We left Wednesday May 2 and had to fly out of Dulles. Sarah drove us up and we got the airport around 1pm. We said our goodbyes and went through security. Like a good father(and like my wife told me), I took the girls to the bathroom before we got on the plane. We boarded the plane, began to taxi, Elaine informed me she had to go potty again, and then stopped--for about 3 hours. We missed our connection to Costa Rica so we spent the night in Atlanta.
Thursday May 3 - Left Atlanta in the AM and got to Costa Rica about 1pm. Mom and Dad picked us up and we went to the neighborhood my dad grew up in. We went to see my Great Uncle--the first member of the church on my dad's side of the family. He told us some stories about my dad growing up and growth of the church in Costa Rica. We ate dinner and went to the temple. While we wanted to do a session, it was late and the girls were antsy; however, there was a youth temple trip and we helped do some confirmations. The temple is beatiful and we enjoyed the spirit there.
Friday May 4 - We spent the night in San Miguel, where my grandpa lived years ago and had purchased a home there. We ate breakfast at my dad's cousin house--platanos, fried yucca, gallo pinto, eggs, cheese, bread, and agua dulce. it was delicious. We spent a lot of time in the car and saw lots of the moutain ranges, tried to see a waterfall, and went to a stocked pond--only we were too full to eat.
Saturday May 5 - We spent the night in Esparza, home to my parents, and enjoyed the area. Miriam and I played a game of mini golf. Emily and I went on the zip lines. We went to a small fair like event, but did not stay long. Saprissa, my dad's favorite soccer team, was playing in a tournament and we went to a sports bar to watch the game.
Sunday - Time for Church, and we enjoyed going to the branch. The rustiness in my Spanish really came out; however, everyone was glad to meet us. We laid low and spent the afternoon with grandma.
Monday - Time to get in gear. What was supposed to be a day beginning at 5AM saw us leaving about 9AM to head for the beach--playa cochal. Our travels took us over puente amistad, the largest bridge in Costa Rica. We got there in the afternoon and spent the rest of the daylight time we had on the beach. There were rocks about 15-20 feet off the shore and we snorkeled and saw some amazing ocean life. My wits were tested when schools of fish swam right in front of me--shouldn't there be a glass in between us?
Tuesday - camped out there just off the beach and went snorkeling again. I saw a sting ray in the water and later Emily and I saw the sting ray jump out of the water--again where is the glass? We left about 11AM and headed for Nicoya, our stop for the night. We did a little sightseeing around Nicoya; however, it was raining and we were all tired so we went to sleep early.
Wednesday - After another great breakfast, we went to the biological reserve where we saw lots of beautiful animals. An emu kept following us around. We took the 'carriage ride' pulled by water buffalo and went to see a river (whose name I don't recall). It could have been the nile as there was lots of life in the water. While standing on a floating dock we noticed the river would grow to about 6 feet higher at the peek of the rainy season, which had just begun. We missed our opportunity to take the ferry home and got home in time for a late dinner.
Thursday - We toured around Esparza and took a bus to Puntarenas to get some touristy things to take back with us. We had breakfast in the panaderia or bakery and enjoyed some more drinkable yogurt. We all played Putt-Putt that afternoon and left for San Miguel that evening.
Friday - Early morning as we headed for the airport to catch our 8AM flight back to the states.
3 comments:
Thank you so much for making the effort to come and visit. There were things that will make this trip unforgettable..the least of which is your lost items!
What an awesome adventure! I wish those same kinds of adventures for my family someday. But for now, living vicariously through yours will suffice!! ;)
Wow! such fun you had :) Oh and by the way, Carlos, you're looking great! Emily, too, baby! :)
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