Costa Rica - 1st Beach Day

"God's love is like an ocean; you can see it's beginning, but not it's end." - Rick Warren

Every time I look at the vastness of the ocean, I am reminded of how big God is, how amazing he is, how he not only knows and sees, but created every little speck of this giant amazing place. Then to think of his love and nothing compares to it. The ocean is one of those places that changes our family, all 4 of us, we seem to relax and let everything go when we are at the beach.

At 7am on our second day, I woke up to these two reading! They were so cute and peaceful I had to freeze the moment, because it won't last for long.

We stayed in Playa Flamingo where we could have a little quiet spot on the beach without the crowds. We still wanted to see all the good beaches close by, so we headed north expecting to make our way down the coast and then decide what beaches we wanted to spend most of our time at. Turns out we spent the whole day at Las Catalinas.

We found a little parking lot and a trail to the beach. Bummer that I didn't think to put on my bug spray. I had maybe 1 mosquito bite the whole trip until this little walk and I ended up with about 15 bites!

But it sure was a nice little walk with beautiful views!

And a beautiful beach!

I think the ocean is more salty in Costa Rica. We could float for hours.

We decided to walk over some rocks to another part of beach (the part where the trail would have only been about a minute long instead of 15 minutes). When we got to that beach we found this restaurant and shop with all this cool outdoor stuff. We did a little tight rope walking...

Tight rope walking isn't so easy.

Rope swings are always fun.

So are giant swings hanging from a giant tree.

Little C was probably the best at the tight rope.

We rented a couple kayaks. I wanted to go to the islands and Dr. C wanted to find a secret beach.

So, why not do both?

Finally at the end of the day we took the short trail back to the car minus the mosquitos and had no time for any other beaches.

Come back to see what beach is next!

Pura Vida!

Kristen

Moving onto the Beach

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. - John Muir

This quote is as fitting to the Sierra Nevada as to Yellowstone as to here in Costa Rica. I am just in awe of the beauty God created for us to enjoy. I love that the Costa Rican take care of their land and try to keep that beauty here for everyone to see.

Early this morning I woke to the sound of monkeys, so I went out on the patio to see if I could see them. I couldn't, they were deeper in the jungle then I thought, but there were a few birds out. I wanted to walk around, but didn't want to wake my family by getting dressed.

Today we moved onto the beach. It was a long 4 hour drive, but it didn't seem that way. There is so much to see, even along the road. We even hit a little road block. Much different then the kind we remember in Yellowstone. This one was a high school band playing in the street because today is a holiday kind of like our 4th of July.

We made a stop for a snack.

Of course, the view was amazing.

We made it to our hotel and were greeted by this guy on the steps.

View from our balcony. This place seems deserted so that beach down there is all ours.

 We did some grocery shopping in Tamarindo and stopped to see the beach.

 Then we came back to our private beach.

After exploring the beach, I made us a real home made Casado minus the salad. I added the veggies to the rice instead.

A little after dinner relaxing.

Pura Vida,

Kristen

Last Day in La Fortuna

Our last day in La Fortuna... no set plans, just gonna explore.

Every morning, we start start our day off at this exact table. We were seated here our first night and we loved it because it is right on the edge and there are no walls or windows on the restaurant. 

Every meal, this little green guy comes out to greet us.

While waiting for Dr. C, the kids and I went outside to take a few pictures around the hotel restaurant.

We decided we couldn't leave La Fortuna without seeing the hanging bridges. Personally, I liked the bridges we walked over before zip lining better. But, I am glad I got to see these also.

There is a wild boar down there if you look very, very closely.

And a wild monkey!

After the bridges and a very long nap for me, back to the pools to relax.

L is at the top of the slide ready to go down.

And there is Dr. C shooting out of the slide like a cannon.

Why stay at 1 pool when you have 10 to enjoy.

These are some private pools with 2 seats and jets in each.

After the pools, we went into town to eat at a Soda and have an after dinner treat. There is this neat grassy area in the middle of town, so we sat and relaxed there. It was quite busy, lots of families and not a single child on an electronic. They were all running around with each other playing with soccer balls, scooters and tag. You know, the old fashion stuff.

C & L were twirling around and then having races and a little 1 yr old was trying to chase after them.

Here is a summer salt race.

It was so much fun just being a part of the town this night! Some of the parents came up and introduced themselves to us and we chatted a bit as much as we could with our limited Spanish. Again, people have been so nice everywhere we go around here, not just the workers on the tours.

I am excited to see the beach.

Kristen