Costa Rica

La Pura Vida!!!

Translation- the pure life. That is the national motto of Costa Rica and you feel it everywhere you go. This country has so much to offer, but I think the most valuable natural resource we encountered here was relaxation.

This is how our mornings would start...enjoying a cup of joe, in a rocking chair, on our porch
while taking in the view.

The lodge where we stayed was so neat. It is made up of 10 cabinas and an open air lodge where the meals are served and where the pool is. It is in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica which was first know for its cattle ranching and now for its beaches/surfing. Our lodge was about 20 mins from the ocean up in the mountains. It was secluded, tucked away in the hills, and from all the other hotels. It was great.

The owners are an Austrian married couple who run the lodge like a B and B. Each meal was so fresh, good, and healthy. This is the first vacation where I think we may have eaten healthier there than at home! The would drive us to the beach each day or help us decide what we wanted to see/do.

There are howler monkies that live in the forest right by the lodge. We would see about 15 or so in the mornings and late afternoon. Many of them had little babies they carried on their backs. They were so cute!

The waves were huge and beautiful at both of the beaches we went to.

Zip Lining!!!

I loved this!

I might have made the comment to Daren after the first run..."lets cash in our chips and be zip line tour guides in Costa Rica!"

It was beautiful to be above the trees looking down on the forest. Having this perspective on the scenery just made me feel so thankfukl to God. Thankful for the beautiful earth He created, for my health to be able to do this, and for having the whole world in His hands. If I were a minister I'm sure this would have been excellent sermon material...having the view from above where you can look down on the whole forest of trees and look to the left and see the mountains and look to the right and see the ocean- everything fits and seems to come together to make something beautiful. Not just the little bit of forest we are stuck down in where sometimes the branches are thick, the brush is heavy, and we are left thinking "okay God I need your vision to see how this is all coming together".

It is always nice to feel His presence even when you least expect it while flying through the air in a different country!

This is the lap of luxury where we ended our vacation.

The owner of our quaint lodge has a brother who belongs to this beach club right on the beach. His brother was not in town so he signed us in as his guest at the club for the day! It was so nice of him to do. There was a beautiful blue tiled infinity pool that looked like it was running right into the ocean. There were cozy cushioned beach chairs to hang out on, a restaurant, a bar, fancy restrooms and waitors coming around to take our order. By the end of the trip I felt like melted butter, maybe it was the sunburn, maybe it was the pina colada, maybe all the zip lining had gone to my head, but most likely it was "LA PURA VIDA"!!!

P.S. This vacation would not be made possible without our loved ones back home who watched Isaac and took care of Joe. We are one blessed family to have parents and siblings that love us:)