Costa Rica Installment #2

On Tuesday while the kids swam at the house, Mark and Gustavo went to the Costa Rica v. Spain soccer match. They had an awesome time, especially since Costa Rica tied the game 2 - 2 against one of the top teams in the world. The stadium was just a bit bigger than ours here in Portland.

Sarah picked flowers everywhere we went. We tried to convince her to only pick the flowers that had fallen to the ground, but we were only semi-successful.

On Wednesday we left Gustavo and Silvia behind and went to Arenal, an active volcano (though it was too cloudy for us to actually see the lava flowing), and stayed at the Kioro hotel which is owned by some friends of Gustavo. Meynor drove us there which was really relaxing. The roads are curvy and crazy. Sometimes you have to drive very slow behind a slow truck for a long time because there is no way to pass. It would have been very easy to get lost. It was nice to sit next to Mark in the car the whole way while the kids watched movies in the back. We stopped at a traditional Costa Rican restaurant for lunch. I loved my smashed, fried platano with guacamole and refried beans. Yum! Bennett was not too thrilled that even the nachos did not look like nachos from home! Luckily we bought some peanut butter in San Jose to keep him from starving.

Jackson loved the wildlife that we saw along the way, including these vultures drying their wings after the rain.

The hotel is the closest to the volcano and the view is beautiful. The room with large with 2 double beds and a single, plus a portacrib, all fitting easily. There was a large hot tub in the room and enormous floor to ceiling windows with a view of the volcano. It was cloudy the whole time we were there so the view of the top of volcano was obscured but it was still spectacular. The hotel had a small wading pool, another swimming pool, and then several hot springs that were not very hot but fun little hot-tub-type of pool, natural looking (though man-made) with water falling one into another.

They greeted us with fresh fruit juice at the entrance to the hotel. (All the hotels did this. Super yummy, thick, fresh-squeezed juice.) That afternoon while we were getting ready to swim there was a complaint about our noise from the people below us -- who can blame them? So while we swam, Mark had them move us to a different room on the first floor far away from most of the other guests. Much better for all of us. The kids loved playing in the pool and wore themselves out. Paxton loved to just run through the wading pool and around, and do it again and again. Bennett is getting to be a pretty good swimmer, more & more confident in his abilities. Jackson loves to play, sometimes a little too rough for the younger ones, so it’s good when Mark gets in and rough-houses with him.

Then we went to our room. The kids played in the hot tub, bathed and watched a movie, while Meynor took Mark into town for some groceries and some pizza. Totally perfect. The kids slept pretty well considering the unfamiliar surroundings, yet again. Bennett talked in his sleep a lot, calling out for me several times, and one time for Gustavo.

The next day Meynor drove us out to some hanging bridges (“Puentes Colgantes”). We hiked through the rain forest and crossed a whole bunch of high bridges through the rain forest. It was a beautiful hike. It rained a little, but not much, and we were mostly shaded by the trees. Paxton did a great job in the backpack. Sarah rode for a while, and then walked much of the way. Bennett and Jackson are great hikers. We saw a lot of birds and beautiful plants and waterfalls. Great views.

We saw a blue macaw that was probably somewhat domesticated as it loved the crowds of people. Jackson also spotted an oriole snake in a nearby tree.

We stopped in La Fortuna, the closest town for lunch. You can tell that Meynor has  friends everywhere and takes his passengers to frequent their restaurants -- good for both him & restaurant owner. I had a “casado” which is the typical Costa Rican dish with beans, rice and some type of meat (steak this time for me.) We tried to take the kids around for a little walk in La Fortuna but it didn’t go very well, as everyone was very tired so we cut it short. W

e had quiet time in our hotel room, and then swam again in the evening. I went to the spa for a short, complimentary mud mask that was quick but refreshing. (I found it interesting that no one tried to convince me to do something more. Very un-American. I don’t know if that is cultural, or just those spa employees.) Mark played with the kids in the pool. A little later it poured rain but Bennett, Sarah and Jackson still loved swimming with Mark in the rain. Paxton doesn’t like the rain so he and I ran around on the patio under cover and played while everyone else swam.

Again, the kids swam in the hot tub, bathed and ate peanut butter sandwiches in our room. They all settled down to watch a movie in bed while Mark and I had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant: ceviche, salad with a yummy dressing, and a delicious steak with vegetables. We shared a chocolate cake with vanilla sorbet at the end that I liked more than Mark did. It was nice to enjoy some quiet together.

 

The next morning we woke up very early. Breakfast was included at the hotel so we enjoyed it as much as we could. The kids liked the bacon and pancakes. There were eggs, made to order, granola, yogurt, cereal, rice & beans, meat cooked like pulled pork, pastries, fresh juice. Yum! We drove several hours back to San Jose, straight to the local airport. We met Gustavo there. It was a little stressful because we could only take 25 lbs per person which was much less than we had planned on. So we left a lot of things at Gustavo’s house. It was a tiny airplane. It only carried 18-20 people. It was not all the way full. Sarah insisted on sitting in a row by herself. Paxton was tired and hot, and fell asleep mid-flight. Bennett was nervous but did a great job, forgot his problems by drawing pictures. Jackson loved looking out the windows. It was fun to talk with the other passengers, mostly American, to see where they were going. I did not particularly enjoy the flight, too bumpy (clouds), not enough air, small plane. But it got us where we needed to go.

Vamos a Costa Rica!

It was a long two days of flying, with an overnight stop in Dallas for the boys, but we all made it through in one piece. The kids did amazingly well for how long we were on the airplane. Gustavo and his brother, Meynor, met us at the airport and drove us to Gustavo's house, just a little ways outside San Jose.

Silvia and Gustavo live in a great house with an amazing view. This is the view from the back deck upstairs. Gorgeous! The humidity has taken some getting use to, especially since the Seguras do not have air conditioning, but after a day or two, it just feels pretty normal. We are lucky this isn't the hot season.

They have all kinds of fruit trees growing in their yard -- lemons, pineapple, mangos, and more. This is one of the green lemons we had with our sea bass on Monday night. Yum!!

They have an acre of land that slopes steeply after the pool. Bennett thought it great fun to climb the mountain. Paxton tried but was not quite so successful. Just covered with mud.

Monday, our first day, we drove in Meynor's mini-bus with Gustavo, Siliva & Santiago (their 3-month-old) to the Atlantic Aerial Tram. The first animal we saw we a very poisonous viper. He is the tiny pretzel looking thing in the middle of the photo (a little out of focus). Later there were two of them sitting side-by-side. We kept having to remind Sarah that they were dangerous and she didn't want to hold them, even though they were little and "cute."

Next we saw a sloth high up in the tree. They had a telescope so you could get a closer view. He was in the same spot almost the whole time we were there so you could get a really good look at him. In this picture, he is the brown blog in the upper third of the photo. You may have to click on the photo to enlarge it to really see him well.

Here he is a little bit closer here but still hard to pick out in the picture. About 1/4 of the way in from the left. His right arm is up in the air. He looked right "at" the telescope when I was looking at him.

His outline is clearer here.

The star activity of the day was an aerial tram that carried us through the rain forest layers. It started lower to the ground and then climbed higher and higher until we were in the canopy. It is hard to see animals in the wild because they hide for protection, but the vegetation was amazing and we saw some beautiful birds. Gustavo, Siliva, and Meynor were in a separate tram and they saw an anteater. Bennett was really scared but, as usual, Mark was able to talk him into trying and he LOVED it.

Paxton loved everything, except for having to sit still in the tram. Once he got to stand in front, he had a much better time.

Incredible flowers.

"Broccoli" trees.

"I'm not scared at all anymore!"

The humidity is a challenge for anyone with curly hair. I just put in a bunch of product, pin back my bangs, and let it go. There is nothing else to do. I have never seen my hair so curly. It was drizzling much of the morning. But with our light jackets, we were fine. It seems so strange that it can rain and be warm at the same time.

It is impossible to capture the beauty and dense richness on camera.

Jackson, the scientist, was interested in everything - plants, birds, animals -- soaking it all in.

Gustavo and Silvia. Santiago is under the blanket.

Looking at an enormous spider on a huge web. Yuck!

All of us with Meynor. He and Sarah have become good buddies. She held hands with him while we walked to butterfly garden. She even shared her Oreos with him (AFTER she licked the cream out of the middle) -- so kind!

Paxton was exhausted, so Mark walked him around in the backpack until he fell asleep while the rest of us ate lunch. We had a typical Costa Rican lunch of rice and chicken with plantains in honey for dessert. They had a juice of guava and cas, which is a Costa Rican guava -- so delicious! The food was all really good, although Bennett did not enjoy it all!

Jackson, Mark and Gustavo went on a great zipline tour. They all loved it!

Meynor and I took the other kids to the butterfly garden while Silvia rocked the baby to sleep. One of the butterflies decided he really liked Meynor. We had a difficult time keeping Sarah on the trail. One time she fell in the mud. Another time, she almost grabbed a bullet ant, named so because of how it feels when it bites you. Freaked us all out! We decided we would not go on a longer hike through the forest without her in a backpack. (I was already carrying Paxton.)

But she was totally enchanted by the butterflies. She was thoroughly in love.
Driving home took a very long time. The traffic in San Jose is amazing, as well as the tiny roads that we had to maneuver. I was so glad Meynor was driving. We were so thankful for the DVD player so the kids were patient as we crawled back home. When we finally got home, we quickly fed them quesadillas and put them to bed. Then we had a nice "grown-up" dinner (including Jackson) of sea bass and mashed potatoes. Gustavo is a good cook!

Tuesday was a much quieter day at Gustavo's house. The kids swam in the pool for hours. They are squinting in all the pictures we took because none of us are used to the sun.

Thankfully Gustavo has internet access at his house so we are able to communicate with family back home. Here I am showing Silvia pictures of my beautiful niece, Genevieve, on Amanda's blog.

There were lots of butterflies in the garden and Sarah was enchanted with them all day. She also picked most of the flowers she could find. I put sunscreen on her part so she wouldn't get burned which makes her look a little like a skunk in this picture.

Gustavo and I eating breakfast on the patio while I downloaded photos from the camera.

At lunch, Gustavo and Mark left to go to a soccer game -- Costa Rica versus Spain. Very exciting, since Spain is considered one of the best teams in the world. They had a great seats and really enjoyed the game which ended 2 - 2, even though it poured rain on them. We enjoyed the rainstorm too. After quiet/nap time, we played soccer under the cover of the patio, sat and chatted with Silvia, flirted with Santiago, and then went for a swim during the rainstorm -- so fun and unforgettable, for everyone except Paxton who did not like it at all. A very pleasant relaxing day. Gustavo and Silvia are amazing hosts. Natalie would be proud of me and all my Spanish speaking. Silvia does not like to speak English (for the same reasons I don't like to speak Spanish) so I've been trying really hard to speak Spanish a lot. She has gotten more comfortable with us and now she tries to speak English with the kids, but she and I usually speak mostly Spanish. Between the two of us we are able to have a pretty good conversation. The kids just love them, and that has made the trip so pleasant. Paxton says, "Mommy, I need you" whenever he wants something. And he'll repeat it over and over again. Meynor started teasing him, saying "Paxton, I need you!" Paxton responded "I can't need you!" again and again, while laughing and smiling, totally getting the joke. It has become a running mantra between the two of them, and makes everyone smile. 

More photos and details to come....