The Pacific Coast

We´ve been hanging out on the Pacific Coast for almost two weeks and it´s time to head east to the Caribbean side. It´s been great on the Peninsula de Nicoya - a lot like paradise in fact. I didn´t know that we we´d be spending so much time doing beach activities on this trip, but I´m certainly not complaining! From Tamarindo, we went to Samara where we rented surf boards for a couple hours and practiced our skills (and we have only minor injuries to show for it!). Today we went kayaking to a nearby island and got a glimpse of the world underwater by snorkeling. Tomorrow we will take a five hour bus back to San Jose and then head to Puerto Veijo, where hope to listen to some reggae music, eat spicy food and stare at the blue sea.


Drew took a couple shots of me surfing:

Surfer Girl!

We made it to the Pacific coast! Yay! We're staying at a place right on the beach - life is good. Today we had a surfing lesson. I can't express how awesome this was. I've always wanted to try it and am so excited to have finally actually done it. We did pretty well for our first time out. I can see how people get addicted to the sport - it's really fun!

I don't have any photos of us surfing, but here's some of the area:

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! We had a great day hiking in a cloud forest and going on a coffee tour. Beautiful country!

Awww.... The rainy cloud forest:
This is how coffee starts out:


Here are some pics around Monteverde:

La Fortuna

After spending a couple of days in Alajuela, we moved on to a town called La Fortuna. It was built up mostly due to Volcan Arenal, an active volcano that has been spitting out lava since 1968. If you are lucky enough to be here on a clear night, you can see lava spilling down it's side. The activity has created a perfect environment for hot spring resorts. We were able to enjoy the hot springs ourselves - it was wonderful. We've been hiking, eating lots of fruit and enjoying the warm weather. It's so healing. Today we went horse back riding and hiked to a 70 meter waterfall for a swim. We're taking a jeep-boat-jeep trip to Mondeverde tomorrow. Can't wait!

here's some scenes around La Fortuna
the volcano is usually covered with clouds


exotic flowers
this is the hot springs. they have 24 pools, wet bars, etc. the "cold" pools are 100 degrees

walking through the rain forest



this was our path when we were horse back riding. yes, i was riding and taking pictures!
scary bridge on our way down to the waterfall

little Indian village


i'm so glad to be back traveling! it's good for the soul.

San Jose, Costa Rica

Our flights went well and we made it to San Jose! This city is intense - busy and warm. We're so excited to be here! We're learning to get around (although it's not easy with this bus system!) We spent a couple of days in San Jose and moved on to a smaller town. Tomorrow, we're off to check out an active volcano in La Fortuna and then we'll head to the coast. Our itinerary is still pretty open. We've met some very nice people already that have given us advice about where to go next. I heard that it's really cold in MN right now - we are in a different world. I've been writing a lot and hopefully my writings will be good enough to share at some point. This is going to be quite the adventure! :) XO

Watching the Deer

We spent a lot of time watching deer that live in the area. Drew put seed out for the birds and the deer came just before dark and ate every last bit. They are such beautiful animals.

Seasons

I just thought I'd throw up some fall/winter comparisons. I'll have to add some spring and summer ones later! :)