MONTEVERDE
First stop, Monteverde. Founded by a group of U.S. Quakers, avoiding being drafted in the 1950's. Lots of dairy farming. I think I mentioned Monteverde in a previous blog, so I'll try not to repeat myself. Anyway, this time we went up the Selvatura Adventure Park and did the Zip-lining above the cloud forest canopy and walked on the sky bridges. It was awesome! Sidne and Leif both refused to zipline at first. But we talked them into it and it helped that all of the rest of the kids were up for it from the start. And now they are both glad they did it. I have video that will be a part of the 10 hour slide show that I know you are all looking forward to when we return.
First stop, Monteverde. Founded by a group of U.S. Quakers, avoiding being drafted in the 1950's. Lots of dairy farming. I think I mentioned Monteverde in a previous blog, so I'll try not to repeat myself. Anyway, this time we went up the Selvatura Adventure Park and did the Zip-lining above the cloud forest canopy and walked on the sky bridges. It was awesome! Sidne and Leif both refused to zipline at first. But we talked them into it and it helped that all of the rest of the kids were up for it from the start. And now they are both glad they did it. I have video that will be a part of the 10 hour slide show that I know you are all looking forward to when we return.
ARENAL VOLCANO
Next we stayed two nights near the volcano Arenal. We stayed in a terrific hot springs hotel called Los Lagos. There were a number of hot pools and a couple of cool pools with water slides. The hotel also included a butterfly garden, a frog garden, an ant house, and crocodiles. The kids would probably say that they hotel was the highlight. But in my opinion, the hike up to a volcano lava bed was the best part. At the lava bed you looked one direction and stared up the side of Arenal volcano. You could hear and see rocks rolling down the side from the constant small eruptions. Turn around and there was a gorgeous view of Lake Arenal.
MANUEL ANTONIO NATIONAL PARK
Our last planned stop was Manuel Antonio. The monkeys were out in full force this time swinging from the trees, climbing on the restroom roof and even walking between people's legs on the path. Leif and I watched a monkey steal a lady's package of crackers on the beach and Sidne spotted a female carrying her baby. Again we saw sloths and iguanas. A deer even stepped out of the forest right next to us. We had a great day on the gorgeous beach and in the cooling water of the ocean. Back at the hotel swimming pool, we saw endangered squirrel monkeys in the trees, a first in our eight months in Costa Rica.
AN UNPLANNED, BONUS ADVENTURE
On our drive back to Miramar, we stopped in Jaco for lunch and souvenier shopping and then we stopped at a bridge over a river swimming with crocodiles. Upon returning to Miramar, we found that our electricity had been cut off. Somehow with the excitement of visitors, due date mix-ups and the weight of all of our responsibilities (that last one is sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell by my tone of voice) we forgot to pay our bill. We also found that our car (that we had left at home in favor of the Martin's rental van) would not start. We decided that we did not want to stay in a hot, dark house without the luxury of fans, so we loaded back into the van, jump started the car and caravaned to Alajuela to stay at a hotel near the airport. The Martins got to experience an authentic Costa Rican experience as we added an extra hour onto our drive, trying to find our hotel on twisting, turning, unmarked roads in the middle of the night.
The Martins left yesterday and we returned to our home in hot, hot Miramar. Sidne and Leif are experiencing sadness at facing three more weeks of school with no visitors or travel adventures to look forward to. Gary and I are facing a mountain of laundry and the chore of selling our car, appliances and furniture and packing our belongings as we come to the end of our time in Costa Rica.
See all of you Portlanders in three weeks!
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