ENJOYing : {my life}: July 2008

We're back from Costa Rica! It was wonderful, as always, and it is such a shame to have to get back into the swing of everyday life. Though we traveled only to areas where we had been before, this time around was different as we traveled with Gabe's dad. The two of them surfed a ridiculous amount and I spent much time relaxing and doing a whole lot of nothing other than lying on the beach or next to the pool. We went on a couple of adventures and experienced the most intense thunder storms of our lives.

This was our third trip to Costa Rica since 2004 and every time we go it is amazing how much development has occurred. What was only 4 years ago an area of dirt roads and small mud-hut and corrugated tin-roofed houses is now paved and full of billboards for pricey resorts and American looking condominium developments. It gives you a rather bittersweet feeling as you mourn for what seems is the inevitable loss of the beauty of this once unspoiled landscape, but at the same time understand the excitement of the locals for the amount of work available and the convenience and economy boost that comes with such progress.

We spent our time divided between Hotel Bula Bula in Playa Grande, Hotel Playa Negra in Playa Negra, Cabinas El Oasis in Playa Langosta, and La Posada at Hacienda Pinilla in Playa Avellanas. We returned home with nearly 500 pictures, so I'll try not to bore you with thirty seven photos of the sunset (though every single one is fabulous!). Here's enough (probably more) to give you an idea of how we spent our ten days.

We always stay on the Pacific side, on the Nicoya Peninsula in the Province of Guanacaste.

I found this most perfect sand dollar. And then I left it at the hotel.

We celebrated our two year anniversary at Hotel Bula Bula, where we spent our honeymoon.

Family pics.

Our anniversary gift from Gabe's dad was zip lining through the rain forest. Gabe and I had been before, but it was a brand new experience for Gil to be hundreds feet in the air hanging from a cable. I was the only one brave enough to do "Superman".

Driving in Costa Rica is an adventure in and of itself. I drove for the first time on this trip and had to do a little 4 wheel drive action. I did stop at one point, however, and make Gabe drive. I'm a chicken when it comes to driving through a river. There was no way I was going to be the one to get the car stuck this time. (On our honeymoon we got lost and stranded and had to have our car pulled out by a pair of oxen. No joke. But that's a story for another day.) To give you an idea of some of the challenges you may face on the road...

We went on a two hour horseback ride through the rain forest and then down to the coast. In just two hours we say monkeys, vultures, deer, and an alligator. Oh my.

The view from where I sit.

There are bugs in Costa Rica, in case you didn't know. When I counted 56 bites on just my arms, I stopped counting. I most definitely returned with over 100 critter bites. Gabe and his dad? Not one! This is just a sampling of the creatures that were either in, on, or around our hotel rooms. Oh yeah, and the spiders, they were INSIDE our room. Needless to say, I slept with a flashlight hooked on my finger all night long. After one night in that room, we left.

Gabe and Gil surfed a minimum of twice a day while I slept in and took walks along the beach. I only got grumpy about it once or twice. I mean, really, let's not forget that there is someone waiting for you on the beach. I can only get so much joy out of video taping and photographing them catching waves. At least this time I think all of the pictures are actually of Gabe and Gil. Last time I was informed that half of the great surfing pictures I took were not of my husband at all. Oh well, they all look the same out there in the water.

This is how Gabe and his dad would spend endless amounts of time. I don't surf, so I don't know exactly what they are looking at, but they would look at those waves forever before making a decision on whether or not to actually go out.