Costa Rica

THIS is where we decided to go. And it was amazing!

Before I get begin I must admit I nearly sabotaged our trip by forgetting my passport at home. We made it as far as SLC before we even noticed. There was no way we could leave the country without it. So with the help of Kim and Caleb breaking into our house, retrieving the passport, and shipping it to us, we were saved. Two days late and two hundred dollars later, we were on our merry way to Costa Rica. Honestly, I remembered everything down to the very last detail...except for that teensy weensy blue booklet!



Now for the trip! We traveled with our Oregon friends, Heather and Brad, who created a lovely itinerary for us. You'll find that I don't include them in many of the pictures I'm posting, and that's solely because they are tan and we are not. They make us look bad. And as for the dog Heather is holding...I'll get to him later.



The first part included a stay in the jungle near an active volcano. Literally this is what we saw when we gazed out our cabin window in the morning. We loved watching the lava ooze down the slopes and the steam drift from the summit. Once in awhile the volcano would spew hot steam. Scary? Yes! It felt like we were in Jurassic Park with roaring dinosaurs in our midst.



And the waterfalls, oh, the waterfalls. This was the first of many on the trip. I can't say I did more than dip my feet in. But they were beautiful nonetheless.



This waterfall was the grandest, and the guys couldn't resist climbing around it (even though the posted signs clearly stated "No Pase").



All geared up for a zip line adventure through the jungle. A-MAZ-ING! This was the best day ever.



Can you spot me on the course? We were high, seriously high. And the zip lines were long, the longest stretching a half mile. I was freaking out at the beginning, having flashbacks of my tramatic sixth grade ropes course that triggered an unusual case of shingles. But by the third platform I was sold. One of the best things I've ever done!



Relaxing at a hot springs resort wasn't all that bad either. This place was a garden of Eden. Breathtaking. The water was naturally heated by the magma from the volcano. Does it get any cooler (I mean hotter) than that?



And then there was the beach. Our final destination. The water was warm, but the beaches weren't as pristine as imagined with it being rainy season and all.



Pura Vida, baby! This was at our resort by the beach. It doesn't get much better than chicken nachos and tropical drinks while lounging at the pool bar. Swim a little, eat a little, swim a little...



This is Freddy Acuna. We discovered him on the roadside near the town of La Fortuna selling his wood carvings. He was so nice and kept telling us (in broken English) to check him out on YouTube. "My history," he said, "My history." You're curious aren't you? Check him out here.



We bought this super cool wood carving from Freddy Acuna to bring home to Owen. It is a coati; an animal we saw a lot in Costa Rica and part of the raccoon family.



We also picked up some Costa Rican hot chocolate. Britt is actually well-known for their coffees, but since we don't drink the stuff we were delighted to settle on chocolate instead.



Even though we brought home some pretty sweet stuff from the trip, I think Brad and Heather's souvenir trumps ours. Meet Tico. Heather found him at the beginning of their stay and instantly fell in love. Nevermind that he was dirty, malnourished, full of ticks, and missing teeth. He was a homeless dog like dozens of others we saw throughout the country, and he needed help. She saw to it that he was fed, cleaned up, and tick-free in no time. Now I'm no dog lover, but he is seriously cute and very well-behaved. You'll be happy to know that he now resides in a loving home in Oregon. That's one less homeless dog in Costa Rica.