Adios Paquera

This is Mike...
We left Paquera knowing that Hotel Vista las Islas was our best hotel experience yet in Central America and would absolutely recommend it to anyone of our friends. We cannot help but remember our night on the kayaks, in the luminescent waters, and how it reminded us of the movie, "Life of Pi." The southern area of the Nicoya peninsula is wetter than we had imagined it to be and are happy to finally have seen this part of Costa Rica. We do like things a little drier though so we have decided to go north to some national parks.

Breakfast was included at Hotel Vista las Islas which is always a plus for a family. We enjoyed this awesome view and meeting the very nice Swiss owners who are living their dream.

Our hotel room under the pool

A common site to see in Central America is the ox drawn cart.

We went to a steak house as we are missing Texas BBQ and Elise decided to mess with a statue

   

Bio-luminescence and night Kayaking

This is Mike...
We came to Paquera for the bio-luminescent waters this area is known for. This is one of a few areas in the world where every night of the year can offer some degree of bio-luminescence in the water. We went out as a family, with guides, in 3 kayaks into the dark ocean and tiny creepy bays. To say it was spooky is an understatement, not to mention how out of shape we were paddling those kayaks for 2 hours. There were fish jumping all around us, and even into the kayaks. The fish were responding to the bio-luminescent light shows we were creating with our movements. To add some drama there was a tremendous lightning storm above us with deafening thunder. All I could think of was we might look like great shark food out there, especially since the glowing lights were giving off our locations. Kayaks have little holes in the floor to allow water the ability to escape the kayak. The little holes in the kayak also allowed the creatures (dinoflagellates) which produce the lights into our kayaks. Zoe and Sierra were splashing the water in the kayaks trying to get the glowing water on them as well. On our way back to our car, Elise and I saw a sting ray below our kayak light up the dinoflagellates as he swam by. It was eerily beautiful and surreal, as Elise said, "It was weird."          

Here is Sierra splashing the water on the floor of the kayak to light up the luminescent water.

Every paddle stroke gave us a light show and the bottom of our kayak was lit up as well.

Dragging your hand in the water was like magic.

Butterflies and joy

This is Mike...
   Our original idea for our blog was to use Photos paired with text to convey what's going on. We feel reading a story and seeing the pictures is better than having to watch the awkward pauses most videos have. In this case, we tried multiple times to get pictures to no avail.
   To set the stage, we were driving on a dirt road in the southern portion of Nicoya Peninsula and we kept driving by thousands and thousands of butterflies. We stopped the car a few times to get pictures but each time the butterflies in the pictures just blended in with the background. That is when we stopped to take a video instead, and as you will see, what beauty ensued. We were touched by the millions and millions of butterflies we drove through, by and past. Here is just a small segment of what we saw on our drive, on this, the first video of our blog.   

Adios Playa Samara

This is Mike...
We left Samara town today and headed further south down the peninsula to Paquera. Here are some images below. 

On the way to Playa Buena Vista turtle conservation station (ASVO) the girls found the large leaves of the trees to be quite entertaining. The walk was about a kilometer on a well maintained path through the beach and coastal wetlands. ASVO had turtle eggs in incubation under the sand but no hatchlings for us to see. It is very important to stay on the path as large crocodiles are in the watering holes around here.

A local fisherman caught multiple fish only using a hand line and lure.

Fisherman waited until low tide to go fishing in what I can only say is a giant tide pool. The bigger fish got trapped in this section of water and the anglers using only hand lines and lures caught their dinner. This was an ingenious and effective technique similar in concept to Hawaiian fish ponds. 

The buzzards on the beach patiently waiting for the guts, tails and heads the fisherman leave behind after cleaning their fish on the beach.

It was really nice to see the locals enjoying the beach on Saturday afternoon. They brought their own hammocks to tie on the coconut trees, as well as food that was to be grilled while everyone played in the water. The food smelled great and the beach brought people together for happy times.

I tried to take a picture of the butterflies on this bush to no avail. On our drive through the jungle today we saw literally millions of butterflies. We were reminded that there are still beautiful spots left in the world that are still natural and awe inspiring.

The girls overlooking the bay below from our hotel on the hill (Hotel Vista las Islas). The island in the background is Isla de Tortugas which is known for it's snorkeling and of course turtles. We like it here as it is only 5 minutes into town in case we need anything and also the animal life is in the canopy just below us allowing us a different perspective for viewing.  

 

Playa Samara

This is Elise. We spent the night in Samara, Costa Rica last night. I had always thought the whole Nicoya Peninsula was dry but I was wrong. The green season has only just begun and it is very lush and jungle like here.  Very beautiful and tranquil but the rain brings intense humidity and bugs.   I remember hearing someone from Louisiana say something about the weather making you feel like you are breathing through a straw.   This is a quaint laid back hippie type town that I like much better than Tamarindo. I feel like this is somewhere different and I didn't have that feeling there. The ocean water here is very warm and we have the beach to ourselves.   There is a whole city of big red crabs here on the beach at low tide.   One scared me last night as it had crawled up to our front door and was skittering across the aluminum door frame in the dark. It was quite loud and  dark so I didn't know what is was. We are 300 yards from the beach so I don't know how it got here.   I was outside at night because I couldn't breathe in our bedroom. The A/C didn't work that well, the windows don't open, and there is a dusty,  mildewy, bug spray smell in there. My sinuses completely swelled shut.   Of course there are too many mosquitoes here to be outside at night. Luckily the A/C in Sierra's room works great so I was able to sleep there.
Costa Rica is blessed with abundant natural beauty and is the nicest country so far with  being developed , clean and not poor.  I still like Nicaragua better even though it is very dry and brown there from the drought. I guess I like being about to go out to dinner and take whatever tours we want without busting the budget. If you are only on vacation for a week it's not a big deal to spend $40 on a meal for the family, when you are traveling long term spending that much on a simple meal is prohibitive.  Groceries are more expensive than what we are used to back home. I love the vibrant flowers, intense green and butterflies here. What is it about the tropics?  Even if it is mostly cloudy, it is still not dreary. The sky is a ever changing palette of clouds and blue sky.
How is homeschooling going?  We get some push back from Sierra that makes it difficult. We have challenges with finding a good cool space to study. Today we have a beautiful spot near the pool but we have to brush bugs off ourselves and our books as we work. We all love that we can do what we want. Some days Sierra wants to work on science.  Today she wants to finish her third grade workbook, do some addition with the game of Uno, and play scrabble.   Not a hard core curriculum but good enough. Trying to keep it fun.  We only study about an hour and a half a day.  On travel days or if we don't have a table we just skip it.   Mostly we stay at places for at least three days to a week so we have a chance to settle in and get to know the area.

Our first evening in Samara was overcast

Homeschooling with the kids, we try to mix games with studying

Thousands of crabs scurry along the beach during low tide, the kids are playing with this one.

Very few people at the beaches to listen to all the howlers monkeys in the jungle.

Sierra and Zoe have developed into very good snorkelers.

Children enjoy walks on the beach as much as any adult.

Tamarindo Costa Rica

This is Mike...
Driving over from Nicaragua you could see right away the difference between the countries and how differently they handle their environments. Costa Rica was greener right away and much less ranching on the land. Once we went shopping we also noticed how expensive everything is here. The prices are like California prices and maybe a bit higher. Gas is about $5 a gallon, beer $9 a six pack and L'oreal hair color, number 7.3 golden blonde, for my wife is $11 :) We spent $200 in 24 hours just on groceries which would have cost less than a hundred in Nicaragua.
   There still appears to be a hangover of real estate from the recession and good deals are everywhere. Rents are relatively cheap at between $1000 to $1500 a month for a very nice 3 bedroom place. Costa Rica feels a bit too modern for us and Elise said, a few times, that we could be anywhere from Florida to Hawaii that it does not feel unique here. Still, we think the two most travel friendly countries we encountered so far are Belize and Costa Rica and for a week or two vacation we would still choose Costa Rica over Belize. Additionally we both agree if you are flying to Costa Rica, fly through Liberia airport, as it is way more easy to access than San Jose airport like we did last year.          

Tamarindo is a much more popular spot for visitors

Budget cutbacks are affecting the sanitation facilities in Tamarindo :)

The girls are playing with 4 kitties that our neighbor has in her condo.

It is amazing how flat the waters are here compared to San Juan del Sur just up the coast

Costa Rica is a haven for sailors

Even though the Costa Rica has more visitors the beaches are still very tranquil. 

Finding shells is our kids' passion

Drinking from a coconut is a healthy treat. The best part is Costa Rica recycles plastic and these straws won't end up in a turtle's belly.

Driving on the beach is still my favorite. One other vehicle was on the beach while we were there.

The midday tropical clouds are amazing

Last day in SJDS

Here are some images from our last full day in San Juan del Sur, it was a nice time.

The girls decided to dance in the sand and the locals loved the show.

I met Kenneth Nakai from Hawaii Island, he owns a plate lunch restaurant in SJDS (sum ono da kau kau). He has been living 8 years in SJDS and loves the 300 plus days of surf per year.  

Sunsets are so nice here, this is where the Pacific beats the Caribbean.

Yes, it's as steep as it looks. Our hike up to see the statue of Jesus over SJDS.

A great view from atop the cliff.

My wife did not burst into flames under the statue of Jesus so I guess she is a keeper.

Tranquil bay

Bays to the north of SJDS