May the odds be ever in my favor

NOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTT!!!!!

OK, OK! Cheesy title line? Maaaybe, but fitting to say the least seeing as I just finished the last book in The Hunger Games trilogy. The books were great! I have a book hangover now. Also fitting in that the odds were definitely not in my favor in the long awaited story of my bike crash. Here's how it went down:

I think I mentioned a post back about how there was an amazing sunset that I could not pass up in order to be home before dark. I don't know what it is, but it's really hard for me to see around twilight and right after. Like RIGHT before it gets completely dark. I guess my eyes just take time to adjust.

Anywho...that's what I was trying to avoid. But we didn't. So there's one against me. Dark.
I strapped Sofie on my back and started riding home. That's number two.
I also strapped my camera/camera bag on the back of my bike. Three.
GRAVEL & SLOPED road. Four. & Five.
Downhill to top it all off. Six.

I was riding at the top of the hill. I hit a pot hole as I started going down. Begin descent. Camera bag falls off and starts bouncing around on the back tire. My position was right where the road starts to slope downwards to the sides of the street from being washed out by rain. So as the camera is bouncing, I turned to see if things were ok back there. Apparently, when you turn on a bike your shoulders turn too, therefore turning the handle bars. Not good on a slope! Keeping in mind I'm still going downhill, gaining speed. The front tire slid from underneath me and before I knew what was actually happening(because I thought I could get things under control), my face was sliding on the gravel road.

OUUUUUUCCCCHHHHHHH!!!!!

All in a matter of seconds. Frank and Levi watched, helplessly behind me. I got up and immediately asked if Sofie was hurt. She was fine. Not a scratch on her. If she would have been in one of those carriers that attach to the back of bikes, it would have been NO BUENO!

I didn't even realize I was hurt right at first, but then the burning started. We had a 1/2 mile to go to get back home. I rode some and walked some. I mainly rode because I wanted to get there faster. My eye had a HUGE knot on it almost immediately. I had to wash and clean everything and that was really, really horrible. I started taking some homeopathic remedies around the clock.

It was a long week of uncertainty about infection and proper care and how things were going to turn out. Since our house was out in the sticks(which we LOVED), we had to make a difficult decision and relocate a little closer to town in the event something went wrong. I'm super glad to say that all went well and my eye was not fractured. Painful, but good and after a week exactly things were sooooo much better. Thank you Rescue Remedy cream and Arnica.




Unfortunately, I wish I could say I had a "cool" bike crash story. I don't. It's also very unfortunate that in the crash my bouncing camera broke. Well thankfully the camera is ok, but my 50mm 1.8 lens was not. Luckily, that lens is really cheap and not an expensive one. From here on out, all the pictures we take on this trip are with my iPhone. Tear. It's a real bummer not having a camera that takes great pics.

More than anything though- I'm thankful.

Day after - 1 week later

Beaches, Beautiful Beaches (pt. 2)

Playa Avellanas Beach. I think I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

Just imagine- white sandy beaches, clear, warm water, gentle giant waves. Crashing against you. Rocks to explore with little fishies swimming around. It's magical.

It was a fun day of ocean swimming, sand castle building, smoothie and adult beverage drinking, sunset watching bliss. The clouds earlier in the evening gave way to the most beautiful sunset. I told Frank I wanted to leave before dark so I could see while riding my bike. The sunset was just too good to pass up. We started trekking home around twilight.

That's when things got a little crazy.

Beaches, Beautiful Beaches (pt. 1)

If you take a little stroll down the dirt roads, after about 1200 meters, you'll come to a wonderful beach. It's called Playa Negra, meaning Black beach. You'll understand why in a minute.
On the walk you'll find these little (big) guys. They weren't very fond of the camera, hence why they all look like the want to charge me. Aren't they soo cute!?!

You will also find the escuela (school). The school is soooo fun! On our second night in Lagartillo, we went to a fiesta that the school put on before their 2 week break. Lots of cute kids singing and dancing the Mariachi! The school goes from 4-8 years old. They teach the children Spanish and English. They were quick to welcome Levi and have him paint and play. He loved it.

Keep walking.

Look up!

And out of the jungle to the beach! Playa Negra. The Black Beach known for its black(ish) sand.

After being beach deprived in Amarillo, TX for years, we thought this beach was pretty awesome.

Until we met Playa Avellanas beach...

Cabina Florcita

You'll have to excuse my "I'll write tomorrow" in the last post. Yeah, that never works out like I plan.

For the month of July, we were renting out Cabina Florcita. It's a small 1 bedroom house. There is a kitchen/dining area and 1 bedroom with a small closet and small bathroom in the bedroom. It's very basic. Basic meaning, a few pots, pans, and dishes, a few shelves, and the most surprising...no hot water. Thankfully, the water comes out of the ground cool, so it wasn't like taking a freezing cold shower. It's actually quite refreshing given the humidity and heat here in Costa Rica. Nonetheless, still not the norm for us. While Sofie was feeling sick, I actually boiled some hot water and mixed it with the cold in the kitchen sink so she could have a warm bath. She was very sensitive and I wanted her to feel good. Talk about rustic living! There were no glass windows. It was all screened in to let the cool breeze flow through the house.

Not gonna lie...

The first night we were there, we were not too sure about things. There were bugs EVERYWHERE! But I mean come on, it's the jungle. And most of all it was just lacking that little bit of home feeling that we needed. Which takes more than a few hours to achieve. 

The outside was equipped with a table, 2 hammocks (which were super awesome), clothes lines for drying, and a washer that seemed really lame, but actually did a pretty decent job! There's also amazing plants and animals all around. Once it starts to get light outside, you'll start to hear the howler monkeys. They sound really pissed off, but that's just the way they sound. Geckos are quite common, but they soon became our favorite friends since they eat all the creepy crawlers. 

After a few days, the place really started to feel like home. We realized that a place is a place, and no matter where we are, we are the ones that make it home. And like the song goes...

Home is wherever I'm with you.

Travelin' North

Before we left Texas, we contacted a little family located in the province of Guanacaste, (Northern Costa Rica, Pacific Side) that rents out little cabinas on their property. We decided that we were going to make there our home. Playa Lagartillo, specifically. It's located on the Nicoya Peninsula about 30 km south of Tamarindo (Gringolandia).

We have not and are not renting a car while we are here. It's solely walking, taxis, or public transportation (bus). Mostly because it costs out the wazoo to rent a car, have it fully covered, and baby seats etc. Plus it's kind of hard to navigate around CR since there aren't very many clear signs, so we figure we would just leave it to the pros. And it's actually really nice. I told Frank yesterday, that while I was walking to the store to get some bread for dinner, I was thinking that being able to drive to the store when we get back to the U.S. will be very different! Maybe we'll walk! ;-)

From Alajuela to Playa Lagartillo was about a 4+ hour taxi ride. It was pretty arduous. Super hot, no AC, and poor road conditions led to a rough ride. Water was definitely needed, and I think Sofie was in her first stages of the chickepox, too. Both the kids were troopers though. I remember about 10 mins. before we got to our destination, praying for rain! I said, "Please Lord, just bring the rain so us and our babies can be cool."

We arrived, got out, and while Frank was discussing with our taxi driver who wanted more money than what he originally told us, (which wasn't happenin'!)

IT STARTED RAINING!!!
A NICE, WARM DOWN POUR.

With the canopy above us, it was enough to cool us down and experience the most remarkable feeling after being in a steaming hot taxi for hours.

We walked about a quarter of a mile into the jungle to get to Casa Maicol.

This is where life slows down and you enjoy the flow. If you're ever in Costa Rica, I highly recommend staying at Casa Maicol. The owners are SOOOOO welcoming and are some of the sweetest people you will ever meet. More on the house tomorrow!

Happy Birthday to BEST husband and daddy !!!! =) We love you Frankie!

A new day

...Yep, closed.
You can only imagine the thoughts running through my head at this time. Honestly, I was a little afraid. Intimidated from the get-go, because upon getting off the plane, nobody spoke English. I don't know why I didn't expect that anyway, but reality hit that it was going to be a challenge to communicate and get around. Thankfully our taxi driver spoke broken English (and Frank popped up with Spanish out of no where) and was able to take us to a hotel that he knew. Not gonna lie, it was pretty ghetto, but at 2am, I was just so thankful to have a place to rest mine and my family's head for the night.

We woke up to a new day! A new country, with new things to explore and learn.

Now let me just state that for our family, this trip is not about living the luxurious life in Costa Rica. We are on a budget, but most importantly we came here to immerse ourselves in the Tico (Costa Rican people) culture. To live the way they do, eat the food they eat, and live life out of the "gringo" (costa rican term for white people) norm. So yes, the life for the 2.5 months that we are here is luxurious in experience through our eyes, but may not be to some.

So the next morning, we walked on over to the Mango Verde Hostel. The owner, Rodolfo, was very apologetic and that became our stay for the next night. We roamed the city of Alajuela that day, fed birds and squirrels, laid around in the hammocks and played ping pong. If I had to choose one thing I learned that day in the park about the language, it's that one thing is universal...

a smile. =)

Mango Verde Hostel

I was very interested in the fact that I saw so many Ticos getting McDonalds. Ha! I was like, 'why would they do that', but after thinking about it, I realized that they're just people too. Americans do it all the time. I was only thinking from my perspective that I definitely did not come to Costa Rica to get McDonalds.

After a restful night, we decided to pack up and head to 

paradise. 

AKA

The Jungle.