August 19th: Day of Hope

Day 5 in Costa Rica: Beach Day!

Day 5 in Costa Rica was our first "beach day" of the trip!

We awoke and ate breakfast at our hotel, which was AMAZING. I know I said the breakfast at our first hotel was amazing, and it was, but the food at La Mansion was on a completely different level! Each morning we enjoyed the best coffee, fruit, and food from their large breakfast menu. This particular morning I had french toast (the best I've ever had), and Jason had an omelet.


At noon we caught the free shuttle from our hotel to the public beach outside Manuel Antonio. It was fairly busy, but we had no trouble finding a spot on the sand. Right away we went into the water! We had a lot of fun wading around and playing in the huge waves. For the next few hours we alternated reading, people-watching, and relaxing on the beach, and running into the ocean to cool off.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this beach, because we took a disposable camera and haven't developed the film yet. I will be sure to post some once we have them. But it was beautiful, and very relaxing!

Later that afternoon we enjoyed tropical drinks back at our hotel, and more scenic views from the patio.



For dinner Wednesday night we went to a nearby outdoor restaurant called Salsipuedes, which serves tapas (small dishes to share). The restaurant overlooks the ocean, and we saw a lovely sunset.

Salsipuedes before sunset

our hotel is the middle group of lights in this photo (click to enlarge)

We were very entertained by the cat and dog who roamed the patio, and the live band playing covers of 80s songs. It was quite the place, and a great way to wrap up another wonderful day in paradise!

Salsipuedes after dark

Costa Rica Day 4: Arenal to Manuel Antonio

On Tuesday morning we woke up early and prepared to leave one part of paradise for another! We enjoyed one last breakfast at Arenal, and took one more picture in front of the volcano. At 7:00 our Interbus shuttle arrived and we were on our way!

last photo at the Arenal volcano!

The ride from the Arenal area to Manuel Antonio was scenic and a fun experience. We enjoyed seeing more of Costa Rica as we drove south to the Pacific coast. We bought plantain chips and Chiky cookies at a rest stop—yum!

As we drove into Quepos, the town next to Manuel Antonio National Park, we became more and more excited for the second part of our trip! We noticed endless fields of palm trees along both side of the road. Quepos is a port city on the Pacific coast, and was once a large exporter of bananas, then chocolate. Now, the city's main product is palm oil from all those trees.

We arrived at our (gorgeous!) hotel around lunchtime and ate outside, next to the pool. We went American with bacon cheeseburgers, and enjoyed a leisurely meal as we marveled at the great views and beautiful surroundings.

lunch on the patio

Our room at this hotel (La Mansion Inn, if you're interested) was absolutely amazing! It was very spacious, with a view of the ocean. The hotel staff was very accommodating and helpful during our stay—chatting with us and helping us arrange tours.

the view of our lawn and the ocean

We moved our belongings into our room and then were off to explore a bit of Quepos. Our first stop was a grocery store to buy water and snacks. We almost went to one grocery store, but the taxi driver suggested that another store was much cheaper. We were, of course, grateful for the suggestion and took his advice! He also mentioned a nearby restaurant, so we headed there for dinner afterward. It was a local soda called Quepoa. Jason enjoyed arroz con camarones (seafood and rice) and I had a quesadilla. We both had fresh watermelon juice, which was so refreshing!

That evening we were tired from the long day of traveling, so we relaxed in our room, enjoying the TV and air conditioning (we had neither at the first hotel)!

Costa Rica Trip: Day 3

Day 3 in Costa Rica was our last day at the Arenal volcano, and the most adventurous day of the trip yet!

We started the day with another fantastic breakfast. The pineapple was the freshest and best we'd ever had.

the hanging bridge we walked across to get from our room to the restaurant

At 9 am we took a horseback ride around the grounds of the lodge. The group was very small—just us, the guide, and a family of three from Brazil. The ride took us over almost the entire property, including across a river a few times, which involved forcing our horses to step down a very steep and muddy path and through the water. Quite exciting! We also rode across pastures and through rain forest. After our ride we had lunch, then took a nap (fully embracing Costa Rican culture).


Well, we embraced the culture a little too much, and almost missed our bus for our afternoon activity! We awoke to someone pounding at our door, and a guy speaking Spanish very rapidly. We finally understood what was happening, and rushed up to the front desk to catch our ride. Thankfully, no one was too upset about having to wait for us.

It's a very good thing we caught our ride, because our afternoon activity was ziplining across the longest, fastest, and highest lines in the country! It was such an adrenaline rush! We rode 8 ziplines, the longest being 2500 feet (and zipping us along at speeds up to 50 mph). The ziplines were so long that we actually had to assume a goofy position while riding, to maintain our speed. We had to cross our legs at the ankles and put our knees in the air. Then at the end of the line we had to spread our legs apart so they wouldn't swing up and hit the cable! We looked totally goofy, but it was worth it. I have to admit that on the first line I was focused only on my "form" and not falling off! But after that I was able to appreciate the beautiful landscape we were zipping over and through, and the volcano and lake in the background. It was awesome!

I wish we had some great pictures of ziplining, but we weren't able to take our camera. However, I was able to work something out....

OK, so these aren't our bodies... but these are the actual lines we rode!

with our zipline gear

After ziplining we were ready to relax and have dinner back at the lodge. We enjoyed a great view of the volcano from our restaurant, and more trés leches cake! The weather was perfect all day, with no rain whatsoever. A perfect final day at Arenal.

trés leches by candlelight



"seismograph"

Jason reacts to the idea of a catastrophic volcanic eruption


happy in Costa Rica

Next up: the pacific coast and Manuel Antonio!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: A Few Garden Pics

a lovely stone from Heather and Julie (click to enlarge)

the stone we created at Faith's Lodge

I almost couldn't pull these "weeds"

Costa Rica trip: Arenal Volcano Day 2

Our second day in Costa Rica was very full and exciting! We awoke to the beautiful view from our room, and ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Their breakfast was excellent! We had the traditional meal of gallo pinto, fried plantains, fruit, and coffee.

After breakfast we took a guided nature hike around the hotel property. Our guide had a great eye for spotting animals, and we saw a howler monkey in a tree with her baby! We also saw 2 blue Morpho butterflies and many birds.

crossing a hanging bridge during our hike

a beautiful waterfall on the hotel property

In the afternoon we went into La Fortuna for lunch. On the drive we asked our taxi driver for a recommendation, and he brought us to Soda La Parada. It seemed to be a popular place, and with good reason! It had really good food and was very reasonably priced. The restaurant overlooked La Fortuna's beautiful central park.

central park in La Fortuna

After lunch we went to the La Fortuna waterfall. It was raining—pouring, actually—but we didn't care, and made the steep hike down to the falls anyway. After 500 steps we reached the base of the waterfall. It is incredible! Definitely the largest waterfall I have seen in my life. The pictures don't do it justice, but perhaps you can make out Jason in the corner of the second one, for a size comparison! Even though we were soaked, we still had a great time!

soaking wet but happy

La Catarata—Jason is in the lower right corner (click to enlarge)

In the evening we ate at the hotel, and had trés leches cake for dessert. It was sooo good (I seem to be writing a lot about food on this trip!). We fell asleep before 9 pm, we were so worn out from day 2 in paradise!

Summer 2010 Vacation, Part 2: Arenal Volcano Day 1

Here are the highlights of our trip to Costa Rica! This post was a daunting task. We had eight days in paradise, and each day was amazing! We took almost 300 pictures, so weeding through for the highlights took some time. There's a lot to write about (and for you to read)! Because of that, I've split the trip into daily posts to break things up.

Day 1: Arrival and Journey to La Fortuna
We arrived in Costa Rica around 5:30 Saturday morning and caught a taxi to the public bus station in Alajuela. Costa Rica has an amazing public transportation system, but it's not centrally operated, so there are several companies driving all over the country—slightly confusing! We searched the numerous bus schedules, and eventually a friendly tico (Costa Rican) told us the next bus to La Fortuna would arrive in 10 minutes. That was 10 minutes Costa Rica time, so more like half an hour.

Eventually the bus arrived. There were no open seats, so we rode the first hour or so standing, which was quite exciting! The ride was four hours long, and thankfully we eventually got seats. During the trip we enjoyed beautiful views as the bus climbed higher on the narrow roads.

Finally we arrived in La Fortuna, the town next to the Arenal volcano. Fortuna is such a cute town! We were surprised by the number of tourists, but there was still plenty of local culture. We ate lunch and had our first authentic meal of the trip: casado! Casado ("married man's meal") is meat, rice, beans, plantains, and salad (or some combination of that) and is found everywhere in the country. I was beside myself at being back in Costa Rica and eating Costa Rican cuisine!

casado—note the volcano-shaped rice

After lunch we took a quick trip to an Internet cafe (where we spent most of our time trying to figure out how to type the "@" symbol on a Spanish keyboard), then caught a taxi to our hotel.

Our hotel was about 20 minutes away from La Fortuna, on the opposite (active) side of the volcano. The grounds were gorgeous! They had a large area of land, landscaped with beautiful tropical plants. We checked into our room and took a nap, after being awake for over 24 hours.

the view from our room

We spent the evening relaxing, scheduling our tours for the next few days, and saying over and over again, "I can't believe we're really here!" (OK, that may have been mostly me.) Our trip to Costa Rica was already proving to be an adventure!

Summer 2010 Vacation, Part 1: Faith's Lodge

We are back from two weeks of vacation, and it could not have gone better! We feel refreshed, renewed, and (at least on my part) better than I have felt in a long time. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us and this trip—it was everything that we needed it to be, and even more.

I'll try to keep this concise (ETA: I think I failed at that. Oh well, you are warned!), but I want to share all the highlights of our two weeks off! Part One was our stay at Faith's Lodge. Faith's Lodge is a nonprofit retreat center for families and couples who have lost a child, or are dealing with the terminal illness of a child. It allows couples time to relax, process, and remember and honor their child(ren).

The lodge itself was gorgeous! 12,000 square feet, 4 floors. It includes a large commercial kitchen, eating area, wraparound porch, library, craft room, "Eagle's Nest" with beautiful views, and plenty of cozy areas to sit and read or talk. The lodge is in the north woods of Wisconsin, surrounded by tall pine trees. It was also nice and quiet!

the library

our suite

While there we met 5 other couples who have lost babies. No two stories were alike, but for the first time we experienced a community of others who have truly "been there." It took a little time for everyone to warm up, but we left with new friends and the feeling that we'd known some of the couples for years, rather than days.

There were a few activities planned each day, but we were free to do as much or as little as we chose.

We created a bird house and a mosaic stone to add to the boys' garden.


We hiked the Inspiration Path.

one of the quotes posted along Inspiration Path

We canoed on the pond. We spent lots of time reading and reflecting.

There is a bridge at the lodge that is surrounded by small, heart-shaped stones. Each of the stones has been decorated and placed in memory of a child. It was actually pretty overwhelming—like stars in the sky, more and more stones stood out to us the longer we looked. We decorated a stone and placed it under a tree to honor our sons. It was a very meaningful tribute to them.




Faith's Lodge was so good in so many ways. It was also difficult in some ways. Some parts were both good and hard. It was a time of sharing, processing, and healing. We are so very thankful that a place like this exists, and that we had the opportunity to visit.