PAVONES, COSTA RICA...Home of the best: twilight swims, sunsets, skinny dips, hermit crab Battle Royals, cozy beds to sleep in, awesome snorkeling, and waves...only we don´t surf all that well...
OSA PENNINSULA, COSTA RICA This penninsula is home to hundreds of species of wildlife that can only be found here. Corcovado National Park takes up more than 50% of the penninsula and many mysterious and endangered types of wildlife enjoy their life here without the fear of being hunted or poached. Ticos, or Costa Ricans realize the importance of preserving the environment and the evidence is displayed by the many National Parks located throughout this ambrosial country.
Monte Verde, Costa Rica
We have been waiting to experience the Rainforest Zip Line since our decision to come to Costa Rica...2 years ago!!!!! I must say that flying through the tree tops at 20 miles an hour, 400+ feet in the air does something special for me. O.k. I´m weird, but I think you all already knew that right? It was well worth the 2 year wait and our adrenaline is still pumping!!!!! Yipeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He looks nice and calm, but on the inside he is crying like a little baby. If you look close you may be able to spot his diaper! I kidd, I kidd!!!

Nan, this one is for you! We just wanted to add another cow to your collection. We love you and can´t wait to see you! The monkeys here are friendly and so cute too!










Central America has provided us with many new friends and this guy is awesome! His name is Elam and we took an intense nature hike with him and a few others (and a guide Mom, don´t worry) through Corvovado National Park. The hike was strenuous and at times we were actually hiking in waist deep water in the river...yikes! Remember that movie Stand By Me? Yeah, I sure do, and after being in the river about 30 seconds Elam chuckles ¨Hey guys, make sure you check for leeches!¨I laughed and pulled out my bathing suit bottoms for a look-see and guess what I find? A leech has decided to make my private area his lunch!!!!! I screamed and ripped it off, but I am deeply scarred for life, not literally cauz he was only on there for a few seconds, thank God! Like I said before...if it can bite( or suck my blood in this case) it will find me!
Yet another lovely hike in Costa Rica, only this time it was around the base of Volcan Arenal. Arenal is an active Volcano and the last major erruption occured only 38 years ago, killing hundreds of people and 45,000 head of cattle. It is constanly errupting on a small scale everyday and on a clear night you can view the bright orange lava creeping down the sides. We took a trip to the Baldi Hot Springs and enjoyed an evening in the caliente agua while sipping on cocktails at the swim up bar. It was a marvelous night!
This green parrot is common throughout Costa Rica. Unfortunately, we were unable to snap a photo of the specatcular Crimson Maccaw, which is found on the Osa penninsula, so his distant cousin, the Green Parrot, will have to suffice!
This photo was taken just before the hike around the Volcan Arenal. We saw many monkeys, parrots, and a Tucan!!!!! We were also lucky enough to spot several three and two toed Sloths while we were in Costa Rica. Sloths are the cutest animals. They seriously look like Ewoks!
Igunas are plentiful in Costa Rica, and they are sooo huge. This guy became our friend rather quickly after he found out we had raisins!
Manuel Antonio National Park. The water was so warm and clear we just couldn´t resist several qiuck dips throughout our hike in the park.
Sunrise over the Osa Penninsula. Isn´t is grand?
We finally made it to Costa Rica!

Brad, Phil, Me, and Candyce, Pavones, Costa Rica

COSTA RICA March 3-March19, 2007
PURA VIDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hola mis amigos y familia! Costa Rica is muy perfecto y muy bonita! Me gusta Costa Rica mucho! O.K., O.K., I 'll stop with the spanish, but we are so proud of how far our Spanish has come along in the past couple of weeks.
We reluctantly left Panama and were ready for our first stop in Costa Rica...Pavones! My best friend Lyndee's parents live in Pavones in a spectacular beach house that overlooks the Pacific ocean. A constant breeze of sweet smelling flowers fills their beautiful home and we felt so warm and cozy here we REALLY did not want to leave. Once again we became spoiled very quickly! Wow, we could get used to this...They took us in, fed us, let us do our laundry, and even had a fridge stocked with beer and wine, they must have known we were coming...(not really.. we kinda showed up unannounced). We would like to thank them again for the warm welcome and sincerely great time we had with them. Thanks Phil and Candyce, we look forward to visiting again soon!

Eco-Tourism and Costa Rica
Everyone who knows us knows about our love of nature and the outdoors, which is why Costa Rica was a perfect place for us to visit. Although we have definitely experienced our share of the outdoors throughout this trip, the cultural experiences ( and culture shock..you all remember the India blog...) has been the forfront of most of this journey thus far, but eco-tourism is what drew us to Costa Rica. People come to Costa Rica for the nature, the lush tropical rainforests, and the vast array of animals, reptiles, and birds that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. We are polishing up on our Spanish, meeting locals, and having a blast. Costa Rica was wonderful...PURA VIDA!!!!!!!!