We are home and I'm enjoying the day off trying to get caught up on laundry and pictures. It took us 22 hours of travel and 3 trips through customs to get back. We had a great time and will cherish the memories from the trip, but I'm sort of glad to be back in the U.S. and the comforts of home.
Once we arrived in San Jose, our driver was waiting for us to take us up the mountain to Monteverde. I had no idea what a trip that would be! The roads were very bad, and as we reached the top, the weather took a sorrowful turn for the worse. The last 30 minutes of the drive was intense!
We loved the hotel in Monteverde...Poco A Poco (Little by Little). Very quaint and friendly. They had an awesome pool area - too bad we couldn't have enjoyed that a little bit. Oh well!
The next day we had planned to zip line through the canopy, but the winds were so bad, even the locals (Tico's) were telling us not to do it. So, we opted for a very wet walk through the rain forest via the suspension bridges. It was neat, I felt like I was a midget compared to the giant plants. After the walk, we braved the elements some more to walk around town a little bit. We ended up having lunch at the Tree House. They made some awesome coffee drinks there, complete with cute froth designs!
The next day, our 2nd driver picked us up to take us to Samara. He told us it would take 4 hours...we were there in 3! Which tells you how fast we were headed back down the mountain. The weather in Samara was a much welcomed change. VERY warm! We stayed at the Fenix Hotel right on the beach. This worked out great with the kids. The owners, Phyllis and Bill were very friendly and helpful during our stay. They are orginally from Seattle and are looking to sell the place to a management company. So, if you are looking for a time share (or "fractional ownership" in Costa Rica, check it out at http://www.fenixretreat.com/). They will be remodeling the units (which is good, they could use some updating). There was no hot water, which was fine since it was so hot all the time...it was just a little wierd to have electrical wires attached to the shower head (long story). The windows were all screened to let the breeze in at night, along with all the noises of the tropics! Every night we were serenaded by fighting cats, barking dogs, birds and howler monkeys. It was very difficult to sleep in, but easy to take a siesta in the hammock in the afternoon. The ocean water was so warm, almost like bathwater...which was awesome. The sun was intense, we went through 4 bottles of sunscreen in 5 days...and even then most of us got burned to some extent. We would walk the beach into town at night for dinner most nights, except for the night we cooked the fish Jeff caught and the night we had pizza delivered.
We took the public bus to Carillo Beach one day, and just loved that beach. It was more Caribbean like, very blue and warm...and bigger waves. The guys did a fishing trip, and not only caught fish, but saw lots of ocean creatures as well. They saw dolphins, whales and sting rays. It was a great experience for the kids. The kids also tried their hand at surfing. Zach was loving it, especially when the owner of the surf school complimented him on how fast he caught on.
Every night we were treated to an awesome sunset. It seemed like it was different each night. We had a full moon the first few nights which was cool. The bugs were bad, so we didn't stay out by the beach too long in the evening.
I enjoyed walking down to the neighborhood grocery store (the super). No one spoke any English, and everything was of course in Spanish and you had to pay in cash or Colones. It was just fun trying to communicate and figure out what you were getting. The owner of the store was very sweet (and patient!). I also enjoyed talking to the other guests...there were people from Canada (several from here), Colorado, and New Jersey (originally from England) there at the same time we were.
Well, this is the highlights...don't want to bore you with the details. It doesn't sound like we did much, and maybe we didn't, but we enjoyed playing in the water and just relaxing and enjoying the new experiences. CLICK HERE to visit my business blog to see all the pictures - enjoy!!
