Costa Rica is so incredibly beautiful. Mom and Steve H. came with us from our brief stop in the states and we all hung out on the beach for a week in Samara and had a great time.
We did some good lounging on the beach. Even went boogie boarding on Steve's birthday.
Family time in Samara.
Um, somehow we all ended up with mayonnaise in our hair.
The main (dirt) road in Samara.
Mom & Steve stayed at a non-budget option in Samara.
How cute are my mom and her husband? Love them.
Not sure how we ended up here. I almost think it was more dangerous in the stands they were so overcrowded!
It took some doing since everything was so expensive in Tamarindo, but we found this place on the beach for $20 US.
When in Rome ... Steve took surfing lessons in Tamarindo. I took my turn on the board and got up, but then fell and the board knocked me in the head. :(
Pension St. Elena in Monte Verde. I spent a lot of time in that hammock reading the Chronicals of Narnia that I found at the local book trade!
Common kitchen at the Pension St. Elena. We cooked some great meals here.
The Aleman Ranger Station inside Monte Verde Cloud Forest. We hiked in and stayed the night here.
Me looking out with the binoculars from the ranger station in the Monte Verde Cloud Forest.
We cooked so much pasta at the ranger station and had to find whatever we could to store it in to take back on our hike. LOL It was stuffed in a water bottle and the pasta bag.
I am so fascinated by leaf cutter ants.
This is a strangler fig that killed the tree it wrapped around, leaving a hollow center. You can climb up inside it all the way to the top of the canopy! Look, that's Steve in the tree!
What a pretty giant flower from the ginger plant.
Arenal Volacno. It's rare to see the top because it's almost always covered in clouds.
Some girls coming home from school in traditional dress.
A kapok tree.