Costa Rica Day 5 Hanging at the hood.
Today we decided to do nada and hang out at the house all day, after all we did pay for this view so we ought to get some use of it. We did start the day with our morning jog on the beach, along with several other ex patriots, most of em much older than us. They are all very friendly and say hi every day. I realized we had not posted many pics from our beach, so Tra brought the camera and got a few, and some of our house as well. It was a very relaxing day, but I can only sit out in the sun for about 15 minutes before I start to boil, then I have to hit the pool . I think we spend more time in the pool than out of it.
We saw lots of critters this morning, a couple iguanas at the top of tree fighting, a cool lizard that was black and white with spots, a squirrel or monkey, not sure which, jumping from tree to tree, and a huge fish like creature, possibly a marlin thrashing the water right in front of our house. I was ready to get out my Russian River fly and see if I could get em to “bite”.
another view of our beach
Found a natural hot spring on the beach, but some call it a tide-pool.
- Our house on the hill, the middle one.
Front of our house
another view of the house, we stay in an apartment on this side.
Tra goofing around in the pool
Both of us posing in the pool, look how dark my melon got.
Still deep in love, being dorks just for Niki.
Flora and fauna from the patio
We love this thorny tree right beneath our deck
Iguana chilling on a tree beneath us, he went to top of tree then fought with another iguana, I didn't know they climbed trees.
We see sail boats every night for sunset cruises.
We try to talk to the kids often, we miss them badly. So we use oovoo to video chat with them and show them what we are up to. Thanks OOVOO.
For dinner we went to a highly recommended restaurant right next door, about 200 feet from our house, Mar Y Sol, sea and sun. It is french style, usually not my thing, but this restaurant was pretty amazing, and I am sure we will return. The prices were decent, atmosphere great, food awesome, view fantastic, what’s not to like.
Appertizers
main courses, snook and mahi mahi
I planned on closing my eyes for this shot.
View from our restaurant just prior to sunset.
All in all a very relaxing day, what did we learn?
1. It is very painful when your head finally peels.
2. You don’t always have to go far to find great food.
3. Black do-rags absorb the heat.
4. Iguanas climb trees, all the way to the top!
5. French food can be pretty great.
Costa Rica Day 4 Surf’s up!
Today, like every other day so far, the weather was fantastic. It was actually a little cloudy in the morning which allowed me and Tra to get a jog in on our beach. During which we ran into a snake, I think it was dead but I wasn’t positive. I picked it up…with a stick of course and I couldn’t tell if it was moving due to me or trying to get a way. It was black and yellow and about 16 inches long. Of course we did not have a camera. Then last night, Tra went out to sit on the patio and screeched, she saw about 5 or 6 raccoons chilling near the pool. She tried to get some pics, but it was a little dark.
Raccoon getting the heck outta here!
Tra's favorite gecko cuz he is missing his tail
all the kids wear uniforms to school, some blue some white, all beautiful children. Tra wants to bring em all home.
After our jog we decided to check out a couple of surf beaches, first we went to Playa Grande and we loved it. The beach is a popular surf site and it was a cool place to be. Even as popular as it is we only saw about 30-40 people there, mostly locals. We really liked that beach a lot, even more than the one at our house. I know, sacrilegious. As we parked the car there, Tra spotted an iguana and went to get some pics, we soon noticed there were about 7-8 iguanas in that ditch, it was great.
- One of the iguanas, this one was about 3 feet long.
Gotta protect the dome at all times at Grande
Grande surfer
Tra on Playa Grande
Mr. hermit wanted us off his beach.
We then went to Playa Negra, the trip there was very interesting. The roads were pretty horrific, to the point that I thought we were for sure lost many times, but alas we were not and we made it. It too seemed to be a local hangout, but it had an awesome set up with these handmade wood loungers set up in the trees. The surf was not as good as Grande, but it was decent and I even did some body surfing, or flailing and drowning as Tra called it. I thought I looked pretty awesome, I am sure I was mistaken for a local.
Playa Negra
Glenn praying for help
Tra bracing herself
Tra beach-combing at Playa Negra
Check out the cool hand made loungers (that is my word)
In between the beaches we did a little house hunting and found some great lots near Grande. They were up on a hill, and had great views and I think they were about 3-4 acres each. A very nice area. We also looked at an open house, it was beautiful, granite counters, dark local wood, tile floors, huge kitchen, outdoor kitchen, garage and pool. Only about a mile from the beach and it could be yours for about 500k, with special international financing at 8.5%. Good stuff eh?
lotsa lots for sale
lots of lots for sale
One lot we looked at
One lot we looked at near Playa Grande
house we looked at near Playa Negra
cool sinks
We ended the night in the pool at our house listening to the surf and watching the sunset. We did have a nice lunch near Grande at a place called Kikes, it was suggested by the locals and it was cheap and tasty. We loved the atmosphere. All in all another great day of Pura Vida.
Here are the things we learned today:
1. There are definitely roads that require 4X4, but they lead to great places.
2. We don’t want to know where the chicken we had for lunch came from.
3. Dudes love their surfing, and it is worth while to check other beaches out.
4. There is some great property for sale here.
5. Many beaches don’t have a bano or a place to change, so think ahead.
6. It takes a cold can of diet Pepsi about 10 minutes to get to 80 degrees, and it takes about 25 minutes for the can to absorb enough heat to scar your lips when you attempt to drink of it.
Tra hanging ten and staying dry
This is the proper form
Lunch place, good local surfer hangout, we fit right in.
Near day's end at Playa Negra, notice dome protector.
Da da, na na, jaws is on the loose.
Praise Report
A quick praise report for tonight. On Wed. I had a call on my voice mail at work. Basically the premise of the call was that Jo, was going to a camp this weekend and we would not have our last visit with her. I called the social worker and talked to her in length basically saying that this was not acceptable to us and we say no. I know we didn’t have to power to say no, but we were saying no. This was Jo’s last weekend with us, possibly forever, but at least for the next few weeks as Tra and I leave for Costa Rica next Wed. I must admit, I was probably not very kind on the phone, but I was very upset and I had a hard time maintaining my composure. By the end of the conversation the social worker said she would see what she could work out. She called back later that evening and said we were going to court and that a judge would decide. Well about 15 minutes ago Tra got a phone call relaying to her that both the therapist and judge thought it was not in Jo’s best interest to not be with us this weekend and so we pick her up tomorrow for one last time.
Jo last Sunday at Sunday school. Next post's topic.
This is awesome for us as most of the judges ruling’s have not gone our way, to say the least. We would have once again been devastated if we could not have spent at least one more weekend with her. Our 20 yr. anniversary trip to Costa has already been darkened by the fact that the State has decided to take her away from us, and piling this on top of it would have made for misery. So thanks for those of you that are praying and keep it up, we are truly grateful and we are trying to be still.
Baby it’s cold outside….. not for long.
Thought I would share this quick video with you. Not to rub it in or anything.
