Every Sunday afternoon at 4pm at Bowie’s Point, (Just down the street) surfers come out to catch the wave! The kids can’t wait to become pros!!!
It’s been another great week here in Costa Rica. Still learning a lot about the area and settling in with a routine. We miss our little Sunday beach group, as the Branch we are a part of here in Hermosa has meetings virtually over zoom. I think it is due to Covid… everything is due to Covid. Not to worry, because Kymble went into mission mode and contacted the sister missionaries that cover our area and is working with them and finding out how we can help them with those they teach. The Branch covers a large area, and the missionaries do most of their contacting and teaching also via zoom. It definitely is a new era of missionary work, but we have a pro on hand and I love to see Kymble’s constant enthusiasm about sharing the gospel and his genuine love for the Latin people and culture.
The Tarcoles River is famous here because it is swimming with crocodiles. Crocodile bridge overlooks one of the most contaminated rivers in CR. It is home to much wildlife and also helps irrigate agricultural lands and generates electricity. There are tours you can take to get up close and personal, but the bridge was just fine for us. They are hard to spot sometimes, but we saw a group nestled in the brush.
We are good about finding all the waterfalls in CR!
This one was great for the boys, because it had a hidden rope swing!
Only problem was you had to drop in a very specific spot so you didn’t hit the rocks. Obviously, that didn’t stop the guys one bit!
Us girls watched and cheered and took pics. I am constantly amazed at the beauty that this country has to offer. Maybe I am just noticing more because I have the time to really look and see. Sometimes the beauty in life can pass us by if we get too busy to stop and take it in. I am grateful for this perspective that my CR adventure has taught me thus far. A simple rock that has been smoothed and polished by mother natures’ hand. A piece of drift wood that looks more like a piece of art. The infinite shades of green that can exist in one tiny area. The rain clouds that literally sprint across the sky and blanket our afternoons with showers. The tiniest of frogs and lizards that camouflage their way through life. (We found out the cute black and green spotted ones are actually very poisonous!) I hope to remember this feeling of appreciation for the rest of my life.
This week was back to school for everyone, and it was no exception for these two kiddos! Although, this time they are the teachers instead of the students. Kenn and KJ are volunteering at a school in Jaco, teaching English and helping the students there. Kymble is teaching 4th and 5th graders and Kenn is with the little ninos in 1st grade. I think it is fair to say that KJ has quite the fan club of 10 year old girls already. Plus the boys are loving that he is good at soccer. Kenn says the littles are crazy and so cute. She gets little love notes and pictures every day. They call her “teacher” and love it when she says that their work is “perfecto!”
I am thinking that she is the cutest teacher ever!!!! This school is a bilingual school, so most subjects are taught in English. Kenn kind ofwishes she could sit in on the Spanish class, and KJ is so fresh off the miss he is racking his brain for proper English grammar sometimes :). He says his favorite subjects in school are recess and lunch. Perhaps some things never change!
It’s pretty common to get caught in the rain while cooling off in the pool. Also, after school is prime time to go practice the surf. Although there is a good chance that you will get extra wet while catching a wave. This is my view from the car watching the kids surf. Haha!!! Ya, I couldn’t see anything… but we have definitely learned to do most things in the rain. It’s warm and actually kind of fun. Except maybe the mounds of wet laundry that are done on a daily basis. Did I say that I wasn’t ready to give up doing laundry for the fam….if so, I take that back!
Let me add the smoky laundry to the wet laundry!!! Yes, we love fires on the beach. Of coarse we had to take Kymble down to roast a few marshmallows. The sky is so black at night. But I love it on a clear night, when the moon and stars are out and they shine on the ocean waves as they crash just a few feet away. It’s somewhat magical really.
This week’s adventure took us to one of the Costa Rica’s most beautiful Nation Park, MANUEL ANTONIO. It is an amazing combination of forest, wildlife, waterfalls, beaches, all in one spot. There are miles of paths you can explore in search for the sloths and monkeys that inhabit the park. It also has an amazing two-sided beach that from the sky looks like a whale tail. You can surf, fish, hike, eat, relax, you name it… such a great day!
I might be slightly obsessed with mushrooms. The rainy season keeps it wet enough for mushrooms to grow just about anywhere. I think this one is fascinating. (and probably also poisonous!)
You can see what the beaches look like on both sides. The sand was much lighter than most beaches. The water was extremely warm, and we even saw some sort of large (ok…medium size) fish with spikey fins on his back chasing a school of little fish while we were swimming in the ocean. I may or may not have yelled “shark”!!!! Not a huge fan of fish swimming right next to me when I can’t see them.
Manuel Antonio is home to three different monkeys. We saw them all, but just happen to get an up close and personal shot of the white-faced monkey. KJ tried to teach him how to fist pump, but was denied.
What kind of monkey is this?
This is the howler monkey. Yep, he is the one that will often keep me up at night, or wake you up from a dead sleep with his awful, dog like howl/bark. How such a little guy can have such a big bark is beyond me. He sure was hungry! Good thing there was plenty of leaves for him to eat. (The third monkey in the park in the squirrel monkey. We did see it, but it was high in the trees, small, and never held still long enough for a good shot)
The second animal on our bucket list was a sloth. The sloth is pictured everywhere here… on t-shirts, hats, stuffed animals, billboards… everywhere! Whatever souvenir you would like, they make it in sloth form! They are hard to spot in the trees as they are somewhat the same color as the trunk. And because they move so slow, they don’t rustle the tree tops like the monkeys so it is easy to walk right past them. We did see a couple sloths and can now atest that they do indeed move very SLOW. The expression “slow as a sloth” is a real think people!
They aren’t as cute as the stuffed animals they sell.
On the way to and from Manuel Antonio, you can see miles and miles of carefully planted rows of palm trees. When I think of palm trees I think of coconuts, but these trees are planted for harvesting palm oil. They call them Palm Plantations. Palm oil is high-quality oil used primarily for cooking in developing countries. It is also used in other products such as shampoo and other cosmetics with good shelf life and little odor. I love it when you learn something new.
Also, saw this little guy exiting the park. Seriously…how cool is this crab?!
Stopped for dinner in Capos on the way home. The typical food here in CR is always so colorful and super yummy!
Pura Vida Everyone! Love and Miss You!