I'll have more to recount from the vacation later, but for now, Maddie & I are back from Costa Rica, as of late Friday night. We had a great time: four days at the beach in Sámara, then two in the vicinity of Arenal Volcano, more or less in the center of the country. (The volcano did erupt, a little bit. It erupts a little bit on most days.) It's the rainy season there, so we saw an afternoon shower more often than not. The weather did stay nice when we had nice-weather plans, for the most part. I spoke a little Spanish, but not much -- partly because of the amount of English spoken for the sake of tourists, partly because of my limited comprehension of anything complicated -- but it did come in useful. Driving, about which I was anxious and preoccupied for a week before departing, was not nearly as stressful as I'd anticipated. I wish we had 1 or 2 more days there, always and everywhere a lingering feeling after a good vacation.
Highlights included the straightforward relaxation on Playa Sámara, the howler monkeys that frequently visited the B&B where we stayed, a morning sea kayak excursion, authentic bratwurst eaten along the hilly road near Lake Arenal, tasty betidos and tropical cocktails, the bits of volcanic activity seen from the Arenal Observatory Lodge, the typical ecotourist's tour of forest canopy by zipline, and several hours of prototypical luxury in the volcanic hot springs of Tabacón. Plus, in general, the large amount of time spent outdoors, and the various observations of crabs, iguanas, sea turtles, leafcutter ants, squirrels, vultures, hummingbirds, oropendolas, basilisk lizards, and one white-nosed coati.
I'll have more to recount from the vacation later, but for now, Maddie & I are back from Costa Rica, as of late Friday night. We had a great time: four days at the beach in Sámara, then two in the vicinity of Arenal Volcano, more or less in the center of the country. (The volcano did erupt, a little bit. It erupts a little bit on most days.) It's the rainy season there, so we saw an afternoon shower more often than not. The weather did stay nice when we had nice-weather plans, for the most part. I spoke a little Spanish, but not much -- partly because of the amount of English spoken for the sake of tourists, partly because of my limited comprehension of anything complicated -- but it did come in useful. Driving, about which I was anxious and preoccupied for a week before departing, was not nearly as stressful as I'd anticipated. I wish we had 1 or 2 more days there, always and everywhere a lingering feeling after a good vacation.
Highlights included the straightforward relaxation on Playa Sámara, the howler monkeys that frequently visited the B&B where we stayed, a morning sea kayak excursion, authentic bratwurst eaten along the hilly road near Lake Arenal, tasty betidos and tropical cocktails, the bits of volcanic activity seen from the Arenal Observatory Lodge, the typical ecotourist's tour of forest canopy by zipline, and several hours of prototypical luxury in the volcanic hot springs of Tabacón. Plus, in general, the large amount of time spent outdoors, and the various observations of crabs, iguanas, sea turtles, leafcutter ants, squirrels, vultures, hummingbirds, oropendolas, basilisk lizards, and one white-nosed coati.
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