Costa Rica

I'm home.

My three brothers, their spouses, and Bill and I went to Costa Rica for a week. We had the most wonderful time. Biggest announcement about the trip, besides the wonderful camaraderie and bonding we all had with each other, is that we went on the zip line.

Yep, me too; bent up like a pretzel, sailing away on a zip line across the rain forest thousands of feet up and thousands long. We went on seven separate zips and most you couldn't even see the end of the line. After the first test one you could get off but after that you had no choice but to go on. The wind would plummel me a bit and I'd freak thinking I was going to start swinging and get off track. I feel so good that I could do it and so proud of everyone. Bill and David were the only ones going at first but they had a domino affect when Rita said she would go too. It was rainy and windy that day and not the best day I don't imagine. I was glad to get off that thing for sure but what an adventure. I would recommend it to anyone because if I can do it, I think anyone can. LOL

We stayed at my friend, Dolly's B&B, Alegria, there when we got into San Jose. She is on the outskirts in Alajuela.

We also spent several nights at the Arenal Volcano and saw lava spilling over the side as it erupted about 3a.m. We stayed at the lodge there and had a wall size view through glass at the volcano. Just heavenly. It was overcast and rainy (in the rain forest...imagine that) but we had a great time just the same. We were in the same lodge and had balconies so got to enjoy life there surrounded by the rain forest, Arenal Lake and overlooking the volcano. The Howler monkeys and frogs serenaded us while we picnicked on the balcony. Such wonderful memories now. We ate breakfast at the lodge and would watch the colorful birds and coati mundi and even a squirrel monkey go for the fruit offered them there.
We saw a Quetzal, the cutest bird I think. This beautiful blue/green/red bird looks like he's got his hair all gelled up. We also saw my favorite butterfly in CR, the Blue Morpho. It's gorgeous irridescent blue on top but normal brown coloring on the bottom. We saw iguana and monkeys and birds oh, my. LOL

We toured San Jose and many little cities on the way there and back. Luis, our guide took us up to the tops of mountains and into valleys. There were banana, plantain, sugar cane, pineapple, and orange trees. I had coconut freshly off the tree and broken up for us to taste. Also coconuts pierced at the top for a straw to drink the juice out. We had fresh mangos, papayas and pineapple each day with our breakfast at Dolly's. We tried a few strange (different) fruits and decided we liked the more familiar ones. We had the Typical TICO dishes just about every time we ordered at a restaurant...rice and beans, French fries, chicken, and fruit drinks. Even their Coca Cola tastes different because they use their own natural resource, sugar cane, in it. Fruits and vegetables are plentiful and fresh out of the fields. We purchased fresh picked sweet strawberries from roadside vendors and they were yummy. I came home and wished I had some yellow rice and black beans cooked up. I don't think I would ever get tired of the food which is really like our Cuban food here.

The flowers were huge and full . We saw hydrangeas as big as our heads and bougainvillea in every color imaginable.This is such a colorful land. So many tropical flowers paved our way whether it was through the rainforest or through the Dako Coffee Tour. I don't think we will think of coffee in exactly the same way again after seeing what it takes to get that bean to us. J

Our driver and tour guide was Luis who stayed by our sides each day and showed us the Costa Rica he obviously loves. We met his lovely family and all of us were taken with this gentle man who was always there thinking about us and what we would enjoy seeing. His daughters made us (women) beaded necklaces to take home with us and that really touched us.

We saw some of the devastation from the Earthquake and the people now living in tents and metal buildings and school buildings(because the schools aren't opened yet). Roads were damaged and mountain sides tumbled we are told. We didn't see anything that drastic but seeing a road opening up was damage enough. It must have been terrifying. The earthquake was Jan 8 and the clean up is fast and people from all over have come to their aide. I know Luis had concerns over the displaced persons getting settled somewhere when the schools open. This was a 6.2 on the richter scale

We had an incredible adventure and now I'm back to the real world. I'm trying to catch up with Pura Vida in my thoughts.