8/5/16: Falling & flying through the rain forest...

Friday, August 5

We awoke to the sounds of nature.  I love that sound!  After we showered and got ready for our day, we walked around the grounds where we are staying.  Last night after the near monsoon rain... We thought we heard a waterfall so we were on a mission to find it.  We did find where  the waterfall would have been but realized what we heard was the runoff from the rain and wasn't an actual waterfall.  We are right on the edge of a very steep ravine so not a ton of area to walk and explore but we only had a half hour before breakfast anyway so of course... I requested Spencer be my model for a couple quick photos.  

We sat down to a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, fresh mozzarella cheese and toast along with  some of the best OJ I've tasted.  Yummy!  Spencers been talking about it all day and he's not even an egg person.  

After breakfast we were off to do some shopping in Fortuna.  As the decent mom I consider myself to be, I couldn't let Spencer go all the way through day 3 still wearing the same clothes.  Lucky for me... He's a boy and a tshirt and a pair of swim trunks made him happy!!  Besides... We needed a change of clothes for our activity of the day... Canyoning aka: Waterfall Rappelling.

After we found some new clothes, we attempted to go to the bank.  Let me tell you... That bank will never be robbed.  It was almost like walking through the machine at the airport, except a door actually closed you in before the other side would open.  It was crazy.  And you had to take a number like you do when you return something at Walmart. Needless to say... The wait was too long and we didn't want to waste any more of our time so we left and got ice cream instead.  It may have been the best ice cream I've ever tasted.  Yum!  

A couple more hours to kill brought us to a waterfall that you can swim at the base of.  On our way there, we pulled over to check out a bridge and the small river under it.  We saw the coolest thing.  Spencer said it was crazy.  We saw an ant colony.  It was seriously was straight out of the movie A Bugs Life. These little tiny creatures were carrying things much larger then themselves.  And there were thousands of them all walking in a line.  It was quite incredible to watch. These photos aren't great and don't do it justice... I wish we would have had more time to try to perfect one! 

Not much further down the road, we found the waterfall and certainly got our workout in.  I almost wish we would have counted the stairs up and down. It was quite a workout but I didn't have the attention span to count that much!  Here is what we found when we reached the bottom:

By the time we made it back to the top.... We were hot and thirsty.  One of the things Spencer wanted out of this vacation was a pina colada. Well... This was the perfect time for it!!

And I had a strawberry, pineapple and passion fruit smoothie.  Delicious and refreshing!!  But now it's time to leave so we can get back to our hotel and get ready for the real excitement of the day!!

We were picked up about 10 minutes late which made us nervous given our luck so far.  Right when we started talking about that, they showed up!  We then commented on how perhaps our luck is turning around and today is the day it all changes.  

We had about a 20 minute drive and it was only us and one couple from France.   They were very nice!  We talked about how long we were all staying and our flights.  Ironically... They had lost luggage as well. But they had gotten theirs back after one day.  We are on day 3! 

Anyway... We arrive and they get us all of our gear and we get back in a truck for another 5 minute drive. Right when we get there... It started raining.  Victor, our main guide, says "welcome to the rainforest". We really didn't care as we were going to be getting wet anyway!  

A quick picture to start our journey...

After our safety instructions, we start hiking to the first waterfall. It wasn't just a walk in the park... More a walk in uneven rocks at varying degrees of difficulty. 

The first waterfall was short, about 40 feet, but a little difficult just because we were getting our grips on how to maneuver. 

Between each waterfall... We had to hike to the next through the water and crevasses in the mountains. Absolutely amazing to be in the midst of this amazing nature!  

The second waterfall was super short, about 15 feet, but it was very narrow. Before we got to the next waterfall, we had a different sort of adventure.  There was a water hole in the midst of our hike.  In order to continue through.... The only was was to jump in this waterhole. It also was not vey large.  We were told to jump straight down and to keep our elbows tucked in.  It was narrow.  Maybe 4 feet.  And maybe 6 feet long.  But the water was 7 feet deep. 

Let me pause and point out that I thought I would get cold.  This whole experience was so refreshing!  The waterhole being the most. 

The third waterfall was big. I didn't like looking over the edge.  It was about 120 feet. It was spooky for me to stand on the edge getting ready to rappel, but once in motion... So much fun!!! 

As we were walking to the next waterfall... One of the guides was laying down across the river. He said he was tired and needed a nap. We just giggled and continued on. A short time after, one of the other guides told us to sit down and got us all situated. We thought this was simply a photo opp, which it was... With a twist. 

Here is before:

Here is during the surprise:

So... The guide we passed was laying down to create a damn.  As soon as he stood up... We got soaked!  This too, was amazingly refreshing!!  What a blast!! 

The last was around 250-280 feet.  Let's just say it was tall!!!  This was the most fun though....  After the first 12 feet repelling... We got to let go of the rope and essentially zip line the rest of the way down.  

At one point in our hike... the sun came out and it was just amazing!  

This was certainly a fantastic and adventurous experience!!

After the fun adventure was over.... They sat us down to the most amazing meal!  It was chiken and potatoes. So delicous and  flavorful.  Along with a small salad, there was a generous portion of rice, beans and some vegetable concoction and the last thing on the plate, I believe was fried plantain.  Delicious.  This whole experience was amazing.  Simply amazing and epic. 

Once back at the hotel, I decided to call on Spencers bag again.  For some reason I couldn't get through on their phone so I decided to just use mine and deal with the cost that would come along with it as I was getting nervous the bag would come after we leave here tomorrow.  Just incase anyone wants to know... You need to dial a + before the number.  And to do so... You need to hold down the 0 until it turns into a +.  There you go... I just saved you 20 minutes trying to figure that out!  Or maybe I'm the only slow one.  Hehe.  I got a very nice lady who told me the bag was en route.  Although, I believe they told Roxie that yesterday.  Here's hoping!!  As we finish up our night, we decided to go play in the hot spring pool again. Not the same with out the monsoon rain, but tonight was very peaceful.  Spencer decided to wear his new outfit so I made him let me take a pic before jumping in! 

Notice the volcano in the background is playing hide and seek with cloud cover.  We were not able to find it at all today.  Glad we saw it yesterday!  

We spent the rest of the night in the pool...  Found more ants at our place that were working very hard... Played another game of war (pretty sure Spencer somehow riggs the cards!)

We decide to call it a night around 9:15 and head back to the room.  A bit later we have a knock on the door.  It was a beautiful sound. The luggage is here!!!  Day 3 at 9:35 pm, and Spencer finally has his clothes!!  I would say our earlier prediction that things were turning around came true...  Spencer is so excited to have cloths, he hugged his suitcase and already picked out his outfit for tomorrow!!  

Sweet dreams from Costa Rica!  

8/6/16: A long drive to paradise...

Saturday, August 6

Spencer was excited to wake up and be able to choose his outfit!!  I will say... I'm amazed at how easy going that boy is.  Never once did I hear a complaint!  We had a crazy first couple days with challenges and he just went with the flow.  He was resilient and helpful.  When I was told him we were renting a car and driving around... I said it was going to be like we are in "the amazing race" of Costa Rica. Little did I know... I wasn't joking!  

We had the delicious breakfast again at the hotel.  We were welcomed by many friends this morning... Hens, roosters, chickens, parrots, a dog and a super cute puppy that I literally wanted to put in my suitcase.  I didn't get pics of all of them... But here are a few. 

After breakfast... We were on the road for about 5-6 hours in the car, including a stop at a waterfall you can swim under.  We made a few pit stops on the way:

The opposite side of Arenal lake.

And a few random stops to take some pictures and to do a little roadside shopping:

After only one wrong turn we found the somewhat hidden waterfall Llanos del Cortés.  The pictures aren't great and I didn't get any with my good camera. It was way too wet with waterfall spray that I decided to leave it safly tucked away. 

Not quite 3 more hours in the car and we finally made it to Esterillos where our Airbnb is. We were both ready to get out of the car for a couple days!  However... due to GPS in Costa Rica... Or lack of it working... It's never quite that easy.  Thankfully I printed out directions before leaving but it's interesting how that is not easy either.  Even the Google map directions will tell you to turn by the church.  Well witch one? Anyway... We knew we were in the right area, but we still couldn't find the surf shop we were to meet them at. So I stopped at one store where the man spoke zero English but when I showed him on my paper where I was looking for he talked very quickly for 2 minutes and drew me a map.  It kind of made sense. It got me back to the road I came in on. There was a corner store there with the same name as the one the couple told me to look for. I walked in there and asked someone if she spoke English and she said no.  A couple heard me and offered to try to help.  They weren't exactly sure where the board shop was but told me they would be at the restaurant down a couple blocks and that the owner there would be able to help.  Well, I found the board shop without needing her help so we got checked in to our next 3 nights. Jessica welcomed us.  Her and her hubby Justin moved here about 3 years ago from Canada. What an amazing place they have!

We already feel like royalty. This place is beautiful!!

Spencer and I both have our own rooms, both with King  beds, our own bathroom and mini kitchen.  For real.  

And the hammocks in the common area are so fun and relaxing!

To top it off.... We are just a block off the beach. We found a diamond in the rough here!! 

She got us all set up and recommended a place down the street for dinner which just happened to be the same one the couple at the store told me about... Los Alvendros.

Spencer and I went there for dinner and ended up sitting with the couple that I had met.  We chatted for about 20 minutes before they left.  They were from Vermont but the man had lived in Wisconsin for a few years. They were great people.  After they left, the family behind them turned and started talking with us.  They were from Chicago and had two boys. One a freshman and one a sophomore.  We all decided we may hang out some over the next couple days.  How fun!  

Oh... And let's talk about the food!  A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!  Let's start with the beer. I had a local hibiscus beer. Incredible. Spencer has shrimp and rice.  I had the sea bass with mango salsa, coconut infused rice & beans, a salad that had shredded beets on it with a manderine lime served on the side. I'd never seen or even heard of manderine limes.  So odd to see a green peel with an orange fruit. Delicious!!  We already plan to eat there everyday but sadly, they are not open Sunday's, which sadly for us, they are not open tomorrow. We will be back on Monday though!  

We then stopped at the board shop which happens to be Angie and Justin's home. We chatted with them and Brent, who is a surf instructor. Spencers contemplating trying it out!  

We then took a walk to the beach.  

Spencer was itching to jump in, but decided to wait until morning.  So hard for him to be patient.  We walked back into our place to be spooked by someone in the hammock.  We knew there was one other gentleman there, but I still wasn't expecting it. We chatted with Daruis for awhile and we all became instant friends.  He asked Spencer about sports and who his favorite team is. Spencer said Baylor. Wouldn't you know it... Darius went to and played for Baylor! He told us that he is going to try surfing tomorrow and I think that solidified it for Spencer that he's going to try too!  Darius had a good encouraging way of enticing him.  I'm so excited for the next few days. Spencer and I already are talking that 3 days wont be enough time here!

8/4/16: Leaving parts of Spencer in Costa Rica

Thursday, August 4

An early rise so we could get on the road and head to Arenal.  We missed our first night there so eager to see what we are missing.  

Up and at 'em by 6am! Quick shower (with no hot water) and a short walk to go pick up the truck.  Or should I say 2 short walks.  This is what happens when you forget your slip showing its your vehicle.  Oops.  But was a beautiful morning for a walk.  We got the old girl packed up and were on our way.  Or so we thought. It seems like an easy thing to put the address in the GPS.  Well.... Addresses here are a little different so I thought i just did it wrong. I remembered the guys at the rental place telling me just to put the name of the place of interest.  Our hotel was not recognized so we picked something that may be close.  We were on our way... Or so thought.  I could tell it wasn't taking us the right way. After about 47 minutes of arm wrestling with the GPS... And stopping twice to ask for directions only to find no one who spoke English.... We were close to the rental car place so we pulled in to ask them for help. They put in a point of interest they knew was close and the ironic thing is... We were about a football field from the road I had been looking for.  Now we were on our way!!  For real!!

Within the first 30 minutes.... It was obvious to me why it wasn't recommended to drive that at night. And I was very thankful I listened to those warnings. The road wasn't bad... But it was very windy and narrow shoulders. 

This may be a big part of the reason we left a little piece of Spencer in Costa Rica.  Yep... About half way through the drive... He started not feeling well.  We pulled over once and I told him to drink some water.  We were back on the road and he didn't perk up at all.  About 20 minutes later.... He's grabbing my bag of plantain chips to use as his barf bag. We then stopped at the next little town where he went to the bathroom and collected himself.  I looked in the shop next door and had a very nice chat with a man who gave me some motion sickness medicine for Spencer.  He also told me that the best thing to do is have him eat dry food and no liquids.  Hmmm... It all of a sudden made sense why it was shortly after I made him drink water that he got sick.  This man who was telling me this used to work on cruise ships and knows a lot about motion sickness.  Good news is... We made it the rest of the way with no further issues... Which was good because we were out of plantain chip bags!  

It took us a bit to find our hotel after arriving in Fortuna.  This place is a little hidden... Yes, we stopped to ask for directions... Third times a charm!  We found it!!   This is the view of the Arenal volcano.  It's beautiful!  Apparently during rainy season... It's rare to see the top of the volcano. We are feeling blessed.

After settling in we went to go find some food as we hadn't had a real meal since we arrived.  Lunch was delicious.  Chicken & Rice.  Apparently it comes with a side salad and French fries. An interesting combo, we thought, but it was delicious. 

Our next stop... Arenal tourist information. It was here that I booked our activity for tomorrow: Waterfall Rappelling!  Say what?!  I'm not really sure how he talked me into this one!  😁

We already know we won't have time to do everything we want here being we lost nearly a full day.. So today we decided to drive about 20 minutes to do the walking tour of the hanging bridges...

Yep... My fear of heights is still in perfect tact!  

We got threw about 1/2 the tour before we heard some thunder in the distance. It wasn't bit 10 minutes later that the sky's opened up like I have never seen before. At first it wasn't so bad as we were still in the forest and the trees blocked a lot.  The tough Part was it was so beautiful when we started the walk that we didn't even think to bring our rain gear.  Thank goodness Spencer at least had a backpack so we were able to somewhat protect my camera. It seemed like a very long walk back.  What's unfortunate is the water felt great and would have been way more enjoyable if we didn't have electronics we were trying to save! 

Good news... They were saved.  Bad news... I was so worried about the elcteinics, I didn't think of my purse so let's just say, we may be bringing home a little piece or Costa Rica with us too as dried up rain in our passports!  😁. They may be slightly warped and more lives after today!  

Driving back in the rain, although wasn't terrible... It wasn't great and made me that much more thankful I didn't drive last night.  The worst part... Spencers one outfit... Is now drenched!  What are the chances it will dry overnight?! 

Looks like we will lose some more time tomorrow shopping for new clothes for Spencer.  That's right... Still no bag.  We had some hope today though... Roxie made a call for me and they told her they have the bag.  Yeah! But then I called myself after we got back from our bridge hike and they basically told me my bag came in the same time as the others and if you don't have it my only option is to go back to the airport.  That would waste whole other day.  But oddly... Then Roxie called again and they told her that they have the bag and will deliver it to our hotel. Talk about a hope disappointment cycle??  The saga will continue until this darn bag is in our possession.  

We decide to not let the bag debacle bring us down.... So what are we tondo in the middle of monsoon type weather than to go swimming in the hot spring pool?!  We were already drenched, so why not enjoy the downpour by being in it!  This photo is horrible because it was raining so hard, I couldn't even focus the photo!

I took a video too... But it won't let me upload to here. The rain was so loud I couldn't even hear myself talk!

It was a fun night tossing the football around, in the downpour, in the hot spring pool, with an occasional glimpse of the volcano.  It was pretty awesome! Spencer commented more than once on how he really likes the place. Although... After we came in and started playing a card game... We were joined once by a bettle and once by a grasshopper (or that's what we thought it was). At this point he said "Inside is acting a little too much like the outside". True statement... Not sure how well I will sleep tonight! 😳

But it is that time....  Buenos notches! 

8/3/16: The day is here! Costa Rica... Here we come!

Wednesday, August 3

I woke Spencer up around 6am.  I asked him if he wanted the good news, or the bad news.  I told him our flight was cancelled and the look I got was one of confusion. He was still sleepy and couldn't fully comprehend.  I quickly followed up with... But they rebooked and you got extra sleep.  So, we were up, showered and ready to go by the time Roxie came to pick us up to drive us to the airport.  

A little sad and disappointed about the late start, but we are off!  We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare so what more does a 13 year old want than coffee!?  😝

I think this coffee gave him super powers though as he beat me in a simple game of war in record time!  Pretty sure it may have been a world record. 

On our way to our quick stop in Dallas... Which Spencer was oddly excited about.  He said he's always wanted to go.  The innocence of him not caring that it was just an hour he'd be on Texas soil.

After riding the tram to the other side of the airport, in which fun was had by all, we walked around to waste a few minutes before boarding. We found a Dallas Cowboys store.  Of course with football just starting... We couldn't pass it up.  He did find one of his favorite players jerseys though... Ezickiell Elliot.  Let me put it on record that Spencer predicts he will be crowned rookie of the year.  

We were looking for a sign saying "Everything's Bigger in Texas"... But we had to settle for this cool statue! 

Time to board for San Jose, CR!  

Well... 2 more games of war on the flight here.  Spencer has to have a lucky horseshoe hidden somewhere as he not only won both but at one point he was down to 2 cards.  Yes, 2 cards!!  How do you come back from that!? 

Anyway... On to the remaining adventure of the day....  Our flight leaving Dallas was slightly late as well. So the question was... Being it was going to be dark by the time we land... Do we still drive 3 hrs to our final destination?! I was leaning toward no, but after a conversation with a very sweet group of ladies, that was confirmed for me.  One of the ladies has been to Costa Rica many times and she strongly advised against it.  

So... The flight lands and we head to go through the necessary steps to get our luggage and head through customs.  It's never a good sign when you are one of the only ones standing there waiting for a bag.  We proceed to the desk to have them look for our one missing bag. Yep... It was never scanned from Dallas to Costa Rica.  The ironic part is it was a carry on but they asked people to check them for free....  That didn't work so well for us!  😁 Spencer will not have clean clothes for 24-36 hours, assuming they find it.  Could be worse, right?! 😁😏

While waiting, I found a hotel to crash at for the night.  Hoping the airlines will reimburse us for some of this trouble. 

Off to get our rental...  The guys there were very nice and helpful. They even put the hotel in the GPS for us.  We found SantaMaria. But this is when we also found out that we were not at the right SantaMaria.  We were at SantaMaria Inn, Not Hotel SantaMaria.  Back in the car!

We found it!  Yeah!  But... they do not recommend parking on the street so he directs me to a parking lot not far away.  Here I am created by another nice man, yet this one speaks no English. I kept telling myself I should learn more Spanish!!  But... We made it through enough and our car is safe Til morning.  

Back to the room to rest up!  It's nothing fancy...  But we've got beds and a shower! 

It's been a long day.... 

Buenos noches!!  

8/2/16: Preparing for Costa Rica....

August 2 - 2016

After a half day of work I ran some errands, finished up some photography projects and packed. 

I finished packing and was snuggling in for the few hours I would get before the alarm would wake me at 3am to get up and ready to head to the airport. As I was calling it a night, I listened to a voicemail ignored from a 1-800 number a few hours ago. Maybe I should not have ignored it.  It was the airlines letting me know our flight was cancelled. Deep breath.  What!! Cancelled?! Deep breath. They did book us on another flight... just 4 hours later.  Not so bad, right?!?  I sure hope not!  Good news... We get to sleep in.  Bad news... We have a 3-4 hour drive to our hotel when we get to Costa Rica.  It will be a late one!! Yep... One more deep breath....