12.18.08 through 12.20.08... Playa Brasilito & Playa Conchal

Hello beach! Yeeeesssss! One of my favorite parts of living so close to the equator is the beaches. Year-roud tan minus the tanning beds! :) We literally laid on the beach for about 7 hours a day. Amazing!

Ha, this was right before a wave came a knocked me off my feet! I didn't last very long in the water after that experience...

Beautiful landscapes.

The sand at Playa Conchal was crushed shells... I got some history on the beach from a local and he said that the beach used to be a large coral reef that has now broken down into the beautiful sand. I had never seen sand like it!
Janna and Jason will love me for posting this on the blog... aren't they cute? :)

Another sand photo.

and the sunset on Playa Brasilito.

12.17.08

ZIP LINING :)
Janna whizzes through the trees.

Janna prepares for the Tarzan swing... She was the only brave one. Jason and I were chickens.

Jason ready to go.

Woohoo!!!

My bed was really wobbly and I was scared.

12.16.08

We took a "Jeep Boat Jeep" tour from La Fortuna to Monteverde... except the Jeep wasn't really a Jeep: Yup, looks like a van to me... Is this a Jeep anyone? And here's the boat waiting for us...
Some landscapes. You might have to tilt your head for this one.

And another landscape. Blackbirds are hiding in the bushes.

When we arrived in Monteverde, we headed over to a butterfly garden for some great photo ops.

The "stained glass" butterfly was really hard to focus on. I was satisfied with this shot.

12.15.08

Day 2: We hiked to see Vulcan Arenal. The volcano was playing peek-a-boo with clouds and smoke, so we almost saw the volcano completely. Here it is hiding a little.

I think my Nikon takes good portraits. Do you agree? :)

The three musketeers during this part of the trip.

Quite a few people Janna and I met asked, "So how'd you girls meet?" Uh.... when did we meet? Gee, I think when I was born. Ha. It was funny explaining that she's my aunt... people thought she didn't look old enough to be my aunt!

Trish taking photos... she didn't know I was taking pictures of her :)

We found a good lookout spot for waiting patiently on our peek-a-boo playing volcano.

Here's Lake Arenal in the distance... we'll cross over that tomorrow on our way to Monteverde.

12.14.08

Before returning home for Christmas, I traveled outside the city to explore the awesome landscapes of Costa Rica... you know, the beach, the mountains, the rainforest. Ha. Here's some photos from our first day of adventuring:

Uncle Jason and Aunt Janna experienced the rainforest... literally. We hiked to a waterfall during a rain storm.

Roomie Trish, friend Tricia, and me showing off our muscles... and the waterfall :).

Wowee, it's the biggest waterfall I've seen.

Me and my camera... best friends forever.
and after a long hike, we needed a relaxing evening at the hot springs. aaaaahhhh. Janna, Kate, Trish, Tricia.

Um... Great Photos, Kate

This is what I get for travelling with my uncle....

good morning beautiful.
fresh off the zip lines. it was funner than my face says it was.

We're Still Alive!

A volcano hike, hot springs, jeep-boat-jeep travel, butterfly garden viewing, rainforest hike, and ziplining (yup, you read that correctly!), we are still alive and well. I have slept a lot too, ha, catching up on the lack of sleep that teaching brings. I have thoroughly impressed Jason and Janna with my low level of Spanish, and even managed to surprise Jason with a special birthday treat at the restaurant last night -- and I asked the waiter for it in Spanish while Jason was sitting there :). Ha, good times.

I want to post photos, but I forgot my camera cord... patience, friends! The photos will be good, I promise!

Love you! I come to the US in 5 DAYS!!!!!!!