Two weeks in Costa Rica - lots of pics!

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

And after the tour and lunch BF and I spent part of the afternoon at the gorgeous (and much less crowded) beaches in the park. This is Playa 1 (of 3). The waves were pretty intense though, and the undertow too - I didn''t get in the water much since the waves kept knocking me down.

We were pretty tired and hot afterward, so we went and got massages at Spa Uno. It was super relaxing and just what we needed. We then went into Quepos and had drinks and dinner (the local seafood soup, Ron Don, was amazing, as was the local drink, a guaro drink made with sugarcane. I wish I could remember the name of it!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

On our last day at Manuel Antonio (before heading back to San Jose) BF and I went snorkeling. As it turned out, we were the only ones in the group so we had a nice private boat tour and snorkeling experience. This was the first time I''ve ever been snorkeling (since I can''t swim

) and it was SO much fun! We didn''t see that much (though there were these yellow striped fish that flocked around us when we fed them pineapple) but it was still fun - I''m dying to go snorkeling again!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Me!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Amazing pics, BEG! I''m so glad you guys had a great time! The Treehouses look amazing! Hammocks? Beach? Sign me up!!!!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

We arrived in San Jose that night and had dinner at a great old-fashioned Argentinian restaurant that night. Early the next morning, our last full day in Costa Rica, we did a tour of Poas Volcano (which is still active and spews out tons of sulphuric gas). There is a lake in the crater that is almost purely sulphuric acid.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Not too far from the active crater, there is an extinct crater that is now filled by a lagoon (Botos Lagoon). The lagoon is pretty acidic as well (though not nearly as much as the lake) and there''s no life in it.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

On the tour we also visited the Doka Estates coffee farm for a tour. On the way we saw one of the traditional ox-drawn carts.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

The different types of coffee. I bought a bag of the peaberry coffee (round instead of flat coffee beans - about 5% of the total coffee beans gathered) and a bag of delicious white chocolate covered espresso beans.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Back to San Jose - the Central Valley

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

And last one - sorry for all the pics! Flying home.

By the way, between my two cameras (my P&S and DSLR) and BF''s P&S, we had about 2200 pictures when we got home. When I finished deleting blurry and duplicate pictures, I had it down to about 1300 - still a LOT though!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 4/2/2010 8:23:02 PM
Author: Tuckins1
What a beautiful vacation that must have been!

Thank you Tuckins! It was a great vacation - I''m kind of sad to be back home!

 

[jewelz617]

I love iguanas!!! OHMYGOSH so cute!

Trip looks amazing

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 4/2/2010 8:34:08 PM
Author: LaurenThePartier
Amazing pics, BEG! I''m so glad you guys had a great time! The Treehouses look amazing! Hammocks? Beach? Sign me up!!!!

Thanks Lauren! It was awesome - I totally recommend going to the Treehouse Inn if you''re in Samara (Samara is great! - BF said not quite as small and quiet as Cahuita on the Caribbean coast, but I thought it was really cute and beachy and not too touristy).

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 4/2/2010 8:42:31 PM
Author: PinkAsscher678
I love iguanas!!! OHMYGOSH so cute!


Trip looks amazing

Thanks PA! You would have LOVED the Restaurante Las Iguanas then - they were dozens of iguanas lounging about!

 

[kenny]

I'm so jealous.
What a beautiful place, I'd love to go some day.

Just one suggestion ... next time maybe go easier on that black sunscreen you put on your face.

 

[Deelight]

Looks like you had an amazing trip thanks for sharing pics

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 4/2/2010 8:58:17 PM
Author: kenny
I''m so jealous.

What a beautiful place, I''d love to go some day.


Just one suggestion ... maybe go easier on that black sunscreen you put on your face.

LOL Kenny! Man, that SPF 1,000,000 is serious stuff!

If you get the chance, definitely go - it''s such a beautiful country!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 4/2/2010 9:03:50 PM
Author: Deelight
Looks like you had an amazing trip thanks for sharing pics

Thanks Deelight! And thanks for looking (and wading through the million pics I posted

)

 

[Dancing Fire]

WOW!! beautiful,

thanks for the pix BEG.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 4/2/2010 8:34:00 PM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl
Me!

BEG
more bikini pix,but w/o the black spot.

 

[Harleigh]

BEG...your photos are amazing and it looks like you had a fantastic time!

I seriously think some of your photos look like they should be in brochures for the place...now I''m thinking I not only need to take a trip to Costa Rica, but a new camera to record everything on!

I love that you went ziplining...it was the best thing we did while we were in Maui for our wedding...I would love to go again.

I also think it''s hysterical that you can''t swim either...I was afraid to try snorkeling after a bad experience several years ago, so I brought my own kickboard with me that I''d practiced with here at home in the pool before leaving, and I did pretty well. I REALLY want to get one of those float belts like they have on the snorkeling cruises...those were a huge lifesaver, but in a pinch I could always float on a life vest!

So glad you had a good time, and thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos!

 

[oddoneout]

Beautiful pics. I''d love to go there to see all the great scenery and interesting wildlife.

 

[junebug17]

Wow, what a fantastic trip! The wildlife is amazing, I love that toucan...thanks for sharing your vacation with us, sounds like you had a blast!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 4/2/2010 9:06:26 PM
Author: Dancing Fire
WOW!! beautiful,

thanks for the pix BEG.

Thanks DF!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 4/3/2010 1:59:29 AM
Author: Harleigh
BEG...your photos are amazing and it looks like you had a fantastic time!


I seriously think some of your photos look like they should be in brochures for the place...now I''m thinking I not only need to take a trip to Costa Rica, but a new camera to record everything on!


I love that you went ziplining...it was the best thing we did while we were in Maui for our wedding...I would love to go again.


I also think it''s hysterical that you can''t swim either...I was afraid to try snorkeling after a bad experience several years ago, so I brought my own kickboard with me that I''d practiced with here at home in the pool before leaving, and I did pretty well. I REALLY want to get one of those float belts like they have on the snorkeling cruises...those were a huge lifesaver, but in a pinch I could always float on a life vest!


So glad you had a good time, and thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos!

Thanks Harleigh! It''s great to see you back on PS! Ooh ziplining in Maui - that must have been amazing! I''m so glad I''m not the only one who can''t swim

I actually had to use the life jacket - it made it super easy to float on my stomach though! BF was teasing me, saying we could get me some floaties next time like the little kids wear, lol.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 4/3/2010 7:09:50 AM
Author: oddoneout
Beautiful pics. I''d love to go there to see all the great scenery and interesting wildlife.

Thanks Oddone!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 4/3/2010 10:02:10 AM
Author: junebug17
Wow, what a fantastic trip! The wildlife is amazing, I love that toucan...thanks for sharing your vacation with us, sounds like you had a blast!

Thanks Junebug! We definitely did - and yes, that toucan was awesome!

 

[MonkeyPie]

It looks SO gorgeous BEG, I love that you documented so much of your trip. And the GREEN! Everything is green and gorgeous and so many animals, I love it. I''m glad you had such a good time! (And didn''t get lost

)

 

[Indylady]

I love the pictures BEG! CR looks gorgeous!

 

[PumpkinPie]

gorgeous!