering, swimming in the pool, and getting decent, we headed out for lunch/dinner. We're eating one big meal every day, and having bread and fruit other times. Today we tried Pizza y Pasta a go go, a restaurant in Samara. There are an amazing amount of pizzarias here. I counted 6 in the tiny village of Samara! The food was excellent. My dad had seafood spaghetti (with calamari, which produced some cool pics), my mom had a sort of combo bean/rice/fruit plate, and we had pizza. The menu had an english and spanish translation for each item. One said "Sausage pizza," so that's what we ordered. When they brought it out, we got.... Hot dog pizza! Apparently something got lost in translation...
Anyways, after lunch we walked around in Samara, bought some souveneirs (in the rain), checked out Playa Samara, got ice cream, then bought groceries. We went to the less touristy grocery store this time, which was much less pricey and much nicer. After we got home, we swam in the pool more, watched a little tv, and ate a snack- delicious bread made on site at the grocery store, cheese, and cucumbers. Now we're just relaxing, and Shane is watching Toy Story in Spanish. So, ta ta for now...
Oh, and this website won't let me post captions with pictures, so I'm going to write captions here. Just match them up with their corresponding pictures!
1. Just some of the fantastic flora in our yard
2. Calamari at the Italian place. Looks good, right?
3. Hot dog pizza! Surprisingly good. :)
4. At the Italian place...
5. More flowers
6. In the village of Samara
7. The living room. (that door goes to the bathroom)
8. The pool. It's not heated, but incredibly warm because of the weather!
9. The hall.
10. Our kitchen
11. The gorgeous view from our porch. Our view of the ocean is much bigger in real life!
12. My room.
P.S. Lately we've been hearing these weird grunting noises from off our yard. We thought it was a boar, then we saw this clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNhgfAhwhBo&feature=related
It was monkeys!
Also, for more info on our house or pics, visit http://www.ourhouseincostarica.com
Seyonara,
~Beth
Anyways, we soon got to the little town of Samara (accent on the first a), where we picked up the key to the house from a rental office. Luckily, the lady there spoke great English. Trust me, very few people know English here, (as you might assume in a foreign country) but my mom and I knew enough Espanol to make our way just fine. Soon, we drove the 10 minutes into Carrillo, the village closest to our house it was about a 1/4 mile walk from the house along a straight road directly into the village. Carrillo is on top of a hill, but it's a very easy walk to Playa Carrillo (the beach) from our house. Speaking of which, you probably want to hear about it.
It's designed and owned by a Scandanavian retired couple, Herbert and Sevana (hence the name Casa Sevana). They did a lovely job on it. The place is gorgeous, with an awesome ocean view. It has three bedrooms (actually four, but the fourth is private), perfect for our family. The living area is on th esecond floor, along with one small room containing a double bed, and a bathroom. Downstairs are the other two rooms, and no living area whatsoever.
I'll post some pictures so you can see. Anyways, there is a terrace on the top and bottom stories, facing the ocean, and a somewhat infinity pool, barbecue area, garden, lawn, and hammock in the yard. The view is amazing, like I said. There are full amenities in the house- it's totally equipped and appliance-ized. There's a tv too, with a couple English channels. All the furniture is very modern and IKEA-ish, and all quite nice.
Enough said about the house! Well, we got settled, then went to the a soda (small outdoor rice/beans kind of place) for din-din. No one spoke English, but the food was amazing, and the people were friendly. Pretty much all the restaurants down here are outdoors, with a small indoor kitchen. No one wants to pay for A/C! It was called "Soda de Plaza." Then we stopped by the grocery store for some necessities (bread, milk, rice, p. butter, beans, cheese, fruit). Grocery stores (they usually have "Mini" in their name) are indoor, but very small, not air conditioned, and the stuff is rarely labelled. Prices were outrageous, but we got our stuff and headed for the house.
For all you non-Ticos (native Costa Ricans), Costa Rican money is colones (co-lo-nays). 500 colones to an American dollar. When you're not used to it, it's very startling to see a jar of peanut butter labelled simply "500."
At the house, we swam, watched some Garfield (the only thing on), then hit the hay. Early this morning, we woke up for breakfast- scrambled eggs, toast, and cold rice with sugar, cinnamon, and milk. Yum! after breakfast, we got ready and walked to the beach. Playa Carrillo is a long, gorgeous white-sand beach. We played in the waves and sand, got very sunburnt, ate shaved ice, and stayed until the evening rain began. By the way, in the rainy season (May to October) it rains every day from about 2-4, or so say the locals. This was true yesterday, but today, it didn'y stop raining... and still hasn't! It's still warm while it rains, but man, is it pouring!
So after showering, swimming in the pool, and getting decent, we headed out for lunch/dinner. We're eating one big meal every day, and having bread and fruit other times. Today we tried Pizza y Pasta a go go, a restaurant in Samara. There are an amazing amount of pizzarias here. I counted 6 in the tiny village of Samara! The food was excellent. My dad had seafood spaghetti (with calamari, which produced some cool pics), my mom had a sort of combo bean/rice/fruit plate, and we had pizza. The menu had an english and spanish translation for each item. One said "Sausage pizza," so that's what we ordered. When they brought it out, we got.... Hot dog pizza! Apparently something got lost in translation...
Anyways, after lunch we walked around in Samara, bought some souveneirs (in the rain), checked out Playa Samara, got ice cream, then bought groceries. We went to the less touristy grocery store this time, which was much less pricey and much nicer. After we got home, we swam in the pool more, watched a little tv, and ate a snack- delicious bread made on site at the grocery store, cheese, and cucumbers. Now we're just relaxing, and Shane is watching Toy Story in Spanish. So, ta ta for now...
Oh, and this website won't let me post captions with pictures, so I'm going to write captions here. Just match them up with their corresponding pictures!
1. Just some of the fantastic flora in our yard
2. Calamari at the Italian place. Looks good, right?
3. Hot dog pizza! Surprisingly good. :)
4. At the Italian place...
5. More flowers
6. In the village of Samara
7. The living room. (that door goes to the bathroom)
8. The pool. It's not heated, but incredibly warm because of the weather!
9. The hall.
10. Our kitchen
11. The gorgeous view from our porch. Our view of the ocean is much bigger in real life!
12. My room.
P.S. Lately we've been hearing these weird grunting noises from off our yard. We thought it was a boar, then we saw this clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNhgfAhwhBo&feature=related
It was monkeys!
Also, for more info on our house or pics, visit http://www.ourhouseincostarica.com
Seyonara,
~Beth
4 June, 2011- Travelling.....
Hey everyone! Sorry I wasn't able to post yesterday, but a.) our hotel didn't have internet, and b.) even if it did, we were all too exhausted. Anyways, I have a lot to say! But I should probably start from the beginning. So, we all got up at 3:00 on Friday morning (well, my parents got up at 1:30) and got ready to go... but of course, right then, Shane had an asthma attack. So, we tried to give him a Nebulizer treatment, but he freaked out and started screaming and crying and throwing the medecine across the room because he couldn't breathe. But eventually, he got it over with, and we set out for the airport.
We got there on time, and got checked in, then Shane started having trouble breathing again. So we took him in the airport restroom, plugged in the Nebulizer, and, with much crying and struggling, gave him another treatment. By then, it was time to go through Customs and Security. But first, we got breakfast- Cinnabon! When everyone was secured and custom-ized, we sat outside the area- thing and ate our Cinnabons while we waited to board. We got on the plane quickly enough and had a great flight, with lots of drinking soft drinks, chewing gum, watching movies, listening to book-on-tapes, drinking more soft drinks, and, of course, sleeping. Then we landed in Houston Airport to spend our four hour layover. We ate a delicious late lunch at Ruby's Diner, looked at a toystore, looked at Borders, rode the weird flat transport human-conveyor belts all around the terminal, then finally ate lunch at Panda Express.(Yum!) In the 15 minutes before we boarded, guess what happened? Asthma attack, of course! So we treated him then and there. We were just in time, too. The next flight was pretty much the same, but with no movies and more sleeping. Oh, and we flew through a lightning storm.... But we landed... and then... "the shock." It was 8:30 and dark, but it was 91 degrees and insanely humid!!!!! (Mom, you were right!) In the airport, we got out easily, and were picked up by a friendly cab company (whose van had A/C. Yes!).
The van dropped us off at Hotel el Punto, where we quickly got our room, and pretty much crashed. The lady who owns it is an artist, so each room has lots of her pieces, which are gorgeous. The interior design and feel were great, too. Our room had a bathroom, lower bedroom, and a cool loft above it with two beds. Unfortunately, there wasn't that great of A/C, so we were sweaty and hot when we woke the next morning. It was then we really got a look around. Right outside our room were some comfy lounge chairs and a shelf-thing with tons of paints supplies, water guns (which was odd because there was no water in sight), games, blocks, and toys. Next to that was a little garden with trees that dropped coconuts constantly, and lots of butterflies. Between all the rooms was a little courtyard with a giant couch-bed thing, couches, a tv, and a take-one-leave-one library with a huge selection. Lots of friendly workers, but no one spoke English, and we were the only people staying there. But we communicated fine. :)
Breakfast was amazing! It was served like a meal, with a waitress. She brought us each dish, one at a time. First yummy fruits, then THE most amazing bread I have ever tasted. It looked beautiful (yes, bread CAN be beautiful) too. (Sorry, the computer just started using italics, and I can't turn them off. )The crust was fantastic and flaky, and the inside was super soft. Plus, it was still warm from the oven! Last was some tasty scrambled eggs, which looked runny but were perfect.
After breakfast, it was time to go. We got our rental car, and after only getting slightly lost, we left the city where we had been staying to go to our rental house. Before long, city turned into incredibly lush greenery as we travelled into the rainforest where our house was.
Well, I'm writing this on the porch of our rental house, watching the rainbow sunset and eating some amazing pineapple. I should probably go, but I'll continue tommorow. Adios!
P.S. Here are some pictures. Sorry for the weird smudges on some of them, my cameras weird.
~Beth
We got there on time, and got checked in, then Shane started having trouble breathing again. So we took him in the airport restroom, plugged in the Nebulizer, and, with much crying and struggling, gave him another treatment. By then, it was time to go through Customs and Security. But first, we got breakfast- Cinnabon! When everyone was secured and custom-ized, we sat outside the area- thing and ate our Cinnabons while we waited to board. We got on the plane quickly enough and had a great flight, with lots of drinking soft drinks, chewing gum, watching movies, listening to book-on-tapes, drinking more soft drinks, and, of course, sleeping. Then we landed in Houston Airport to spend our four hour layover. We ate a delicious late lunch at Ruby's Diner, looked at a toystore, looked at Borders, rode the weird flat transport human-conveyor belts all around the terminal, then finally ate lunch at Panda Express.(Yum!) In the 15 minutes before we boarded, guess what happened? Asthma attack, of course! So we treated him then and there. We were just in time, too. The next flight was pretty much the same, but with no movies and more sleeping. Oh, and we flew through a lightning storm.... But we landed... and then... "the shock." It was 8:30 and dark, but it was 91 degrees and insanely humid!!!!! (Mom, you were right!) In the airport, we got out easily, and were picked up by a friendly cab company (whose van had A/C. Yes!).
The van dropped us off at Hotel el Punto, where we quickly got our room, and pretty much crashed. The lady who owns it is an artist, so each room has lots of her pieces, which are gorgeous. The interior design and feel were great, too. Our room had a bathroom, lower bedroom, and a cool loft above it with two beds. Unfortunately, there wasn't that great of A/C, so we were sweaty and hot when we woke the next morning. It was then we really got a look around. Right outside our room were some comfy lounge chairs and a shelf-thing with tons of paints supplies, water guns (which was odd because there was no water in sight), games, blocks, and toys. Next to that was a little garden with trees that dropped coconuts constantly, and lots of butterflies. Between all the rooms was a little courtyard with a giant couch-bed thing, couches, a tv, and a take-one-leave-one library with a huge selection. Lots of friendly workers, but no one spoke English, and we were the only people staying there. But we communicated fine. :)
Breakfast was amazing! It was served like a meal, with a waitress. She brought us each dish, one at a time. First yummy fruits, then THE most amazing bread I have ever tasted. It looked beautiful (yes, bread CAN be beautiful) too. (Sorry, the computer just started using italics, and I can't turn them off. )The crust was fantastic and flaky, and the inside was super soft. Plus, it was still warm from the oven! Last was some tasty scrambled eggs, which looked runny but were perfect.
After breakfast, it was time to go. We got our rental car, and after only getting slightly lost, we left the city where we had been staying to go to our rental house. Before long, city turned into incredibly lush greenery as we travelled into the rainforest where our house was.
Well, I'm writing this on the porch of our rental house, watching the rainbow sunset and eating some amazing pineapple. I should probably go, but I'll continue tommorow. Adios!
P.S. Here are some pictures. Sorry for the weird smudges on some of them, my cameras weird.
~Beth
2 June, 2011- WE'RE LEAVING TOMMOROW!!!!
Okay, there's not much to say. But we're a hundred percent packed and leaving tommorow! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now for the hard part- getting to sleep.... Well, good night! Stay tuned for updates..........
~Beth
~Beth
1 June, 2011- One more day!!!!
Wow, I can't believe it! Only one (technically two, but we'll leave for the airport 2 hours into the second one :) ) more day until we leave! Yay! My mom is rushing around, trying to frantically get everything ready. I am almost finished packing, just have to pack my carry-on. We're loaded with plenty of gum, snacks and goodies for the plane, lots of sunscreen, and our swimsuits. Luckily, they aren't wet, since due to this lovely weather we're having, we haven't had the chance to go swimming. So much for summer!
Anyways, my mom keeps saying we'll be in shock when we get there, going from this to 90 degrees and humidity! Well, that's all for today... Oh, and I'll let my mom fill you in on the Great Airline Drama when she posts next time. Ciao! (Or should I say, Adios!)
~Beth
Anyways, my mom keeps saying we'll be in shock when we get there, going from this to 90 degrees and humidity! Well, that's all for today... Oh, and I'll let my mom fill you in on the Great Airline Drama when she posts next time. Ciao! (Or should I say, Adios!)
~Beth
31 January, 2011- It's official!
As of today, all of our reservations for hotels, condos, and planes have been made! We'll be going to an authentic Costa Rican hotel, a secluded vacation home on the beach, a resort with a view of an active volcano and finally an ocean view villa in Playa Hermosa (beautiful beach). The plane tickets are courtesy of my dad's frequent flyer miles. :) Just for fun, here are some basic facts about Costa Rica-
Official Language: Spanish
Meaning of Name: "Rich Coast"
Climate: Very hot and humid!
Terrain: Lots of beaches, rainforests, and an active volcano!
Fun Fact: Costa Rica was rated "The Happiest Country on Earth," and has sworn off all war.
~Beth
Official Language: Spanish
Meaning of Name: "Rich Coast"
Climate: Very hot and humid!
Terrain: Lots of beaches, rainforests, and an active volcano!
Fun Fact: Costa Rica was rated "The Happiest Country on Earth," and has sworn off all war.
~Beth
