Well, we made it to Atlanta via overnight stays in Dallas and Memphis with no problems other than me leaving my wedding ring at the hotel in Dallas, but luckily we were only 20 mins down the road and were able to turn around. Whew!
After spending a few days with my Dad in Atlanta that included visits to the pool and a Cat in the Hat puppet show, Darren, Annie & Jonas came in before all 8 of us hopped on a plane to Costa Rica. We stayed for a week on the Pacific side in Playa Carrillo atop a lush hillside in a beautiful condo. The neighborhood had tennis courts and the biggest infinity pool I've ever seen. We hung out on the property for a while, then headed into town for a dinner at a Brazilian Steak house.
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| View from our balcony |
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| The condo |
On our first full day, Ed and I played tennis while the boys made a game of climbing on Darren. Then we all headed down the bumpy hill to Playa Carrillo, a pretty undeveloped beach/cove, then had lunch afterwards in the neighboring beach town of Samara. During our lunch on the beach, all of a sudden we all felt the ground shake. An earthquake!! We all looked at each other and then at the beach 50 ft away hoping a tsunami would not follow. Darren promptly consulted his phone and reported that we had just experienced a 5.2 on the Richter Scale. After our lunch, we did some grocery shopping to bring back and then it was another late afternoon at the infinity pool.
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| Playa Carrillo |
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| Samara |
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| Samara |
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| Lunch on the beach -- where we felt the earthquake |
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| On the way to see Howler Monkeys in the tree |
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| ooh-ooh-ah-ah |
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| to the pool!!! |
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| Happy Eyes! |
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| Dad passed out |
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| Softball in the pool with the other residents |
The following day, Dad, Ed and myself went on a zipline canopy tour. It was my first and I was a little apprehensive the first run, but once I saw how fun it was, the fear was gone. The guides were awesome and we were paired up with another couple from Houston of all places! Halfway through, we had a snack of fresh pineapple and watermelon on a tall tree platform overlooking the ocean. After returning to the condo, we took the boys to the man-made lake for some fish feeding and kayaking. The boys got a thrill of going through the reeds and racing in the water against Poppy. That evening, Jonas and Morgan did some good old fashioned fort making with all the cushions they could find.
On Tuesday, we headed down to Carrillo's Crocodile Point at low tide. The area gets it's name for it's shape resembling a crocodile's head emerging from the water -- not for being populated by crocodiles : ) It was an overcast day, but since the water level was low, we were able to walk all the way out to the tip of the crocodile's snout, and checked out starfish, hermit crabs and other sealife along the way. That afternoon, it was Annie, Darren and Jonas' turn to zipline while the rest of us hung out back at the condo.
Wednesday, Dad and Darren headed out early for some deep sea fishing while myself, Ed, Annie and the kids went on an adventure of our own to seek out a recommended waterfall hike. Funny thing about Costa Rica is that the streets don't have names, so following directions was a little like: "turn right at the restaurant, pass the cow field, cross a creek bed and then park at the farm." Turns out there was more than one restaurant, cow field, creek bed and farm so we ended up not where we intended to go, but happened upon a nice lunch at the restaurant we were originally seeking after retracing our steps. The restaurant had birds, dogs, hammocks and great fried lobster. We chilled there for a while and got directions – again – that finally led us to the waterfall hike. As they say in Costa Rica, "If you have definite plans, they will definitely change. " Along the way, the dirt road disappeared into the "creek bed" which was more like a muddy river. We stopped short of the water wondering if it was passable. After a local careened around us and drove in an "S" pattern without hesitation to the other side, we figured it was ok to cross. The boys thought it was the coolest thing ever to be driving in water. The hike itself was pretty rocky and went in and out of the creek water, but the boys were up for it and were rewarded by the beautiful waterfall at the end. Meanwhile, Darren caught a 110 lb. Sailfish and he and Dad ended up catching at least 40 Dorado. Then it was another late afternoon at the pool.
Thursday, we spent the day in a Nosara, a few towns over. It was one of the more developed towns we'd seen, and where the 5 star hotels are. The roads were just as rugged the whole way there, including another "creek bed" crossing. Nosara beach was pretty and we spent the morning there before eating at a relaxing, open-air restaurant for lunch. Annie and I walked around the grounds of The Harmony Hotel where celebrities are known to stay, but rather than spotting a star, we found a vocal Howler Monkey. That night, it was Mahi kabobs for dinner, c/o the family fishermen.
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| All the Westerners accessing the depth before crossing |
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| Howler Monkey checking us out |
Our last day rained on and off. I guess we were in a rainforest after all. There was enough of a clearing in the morning during low tide to check out a tidal pool recommended by the condo owners. Supposedly there were deep pools of fish that you could snorkel in after traversing a rocky cliff. The surf was pretty and dramatic, crashing into the rocks with a vengeance. The walk was short but indeed slippery and rocky. There were fish, but not very many on that particular day. We stayed for an hour, then headed back to pack and do laundry before the rain moved in.
Thanks dad for such a memorable trip. It was great to spend time with family in a beautiful setting and enjoy the Pura Vida!
