BlogDavi

Johnny made a great statement “Normal is the goal we strive for so the crazy doesn’t take over”.  Oh so true. Any thoughts out there?

“Dear Santa, St. Nicholaus, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, the guy who puts presents in shoes at France, etc.,

Hi! How are you doing? I’ve been extra good all year long. I’ve never gotten a lump of coal before and I don’t intend to start now.  So you had better bring lots of loot. Enough chit chat let’s get down to business, this year I want  (long list)

Yours truly, Jared Davis of Riverside CA U.S.A.”

Our time in Costa Rica is coming to an end. The day is gloomy, cloudy and raining. There are a couple of theories among us. One, Costa Rica is sad we are leaving and another is that it has tears of joy for our departure. Either way, we are printing out our boarding passes, packing & enjoying our last Costa Rican lunch as we will be heading to the airport in just a couple of hours. Also, saying goodbye to the little dog that Mercedes is convinced doesn’t have a home and should return with us. Thank you Costa Rica! Pura Vida!

The past two days and been absolutely spectacular! After we were slightly disappointed that Manuel Antonio National Park was closed we found a gorgeous spot to have lunch and soothe our souls. The view, food and atmosphere was breath-taking. We then headed back to Esterillos to spend some time at the beach. Wouldn’t you know that the one time I don’t bring the camera, is the day BOTH of the kids stood up on the surf board for the first time! They then proceeded to get up a few more times! The waves were perfect for surfing and just playing. The water was a comfortable 83 degrees too. Basically, it didn’t suck.

Today was a day Mercedes kept praying we would be here sooner than later. The four of us Davi went on a 2 hour horseback riding tour. The stables were located on the same property of the house we are renting so we were able to ride around the rain forest we have been seeing from our backyard. We even got to visit Grandma & Granddad at the house while on horseback. Then we went trotting through a green meadow on our way to the beach! What an experience that we will treasure!

We a had lovely day yesterday returning one of our rental cars and hanging out in Jaco. We came home in the afternoon to rest and swim. Then from the far distance we could see a huge storm on it’s way to us. Sure enough lots of thunder and lightening all night long and most of today. We got all the candles and flashlights out just in case of power outage. Luckily we never lost power and everyone had a good night’s rest.

We then went on our next adventures. The first one of the day was finding the Crocodile Man Boats. If I haven’t mentioned already, there are hardly any street signs and no addresses. We hear a lot of “keep going down that road and it’s on the left”. We were successful in our find and had our next adventure of coming oh so close to real wild crocodiles while it was pouring rain. It was beautiful and exciting! On our way back to Esterillos we found a road side restaurant where we devoured delicious local food. Can’t believe we have on have 3 more days here. We will soak up as much as possible until then. Enjoy the pics!

It is now down to 6 of us. Chantelle, Casey & Laurel went home yesterday on their scheduled flight. Aunt Mary & Uncle Larry had to change their plans and leave yesterday with the Deaver group due to Aunt Mary falling and hurting her knee on Thursday and Uncle Larry not feeling well either. We will miss them all and are happy to know they made it safely into LAX around 1am.

We had a lovely day yesterday. Johnny pushed the girls on the swing in our backyard then we went to the beach and spent our last few hours together in Jaco.  We had a fabulous lunch at Los Amigos where they serve ginormous smoothies! We are taking it easy today as Dad hurt his achilles heal at the beach and something is not right in Mom’s knee.  We will take it nice and slow which of course is my favorite pace. Pura Vida! 

Feliz El Dia De Gracias! We have had a fabulous day full of adventures. Johnny, Cede, Mom, Dad, Casey & Chantelle went on zip lines through the rain forest (Dad just enjoyed the canopy ride) while I stayed back with the rest of the crew and cooked for our Thanksgiving dinner. The zip liners had a great time and pictures to prove it! We then enjoyed a gorgeous Costa Rican day with a magnificent breeze. We sat down together and consumed our untraditional Thanksgiving dinner of chicken tacos, rice and beans. They turned out so delicious! We hope all of you are doing really well and we miss you all.

We went on a boat tour today to visit Monkey Island. Thinking we would just see them in the trees, we were shocked to have them climb all over us! They were very gentle as long we stayed calm and happy.  Our guide, Raffa (the Monkey Father), then took us deep into a river to see large tiger crabs which he proceeded to eat right in front of us. Yes, raw. It was so much fun and would highly recommend anyone to give it a try.

I got a little behind in my posting and uploading pictures which makes things interesting. Yesterday, Chantelle & Casey went on a ATV guided tour while the rest of us got to tour around the town of Jaco. We walked down to the beach and did some shopping. Johnny was able to rent a longboard for the whole week too. Then we took the crew to Taco Bar for some delicious fresh seafood. Muy Bueno!

The rest of the crew made it safely yesterday. There are 11 of us now exploring the beauty of Costa Rica. We are obtaining another rental car and then off for some adventures. Hasta luego. Pura Vida!