costa rica love

pura vida

add one hour, subtract three, add two more and magically end up right where you started and you'll find yourself in costa rica without even having to change your watch. after many hours of travel and one fabulous five hour layover in fort lauderdale {thank you, ty, for the tour of your favorite local beach. thank you, sara, for the fabulous waffles + fresh fruit toppings. the rest was sorely needed.} we finally found ourselves in san jose. it was then, the next day, that our journey to the jungle began.

la fortuna, costa rica

this fabulous little place is home to a volcano. an active volcano. volcan arenal. we had the pleasure of touring this little beauty under the cover of darkness, where the real excitement can be seen. with a drive around to the other side of the mountain at dusk, and a hike through the jungle in the dark {and yes, the jungle comes alive at night} we came upon a clearing perfect for the event.

we sat and watched in the darkness for hours while victor, our tour guide, told us about local history and ecology. when the mountain threw out her unwanted rocks, we watched as they tumbled down, all aglow. you could actually hear them as they tumbled. it was a once in a lifetime experience.

supposedly the locals didn't even know this was a volcano until 1968 when it exploded after hundreds of years of dormancy. a whole village of eighty people were killed. I guess some of the hunters had had their suspiscions of this perfectly cylinder mountain because the river coming down from it was flowing with warm water and there was either smoke coming out of it sometimes or ground tremers, I can't remember. either way, it is truly an amazing sight to see today. it is in the top ten of the world's most active volcanoes.


our tour also included a dip in some local hot pools. not developed hot pools like at some of the resorts, but the real deal--the river dammed up in spots to create little pools of water. though it looked a little sketchy at first, this local hot spot was more fun than I could have ever imagined. there was even a slide! (okay, so you're lying on your back or stomach, sliding along the concrete this part was man-made, obviously, because it is the base to some sort of overpass thing while being pushed by the current of the river.) and in the lower pool there was a cave under the waterfall! fun + adventurous, just the way I like things.


another highlight: the zip-line tour of the jungle's canopy, with the bonus of a horse ride in and out. I never knew that peter was so into horses. he's a regular cowboy. maybe someone really will be getting a pony for his birthday one of these years!




we were climbing high up into the trees, sometimes hundreds of feet off the ground, and zipping through the jungle. there were nine lines of varying lengths that you would clip in and out of. you had to use your hand as a break. as you climbed up the steps and the ladders to the next zip-line platform, it was as if they were alive too. anything left still in the jungle for too long is overtaken with growth. it is one massive green, growing entity.


another local favorite: el salto, meaning the jump. and what a jump it was! have your choice of the rope swing or leaping from large overhanging rocks into the brilliantly blue water below. (this fun little spot is very reminiscent of havasupai. if you've ever been to that tropical paradise in the desert, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about) this was scotty's favorite part about costa rica on his last trip, and it certainly lived up to the hype. who doesn't love playing in a river in the middle of the jungle?

tamarindo, costa rica

we followed my dream to the pacific ocean. surfing in the warm, tropical waters with the beautiful jungle backdrop was more than I could have ever hoped for.

we spent two days playing in these waters. surfing, swimming, boogie boarding. fun + sun in the sand and sea.

a hard day at the beach, peter and his surfing injury.

costa rica really is the rich coast. it is an amazing place full of life. the pure life, pura vida.

the people are surprisingly friendly. the food delicious as long as you avoid fresh fruits and veggies that are uncooked or unpeeled. oh, and only bottled water. the country is teeming with animal life, especially in the jungle. we saw an iguana, a poisonous snake in the attack position, frogs, big spiders, termites, beetles, various plants {some that even glowed!}, leaf cutter ants, a gecko, this animal that we don't know the english equivelent for, and we heard howler monkeys. even though it was the rainy season it never stopped us from doing what we wanted.

after a long journey--nearly eight hours by bus from tamarindo to the san jose area, a 2.5 hour flight from san jose to fort lauderdale, a two hour layover, a nearly five hour flight from fort lauderdale to las vegas, a two hour drive from las vegas to st george {thank you maria and dirk for letting us crash at your house at 1:30 in the AM}, and finally a five hour drive home to salt lake city, utah--we are back into the regular routine. pura vida.

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hearts tournament results
peter 118 | anna 86 | athena 92 |scotty 116