are we on vacation again?

We've reached our last night in Costa Rica.  This is our second and final night staying at the Termales del Bosque hot springs hotel.  The hotel room is very simple, but extremely clean and the natural hot springs are on property.  There is a parking lot near the springs, and it is an 800 meter easy walk down a hill to the springs.  There are about a half dozen pools with all different temperatures, and a bar with drinks and some food.  Bubba had a ceviche that he actually liked, and we know how rare that is!  Bubba and Samantha had spa services, a facial, and massages, and the total for both of them was about $75, pretty cheap.  After about three hours in the pools, we drove around for a while, but it started raining again.  We found a great Italian restaurant that got good reviews on tripadvisor, and then drove back.  The hotel has a tiny sports bar, so we hung out there for a little while listening to two huge frogs talking to each other. ...

Yes, I'm staying in a tree house.  This is about as close to camping as I ever want to get, and this isn't even roughing it.  The house has a fridge, a bathroom with running water, and even a hot shower.  There were a few bugs the first night, and a small frog, but once we got them out all was well.  The place is very clean.  It's surrounded by trees, and in the morning they deliver coffee for the people and fruit to attract the birds.  It is very cool to watch everything land right outside our bedroom.  There is a loft with two twin beds, that's where our niece is sleeping, the only draw back being that it is only accessible by a ladder in the middle of the room.  She's young though, she can handle it! The drive from the coast was long, a few hours.  It was raining when we got here and almost dark, so not a lot to do.  No TV and no wifi,  but we are surviving.  We went on a nature walk at 8 pm last night, and I'm glad we did b...

Our original plan for the day was to go snorkeling, but you know what they say about the best made plans.  When we woke up it was cooler than usual and it looked like it was going to rain, so we went to plan two. Well, if you know us we never really have plans never mind a back up, so after Bubba and Samantha had their cups of coffee at the Java coffee shop, we started driving.  We ended up at Playa Grande.  What a beautiful beach, and the best part was that it was almost deserted. We walked along the water's edge and of course took too many pictures.  We stopped at a pizza place on the way back, I had pizza of course, Bubba had steak and Samantha had chicken.  All of it was really good.  When we got back to the hotel after stopping at the grocery store, there was a troop of monkeys by our room.  They are pretty cool to watch. Most of them were eating while they were hanging upside down!  When we got back to the room, there was one lone monkey rig...

We went zip lining today at the Congo Trail Canopy Tour.  It was awesome! There are 11 zip lines and 3 suspended walkways.  The only draw back is that there are LOTS of stairs.  It felt like we were climbing and climbing and then climbing some more, but once at the top, the fun began. We've been on a few zip lines, and this is one of those where you use your stronger arm to brake and of course say your prayers that it works.  The tour guides who went with us were great.  The instructions were easy to follow and they did their best to keep Bubba calm.... He's not a big fan of heights, I know, what was he thinking! But to his credit, he hates to say no to me.  It really was fun, and only $35 each, cheaper than all the other places we've done it.  For another $5 each we went into the "zoo" and got to hold and feed a couple of howler monkeys.  That just adds to a good day.  On the way back we ate on the beach in Coco.  The food was good, but...

We are in Costa Rica again, the something new is that we brought our niece this time.  Happy Graduation Samantha!  We went around North America to get here, but the flights looked great and that is what's important sometimes with a buddy pass.  We flew to LAX then to LIR. 14 hours later, and it's hot and humid, it must be Costa Rica during rainy season. The flight got us in very early, and right now, it's only 4 pm and we've already packed in a full day and a nap! Our room wasn't ready yet, we're staying 3 nights at Los almendros del ocatal.  We were here about 6 hours prior to check in time, so it wasn't surprising that the room wasn't ready.  They suggested breakfast, the it would be ready when we returned.  Breakfast was ok, not my favorite meal, but we spent it with two parrots and a large blue jay type bird, then back to the hotel.  This place is definately on the radar to return.  We are up the hill from the beach, I'm actually listening to ...