February 19-24, 2013

Jungle walk between the beach and the room

We stayed two nights at a hostel – though we did have our own room and private bath.  It was inexpensive, but my bag got infested with ants and our water pressure was pretty much non-existent.  We talked with some young kids staying there…. one offered me a joint – ha!   The second night, the bar in front of the hostel hosts some sort of jam session…. until 2 am.  Then, the couple across from us fought until 5 am…. then started up again after breakfast….

Playa Negra, Costa Rica – neart Puerta Viejo

I was really glad we found another place to move to!  We are at a little 2 bedroom house with a kitchen – so nice to have some space and a kitchen! We were able to do our laundry – ahhh!!!!!  It rained all afternoon, but we have a little porch where we can sit outside and enjoy the beautiful gardens around this house.  It is owned by a Canadian couple who live here and rent 3 little houses out.  It is close to the beach as well with a safe place to park the bike.   There are fresh bananas and limes that we can pick from trees in the yard.

We have to wade through the end of the lagoon to get to the beach 🙂 Kind of creepy when you can’t see the bottom!

We decided to scout the town and find a deck of cards… not an easy task!  After going to two or three stores, I walked into one of the local groceries (definitely not Stater Bros).  The store itself is about the size of a very small convenience store, with aisles about two feet wide, things stacked all over and hanging from the ceiling….  I walked around the store then decided I needed some help.  My first challenge was getting the Chinese girl at the counter to understand what I wanted.  She looked at me with a blank stare when I asked if they had a deck of cars.  I acted out playing cards and then I said, “You know, jack…queen…king….” Then her face lit up with understanding and she called a Chinese man over.  He motioned me to follow him to the back corner of the store where he went behind an overstacked countertop, bent down, opened up a locked display case stuffed with disposable diapers, hose nozzles, bike tire tubes and other random items.  He reached back to an unseen corner and pulled out a deck of cards…don’t know why I couldn’t find them…!

Here are some flora and fauna pictures for your viewing pleasure….  🙂

Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Big spider! Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Hibiscus-Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Costa Rica

February 25, 2013

La Paz waterfall, Costa Rica

Back on the road…. drove across the northern part of Costa Rica today to Arenal National Park.  The Arenal volcano has been active up until two years ago.  Tonight it is covered in clouds, so we can’t see the top.  Our little cabana is in the jungle, with lots of beautiful flowers and wildlife.  We saw several pairs of great curassow – large birds as big as a peacock – walking past our cabana.  The variety of flowers, plants and animals that God has created and put here in Costa Rica continues to amaze me!

Our cabana 🙂

Cooling off in the pool!

La Fortuna, Costa Rica

February 26, 2013

Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

I had my quiet time and coffee this morning on our little back deck, watching the changing cloud formations over the top the volcano.  Great show!  Spent the day relaxing and enjoying the beautiful rainforest.  Every night there is a wonderful rainstorm, drenching everything, then the mornings are clear.