So...after 5 days in Samara Beach the really adventurous portion of our trip began.  We rented a stick shift car, which provided us with some good entertainment, and headed to the mountains.  We stayed at  Hotel Borinquen Mountain Resort at the base of an active volcano called Rincon De La Vieja.  I know I am being very specific but his place was absolutely amazing and if you are ever in the area you should go.   We arrived to cold tropical drinks and were taken out to our bungalow complete with a porch and hammock.  After that we started our spa day (which was outside in the jungle).  
Rincon De La Vieja is an active volcano.  All around the base there are steaming, boiling pots of mud and minerals.  The resort built a naturally outdoor spa. They plopped their sauna on top of a steam pot so we started by relaxing hovered over naturally boiling mud, weird concept, but amazing.  We then headed over to the mud pits.  They pull the mud out which is warm and buttery and makes your skin feel so silky.  So we gave ourselves a mud treatment.  While the mud is drying we walked along all these raised paths that lead you into the jungle and passed some ancient hyroglyphs. After the mud dried and was washed off we went through a series of three pools heated by the natural springs.  Lastly we got a massage in an open are room that is suspended over a creek, so there is no need for any relaxing background music.  
    The next morning we hiked through the national park and Rincon and saw all kinds of steaming bubbling pots scattered across the mountain.  Costa Rica is pretty lax on regulations, so you get to go right up close to everything and experience it to the fullest.  While we were walking through we were followed by a pack of about 15 adorable white faces monkeys.  They were swinging around in trees and it was pretty fun to watch.  

    After a very long rainy drive and a quick stop over in the capital city of San Jose we picked up our good friends Chris and LeAnne. With them we headed up north again to see another volcano, Arenal.  The site of it was impressive. 
    This resort had a series of about 8-10 different pools that were all heated by thermal water from the volcano.  You could kind of flow through them depending on how hot or cold you wanted it.  We tended to migrate the the pool that was the perfect temperature and has a swim up bar!
  

  The next morning we hiked through the lava fields at the base of Arenal and back through the jungle.  On this hike we saw a few animals that we neat but I honestly can't tell you what they were.  We definitely encountered lots of toucans and an incredible giant tree!
      On the way home from Arenal we did a zip line tour that covered 25 zips over all kinds of beautiful terrain.  One was a quarter mile long and zipped you over a small waterfall.  It was really fun! 
  I am having trouble getting these pictures to load on my site.  So when I do I will add them in!

Back in Samara we did a lot more relaxing.  We ate some delicious sea food, grilled out while enjoying the hammocks, surfed, and went on a fishing trip that resulted in 0 fish, and lots of sea sickness.  Overall it was a fantastic trip and I would do again in a heart beat.  I loved spending so much time with my husband and getting to experience the adventures with our friends.  I feel blessed to have been able to go! (One last world of wisdom: Don't eat the ceviche. Many days later I am still recovering)

     Justin and I enjoying a very lazy vacation in Costa Rica! I can´t wait to show you all the pictures of the amazing beaches and food! We have been very adventurous and organic.  I don´t think I have ever gone so long without blowdrying my hair or putting on a stitch of makeup.  It is so hot here that there isn´t  really any point, everything just melts away!

 We found a nice guy on the beach named Walter (imagine that with a Spanish accent) who took us for a horse back ride along the beach and then up into the jungle.  We arrived at a quaint waterfall where we hiked and swam and cooled off! On the way back we saw, and more prominently heard howler monkeys! I was very excited. After about two days of a bruised rear we were ready for the next adventure! The owners of the house we are renting left of with all of their toys.  So we pulled out the kayak, rowed to a nearby island and had a picnic on the beach which we shared with the resident crabs and iguanas.  

    Yesterday we rode bikes to the neighboring beach of Carillo and visited a wildlife rescue with some really crazy animals.  The guide informed us that the American crocodile, who is very agressive, is the most common animal in Costa Rica.  Not only do they inhabit the fresh waters, but they also like to swim from mangrove forest to mangrove forest in the ocean! Neadless to say I am keeping my eyes open when we swim! 

We are taking one more day to be lazy on the beach before embarking on a trip inland to pick up our friends at the airport and visit some of the active volcanoes of Costa Rica.  If I play my cards right I may be able to weasle my way into a spa treatment at the mudbaths there.  I am off to try and surf! I am sure it will be good entertainment for anyone in eyesight! Have a wonderful week, until we return to the states, hasta luego!

   My family and I recently took a wonderful long weekend to Kauai.  Besides the breathtaking views, tropical drinks on the beach, and wonderful sea life, there was the most fun fruit! There was fruit I had never seen and definitely never eaten before.  I thought I would share! 
    When we got there and my mom and sister had just run to the fruit stand.  They had these crazy little spiky red fruits.  You had to score the outside and then when you peeled off the skin it was like a giant grape inside! After some research my husband discovered it is called a Dragon's Eye.  I would recommend trying it!

    Because of the time change, we woke up very early on the first day and hiked out to some cliffs to watch the sunrise.  We found these amazing caves and had fun spelunking around.  On the walk back we were greeted by banans tree after banana tree.  It was amazing to see how they grow! There is a huge flower and under each petal an entire bunch of bananas grows out! And all of this came from banana tress that were only about 5 feet tall.  After the spelunking we returned for a yummy fruit breakfast. We enjoyed fresh papaya, pineapple, and apple bananas.  I don't know if that is what they are really called, but they have these tangy amazing little bananas that taste like they are have some apple flavor in them.  

About ten years ago there was a hurricane that decimated all of the chicken coops on the island! Who would have thought?? I guess they had a bunch of chickens for cock fighting.  The result is that the chickens are now wild, show quality beautiful, and running the island.  So as you are relaxing on the beach the chickens come by to check you out, which I guess is better than peddlers!

     In addition there were these crazy fruits that looked like wooden grapes.  When you peel off the wooden shell it actually look like a grape inside. I think it may have been lyche.  However, it tasted somewhat fermented and I wasn't a huge fan.  Interesting though! 
    

      Besides getting to spend all the time with my family, one of the major highlights of my trip was an unbelievable hike along the Napali Coast.  It is part of the island you can only get to by foot.  At the end of a four mile hike we arrived at a 300 foot waterfall!! This picture only shows the bottom of it.  We of course jumped in and swam behind it, although the water was freezing! After a very muddy hike back there was a Hawaiian kid waiting at the bottom with a freshly husked coconut and a straw! 

Heaven.