Costa Rica: Montezuma, Part 2

After having fun at the waterfalls, we got ready to go on a zip line through the canopy. We had a blast! I am not going to lie, I was a little nervous a few times, but it was a lot of fun! The guides got us set up with our gear and we were ready to go!




We did 9 zip lines and took a break 1/2 way through to hang out some more at the waterfalls.

The zip line was a lot of fun, but after all of the activity for the day we were exhausted! We went to dinner at a great Pizza place and then went to another restaurant to have dessert and watch a movie. One of the local places plays a movie every night at 7:30. So we had great ice cream and watched the Hangover. It was a fun change of pace to what we had been doing for a week!

Costa Rica: Montezuma, Part 1

The last three days of our vacation in Costa Rica was spent in Montezuma and we managed to cram a lot into a short amount of time. This was a fun little town filled with lots of stores and restaurants. The town was definitely laid back. We stayed at a B&B/Butterfly Garden. The place was very nice and served great food for breakfast. Every morning we had great coffee and fruit, it was wonderful and relaxing! On our first full day we went on a hike to some waterfalls. We hiked to the very top of a set of three falls. The first one was a 10 foot drop to a beautiful pool below. It was very pretty and we had fun jumping off the cliff and swinging on a rope into the pool.





Below the 10 foot waterfall is 45 foot waterfall. We hiked down to the pool below the 45' cliff to take some pictures and swim. Eric did a jump from about 3/4 of the way up but the rest of us were a little too scared to try.





From the pool at the 45 foot falls, you can swim up to the edge of the next falls... This one is a 100 foot drop. No jumping off of this one! It was an incredible view though.

Mangoes, watermellon, papaya, pineapple....

On one of our drives we drove through miles and miles of farm land. The land was beautiful and lush. Seeing things growing up from the ground (or in the trees) really made me excited for our growing season here in GA and for our fresh veggies from the CSA! While driving we saw watermelon....


Mangoes....


And papaya (didn't get a picture of that one). At our last destination we also saw a lot of fruits. The B&B we stayed at had plantains, pineapple, mangoes, and noni fruit. Unfortunately nothing was ripe enough to try. The pineapple was only the size of an orange.






The B&B also had a cashew tree. I love cashews and was excited to see how they grew. The little cashew nut is found in these green pods. The pods are about an inch and a half long and only hold one nut. Before eating anything these pods need to be roasted to get to the nut. Apparently there is corrosive oils in the pods that would not be good for you to eat raw. Now I understand why these little nuts are so expensive, it is a lot of work!

Costa Rican Roads

While in Costa Rica you need to be very careful while driving. There are MANY obstacles you will face while driving from place to place. For example while driving we had problems with :

1. The locals standing on the side of the road and not moving an inch out of the way when you drive by them.

2. Pot holes, rocks, and big bumps in the roads

3. Little to no road signs directing you to your destination

and last but not least....

4. COWS!

We saw several cows in the road blocking our way. Sometimes it was because they got out and were meandering around and sometimes it was because they were being moved by their owners and the road is apparently the best way to do it. Here is a group of cows being herded by some Costa Rican Cowboys.... one of the many times we had to wait for a cow in the road.

Costa Rica: Playa Flamingo

Playa Flamingo is a cute little town with lots of beaches near by. We stayed in a nice two bedroom condo that had a kitchen and a great pool. We spent 3 days at several different beaches. We would get up every morning early, eat breakfast at the condo and then head out to the beach for some fun in the sun and ocean waves. In the afternoon we would head to the pool (and the shade!) for some more rest & relaxation time. Our favorite beach was Playa Grande. The beach seemed to stretch for miles and miles. There were a lot of surfers at this beach and even some fishermen. Here are some pics from Playa Grande:

I have to say our last day at Playa Flamingo was the best. We started out the morning at Sugar Beach Hotel for breakfast. At breakfast there were these beautiful birds that were waiting for some crumbs to be left on the tables. When the group next to us left their table, a bird swooped in and stole some sugar packets! Here is a picture of one of these funny birds....

After breakfast we hit up Playa Pan de Azucar (Sugar bread beach) and Playa Punta Danta. The water at both places was a perfect shade of blue. At Playa Punta Danta we did a little snorkeling. Eric and I found some small fish but had a hard time getting some good pictures....

Snorkeling was fun, but I got drilled by a few waves on the way back in and needed a break! We went back to the condo for some lunch before heading back to Playa Grande. At Playa Grande we rented a surfboard and two boogie boards. We had a great time (and a few minor injuries) out on the waves...here are more pictures....

Costa Rica: Arenal Volcano

Saturday, March 6th. We got up at 5:30am to be out the door and to pick up our friends, Michelle & Kelly, to drive to the airport. By 10:00am we were on a plane to Costa Rica! The landing was a little bumpy - scratch that...the landing was frightening! It was very bumpy all the way down and we swerved on the runway! We are talking about swerving on a runway in a VERY large plane. Once my stomach settled and we were through customs it hit me... We are in Costa Rica!! We got our rental car and started driving to Arenal Volcano. When we got to our destination, it was dark so we didn't get to see how beautiful it was until the next morning. The view from our balcony was beautiful. You cant see it very well because of the clouds... but this picture is of the Volcano.


Unfortunately the whole time we were at Arenal the volcano was clouded over. We could hear the volcano though, which was pretty cool. At the lodge we were staying at we saw some wild life. Mostly birds and this little guy below. He is called a Coati. We saw a lot of these at the lodge.


While at Arenal, we also hiked to a beautiful waterfall. It was clouded over but very warm and humid. It was nice to be outside after the long winter in GA! Here are some of my fav. pictures from our hike...





Arenal was a lot of fun and I definitely want to go back, especially since we didn't get to see the lava flow. After hanging out at Arenal for a day we headed to our next destination: Playa Flamingo (Flamingo Beach). Along the way we drove by Arenal Lake and couldn't resist to stop for pictures!

All over

The vacation is all over and I am back tan, bruised, relaxed, and somewhat rested. I have a lot to tell of our vacation in Costa Rica and a lot of pictures to show but right now I am back to work and back to school. Hopefully I will have time to blog about my trip soon! Until then....Puria Vida!

Overly excited

Soon we will be taking a well overdue vacation to Costa Rica! I am overly excited to be going. Our first stop is at Arenal Volcano where we will be staying at the Observatory Lodge. The volcano does have an active lava flow and we should be able to see it from the lodge. I have never seen an active volcano and to be honest it is a little scary! I know we will be fine though! The current conditions at Arenal are 65-70° F. I cant wait to be somewhere warm! It has been cold, wet, and windy here for way too long. I am just ready to be outside hiking, swimming, and exploring. While at Arenal we will be able to do some hiking to a waterfall, around the volcano, and swim in a natural hot springs.

After a day at the volcano the rest of our time will be spent at on the Nicoya Peninsula. We will be staying at Playa Flamingo a few nights and then going to Montezuma. The weather will be in the high 80s and in the 60s for night time lows. I plan to spend a lot of time on the beach enjoying some sun and snorkeling. We also plan to go on a zip line through the jungle. Eric and I did this on our honeymoon and it was a great experience. I cant wait to do it again! We will also do some more hiking and go to Costa Rica's first natural reserve Cabo Blanco.

Again, I am overly excited and just cant wait to get away!! You know I will have a lot of pictures for you when I get back! Adios!!

Did you know....

that tulips like copper? A friendly lady at the flower shop once told me to put a couple of pennies in a vase with your tulips and they will stay straight, last longer, and even keep growing. It works! I put a few pennies in my vase now every time I get tulips and they always look great! Just wanted to share that little bit of information with you.