| Early into our trip we found ourselves at a beatiful condo on the Pacific Ocean. It was owned by Neil and Hazel, friends of Jim and Leah. They live on one side and rent out the other side. Just past the end wall is about 30 feet of trees and brush, then the mighty ocean. It was nice to be able to come back here after a swim in the salt water, rinse off with the shower, and then soak in the pool. |
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We celebrated Christmas while we were down there. It just didn't feel the same with palm trees, monkeys, and sun burns but Santa came anyway...and this Santa had a tan and two earings. The boogie boards were and early present from Jim and Leah before we went to the ocean. I know that a couple were destroyed from Tenove wear and tear but there are still some down there that we will someday have to go back and use. |
| This beach was only an hour away from Jim and Leah's place in Atenis. The road into it was a bit scary but then again most roads in Costa Rica are scary. Here we walked the beaches, played soccer and volleyball some local kids, and even knocked down a few coconuts from trees overhanging the beach. Dad put up his "The Doctor Is IN....maybe" sign and sat back with a couple cervesas. |
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This is the beach that was infront of Neil and Hazels place. Most evenings would find us out on the sand playing soccer during the low tide. The only rule was if you kicked the ball in the ocean...YOU had to get it. The sunsets were amazing. The sun sank so quickly that you could actually see it. Less than a minute after first touching the horizon the huge red disk would be gone. On some nights an eerie green flash would streak across the sky at the instant that the sun disappeared. |
| This picture was taken at a zoo, obviously. Can you see the 4 monkeys in the middle of the picture? We saw everything here. Parrots, iguanas, peacocks, turtles, monkeys, ostriches, and even a couple of pumas. There were many more animals too. They had a wall with lifesize paintings of al the species of birds found in Costa Rica. This wall was huge. There are thousands of species of birds down there, many times more than you can find in Canada. |
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After Christmas we spent a few days in Northern Costa Rica in a town called Fortuna. This is where we took our canoe trip down the Rio Frio (Cold River). They have no concept of what cold is in this country. We also took a canopy tour. They lead you up the side of this mountain on horse back and then let you sail through the trees on ziplines. I felt like an Ewok in those tiny little huts up in the trees. I think this was the first time riding horses for a few of us. Peter seemed to be enjoying himself. You can see dad in the background too with that ugly red poncho on. Even on vacation he just can't look cool. |
Here's Jeff trying to add to the view of the Costa Rican valley beside Jim and Leah's house. Everything in this country is green, or blue, or red. There are plants that grow on trees here, anything to get a piece of the sunlight action. The sky and water are always blue and the soil here is red. It is just a very beautiful country with great people, terrible roads, and crazy tourtists like us.
I'll leave you with one last picture of the amazing sunsets we enjoyed. Next trip up for me is the incredible city of...um...Kingston. Aw, what an anticlimax. This is like getting a letter that makes you think you've won $100,000 and then finding out it's actually something you owe the bank. |
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