In the moment

Well we are on our last stretch here in Costa Rica. Super sad, but we are savoring up the last bit of time we have here for this journey. We've been busy at the beach and doing some of the things we like to do here, hence the no blogging. In a couple of days we will head down south to San Jose and fly out.

Here's the Instagram pics from the past week. There aren't many because for this last week I've decided it's best to live in the moment. I've barely taken any pics and haven't blogged.

It's good. You gotta find the balance.

Live now. Remember what matters, let go of the rest.

the greatest.

Probably the highlight of our trip so far!!! Take a look for yourself.

The kids got to test ride on the horses that our right by our house.

After that we got on the bus to Brasilito where they give horse rides. We checked the place out the day before and they told us $25/person. So we figured we would just let Levi ride for his late birthday present. When we got to Brasilito, there was a man standing in the center square with 4 horses. We talked to him and he said we could ride- ALL for $30. SWEET DEAL! And he was soo nice. Tour guide AND photographer!?! We'll take it.

Huge Iguana

Let me just say that this experience was absolutely unreal. In the most real way possible. Seeing my family- Frank with Sofie, who fell asleep at the end and was getting mad because she kept getting woken up by the bouncing (haha) and Levi who looked SO BIG riding that horse all by himself. To see his smile light up when the horse would start trotting a little faster and he would bounce around and laugh. Riding through the jungle and then popping out onto this BEAUTIFUL beach with turquoise blue water. Definitely a moment that will be treasured in my heart forever.

After our ride, we went to the beach and had a fun day of playing in the sand while Frank surfed. We met a really nice French family and even though the kids couldn't understand each other, play is still universal.

All is full of love.


... Instagram for the week:

Chasing Waterfalls-Day 2

After getting back to Liberia, we checked out a few hostels so we could rest for the night. Most of them were either booked or not open. We settled on staying in a hotel called Hotel Guanacaste. The next morning, we packed up and took a bus to the beginning of Rincon De la Vieja National Park.

The bus we took to get there will only take you so far and then turn around. The roads were not fit for buses beyond that point. So we walked about 1 km to the entrance. We pay. And there is a sign there saying that the hotel (which is the beginning of the park) is another 3-4 km. So we trekked the way. Phew! We finally got to the restaurant at the hotel. We were all so hungry and thirsty. 

It was a super classy type restaurant. We just knew we were in for it when the bill came. Our food arrived and was soooo good and plentiful. Our bill only ended up being $13. Good deal! 

There are about 3 waterfalls that are in the vicinity of the hotel. We picked the one that was the shorter distance because we had already walked a lot with 2 kiddos. The walk was about 1-2 km. It's so neat because the closer you get, the more you can hear the waterfall. We played the game, see who can hear it first.  

We got there and it was amazing! The stairs, sketchy. But simply wonderful. 

Las Chorreras is the name of the waterfall. Chorreras Waterfall meets with the Río Blanco (White River), and together they form a natural, clear, sky blue pool. The river side was SUPER cold, while the waterfall side was definitely a lot warmer. It was sooo clear.

Sorry for the lameo stock pic. Didn't think to bring the phone charger on our overnight stay, and we ended up with a dead battery by morning. =(

Instagram

 Instagram for last week!

Chasing Waterfalls-Day 1

A couple of weeks ago we took a weekend trip to Liberia. Liberia is the biggest city in the Guanacaste region. Since we didn't wake up at 5:30am to catch the bus that goes pretty much straight there, we had to catch the 12:00pm public bus that stops at every little town imaginable.

We were told that it would probably take us about 2 hrs on bus to get there. Well that 2 hrs turned into 4 hrs because the bus broke down! Yeah, pretty much whenever you see the bus driver trying to force the gears into place, it's not a good sign. We had to get towed by a huge tractor to the nearest bus station located in Filadelphia. Everyone on our bus got off and waited with the people who were already waiting for a bus to Liberia.

Our broken down bus

So our bus driver contacted another bus to come pick us all up. The bus we were on was pretty full. The bus that came to the rescue was pretty full too. PLUS the people that were already waiting who were mad because they needed to get on that bus too! Every seat on the rescue bus was full and the whole entire aisle with standing people full as well, but we made it.

It's all part of the adventure right!?! Gotta love it.

We get on the next connecting bus to the Llano De Cortez waterfall. Absolutely. Wonderful. We walked quite a distance from the main road to get to the waterfall. There was a steep hill to climb down into the jungle and at the bottom was the base of the waterfall.

The hill to climb down

We ate some pineapple on that log, hung out for a while, then packed up as it was nearing dark. I don't know about you, but walking in the pitch dark through the forest is kiiinda creepy! We got to the bus stop just as it turned completely dark and the bus came shortly after.

Success.