Costa Rica

Getting away to Costa Rica.  Kevin had to travel to Costa Rica the end of May for work, so naturally I tagged along!  Thanks to my Mom and Dad for watching our boys.  My first night there we stayed at the Marriott in San Jose.  It was a beautiful hotel with a great pool, even though we never actually swam in it!

A view of the pool from our room.

The next morning we decided to explore San Jose for a bit before we headed off to the beach, Manuel Antonio.  Our first stop was the LDS temple, the grounds were small but pretty.

There was this incredible mango tree outside the temple grounds, it was just covered with fresh ripe mangoes.  After exploring San Jose we headed down the to the coast.  Along the way we stopped in a little town called Tarcoles, it is known for all the crocodiles that like to hang out along the rivers edge.

There was a roadside stand with the best smoothies, Kevin and I both got mango and pineapple ones.  So refreshing, especially on a hot and humid day.  We arrived at the Hotel Parador in Manuel Antonio about 3 hours later.  I'll just say Kevin made me a nervous wreck with the driving, small unfamiliar roads at high speeds is not my thing!

A view of the balcony from our room.

These little crabs were everywhere, this one almost got Kevin's sock after he almost stepped on him.

 A view from the restaurant at the hotel where we ate lunch Thursday afternoon.

Getting ready to explore the paths around the hotel grounds.

We walked around through the paths near the hotel, but it was quite the maze, and quite humid and hot.  We decided to head to the local beach in Manual Antonio.

After exploring the beach we headed to a little ice cream shop nearby, surprisingly owed by a San Diego guy.  I guess he came and didn't want to leave.  Back to the hotel to rest up and get ready for dinner.

Friday morning preparing for our big adventure day in the rainforest.  We did an amazing adventure with a company called ADR, they basically take you on a 7 hour tour through the rainforest.  We rode up through the mountains in a jacked up humvee type of truck, the roads were washed out and at some points we were riding dangerously close to a cliff edge while being 4 ft in the mud!  I was terrified.  Well that was just the beginning of the adventure.  We put on our helmets and climbing gear and off we went through the rainforest.  We did a tarzan type swing, jumped off a cliff into waterfalls, then swam back to the waterfalls to climb up the cliff and do it all again, then we rappelled down several mountains and did several ziplines.  The day was a blast, exhausting, but a blast.  Unfortunately we can't figure out how to download all the pictures yet that the company took, but we have a few of our own, when we weren't in the water, which was pretty much all day, so when we do, I'll be sure to post them.  

These iguanas were everywhere, our constant hotel companions, they loved to eat the crabs everywhere.

Our ride for the day!

 So close to the edge!

Our adventure begins with a hike to the "camp".

Sunset on the ride home.

Exhausted after a long, fun day.

Lunch provided at "camp".  After our tour

Dinner that night was at a place called El Avion.  I cargo plane made into a restaurant.

 This is the only time it actually rained, and is was really nice to sit in an open air restaurant with the sound of rain in the jungle while eating dinner...and drinking my fancy drink.

We had to explore the cock pit.

  

Saturday afternoon we had to fly out, so first thing in the morning we headed to the national park in Manuel Antonio.  We hired a guide to take us through the park and help us find all the really hidden animals.

Our little friend the crab.

Lots of colorful insects.

My favorite the two-toed sloth.

Lots of monkeys.

This guy just standing by the path checking us out.  

We also saw a python, bats, an owl, lots of birds, like a Toucan, and a few other lizards and insects.

Time to hit the road.  Costa Rica was an awesome place and I definitely want to return someday.