Costa Rica ~ 2010

The Beach!

Keaton and I were lucky enough to spend seven wonderful days in paradise this summer. We flew down to Costa Rica with my parents, Nicki and her beau on July 28th. It was unbelievably gorgeous! We stayed in the northern region on the pacific side. Although we were down there in the rainy season - and it did rain daily - the weather was great and everything was in its tropical splendor. We were lucky enough to do several adventurous tours and also find a nice balance of relaxing days spent at the beach and pool.

One of the tours we took - dubbed by the organizers as the "Mega Tour" - encompassed horseback riding, zip lining, and tubing. The horseback riding was nice, however as my horse, when presented with a wall, always chose to walk toward and smush his face against it. Keaton's horse was also comical, he didn't like to go anywhere. Needless to say, we didn't see much of each other during this portion of the tour.

My awesome horse and his lover ~ the wall!

Our super sweet helmets! I think mine was a former oversized golf ball.

Lil' waterfall

Butterflies were everywhere!

The second adventure found us strapped into harnesses and hooked to a steel cable, zipping through (and above) the trees. This was a blast, until it started raining. Then braking (which consisted of us pushing our left hand down on the cable while going down the line) became more difficult to do. Thankfully the guides weren't worried ~ although they suddenly became more efficient at getting the group hooked up and sent off!

The last portion of the this 12-hour tour was tubing. I expected a relaxing float down the river. I was right that we were going down the river, but relaxing? Not really! We were in our individual donut-shaped tubes and were sent down the river, through rapids after rapids. Luckily I didn't flip. I was lodged onto rocks, stuck on the side of the river bank, and spent most of my time going down backward. But I always followed the rules ~ hold on to the two rope straps on the tube, if you don't have two, hold on to one! Was this helpful? Nope, but I guess the guides need to tell you something to make you think you're safe!

Keaton wasn't as lucky as me. When we approached the last and largest rapid, his tube landed on two others which were stuck prior to his fall, and he was sent bouncing into the air and subsequently plunging into the water where ~ and this is when Costa Rican safety shines its brightest ~ the guide jumps in after Keaton. He clipped a rope to Keaton's life vest, without telling him, and as Keaton started swimming away he get stuck. Couldn't go any further.

Now enter the two tubes that were held up initially.

With Mr. Dub trying to get free, he got shoved under the water as the tubes went over his head. He began to frantically undo his life vest after figuring out there was a "safety" line holding him back. Minus the near drowning, we both had a blast! It was great to look up through the canopy of trees and see the jungle from a completely different angle!

The rest of our trip we spent walking through towns, spotting monkeys in the trees and iguanas roaming the streets. One morning we rented a kayak and, with Nicki and Jon, we paddled out to a few secluded beaches to snorkel and explore. Costa Rica definitely offered a much needed break from yard work and day-to-day life! We were so lucky to have been able to go, but it also helped us appreciate our little home that much more!

Costa Rica Pictures

(More to come)

Vibrant Colors Everywhere!

Dinner our first night

The Costa Rica Crew 

Drinking from coconuts ~ I'm cheersing with Keaton!

It's a monkey hiding in the trees!

Reunion with the puppies