And Finally

Unfortunately after two and a half weeks into our month holiday we received the call everyone dreads. Tom's 90 year old mother was in the hospital and was very ill. We were able to change our reservations and made plans to leave the next afternoon. We arrived very late in Toronto, stayed overnight and went to see Tom's Mom the next morning. We were able to spend the next week and a half with her and the rest of the family before she died on Dec. 3. A sad time for Tom and his family but a celebration of a life well lived. Here's to Anne Ellis Morreale (Rankin).

We would like to return to Costa Rica sometime but now we are home buried in snow!

Our Friends

 

We always have such a good time!

A Day Out Fishing with Jean Marc

Jean Marc, owner of our villa, The Breezes, arranged for Tom and Gary to go deep sea fishing with him. They had a good time and caught many fish - six different species. It was a beautiful day and they enjoyed the day on the water.

Nice one, Jean Marc!

Such concentration, Gary!

 

Fighting the big one!

Don't you look proud of yourself, Tom!

Trip to Playa Junquillal

Our friends, Ricardo and Linda, invited us to visit them in Playa Junquillal. This area is about a half hour south through small towns and wide vistas with mountains in the background. We met them at their recreation centre. We swam in the beautiful pool, they played some tennis and we all had a good lunch in a nearby restaurant. Here is a link to Guacamaya Lodge where we had lunch.We visited their condo on the ocean and a piece of property on which they might build their dream home. We had a great day including howling howler monkeys! Here are some photos we want to share.

On the Way Back to Tamarindo

Northern racoons along the road stopping traffic. They are very odd looking racoons.

 We visited a rescue zoo where injured animals are protected and hopefully released when healed.

Roads are notoriously bad in Costa Rica. A fierce rain washed out many areas right before we arrived.

A beautiful and unusual orchid.

More Photos from our Trip to Arenal

 Fabulous flowers everywhere!

Lake Arenal

 Lobby at Tabacon Resort Hotel

 Arenal Volcano from our room!

Lake Arenal in the background

Here is another link for Arenal Volcano

Tabacon Thermal Springs Resort

Here are a few photos from our days at Tabacon Thermal Resort. Set in a rainforest at the base of Arenal volcano, the water is heated by the volcano. The resort is spread over a huge area. It is beautiful! To see more here is a link you may want to check out.

Tabacon 

Arenal Volcano - A Road Trip

Our friends Gary and Ginette surprised us with a visit here this week! We all have been enjoying the time together and some adventures too. We drove to see the Arenal Volcano-an active one about 4 hrs. away. We were able to see some of Costa Rica's landscape including rainforest areas. The roads approaching the volcano are all twisting and full of potholes. Gary did all the driving and avoided most hazards! There were washed out areas of the road that were treacherous. We had decided to stay at a luxury resort called Tabacon Thermal Springs Resort within view of the volcano. It has the most incredible hot springs set in a lush rainforest environment. It was truly spectacular! The only downside was that this particular night the volcano was not active at all. We made a special nighttime drive way up a mountain on an awful rubble strewn road  to view the lava flow. This turned out to be a total non-event! We enjoyed the view for awhile but no pyrotechnics. I did buy a photo so you can see what it's supposed to look like! Here is a link to Arenal.

Monkeys at Last!

picture taken from a different site

A close up I didn't take!

Finally, when I least expected it, a large troop of monkeys came through the trees at our resort and I was able to watch them. Of course I didn't have the camera with me so I called Tom to hurry and get it!! Here are a few of the photos that I was able to take. They stayed around for a few minutes but then moved on through the trees. There were two mothers with babies clinging to their backs. They all could move very quickly through the trees and from tree to tree. Very cool!! Click on the photo to enlarge them.

A Great Evening with New Friends

We met a couple today who have a condo in Costa Rica and live here 5 months. Their condo is south of here and we will visit them next week. Guess where they live the rest of the time? Cambridge, Ontario! They are friends of our friends, Gary and Ginette. We had a wonderful dinner and then found a spot with coconut cream and banana cream pie for dessert. Yum! We were entertained by a Mariachi Band who perform at many restaurants on the beach. I just threw in a beautiful sunset photo for fun.

Fun at the Beach

We really have enjoyed our time at the beach. Our favourite spot is Playa Langosta Beach Club. Here are just a few photos of our relaxing (lazy?) lifestyle.

Ants on Steroids

Here are those amazing ants that can carry enormous objects (in this case flower blossoms) long distances. If you click on the photo twice you can see it really close up. We see them around our pool and wonder where they are trying to go. They are interesting to watch. We are watching lizards and hummingbirds but they are too fast for me to get close with the camera. I'll keep trying. The howler monkeys still haven't visited our villa as promised.

HUGE Grasshoppers

Tonight when we went out to dinner we saw huge grasshoppers 4-5 inches long! They were everywhere. They would land on you and that really freaked me out! Here are a few photos. The one was on the table in the restaurant where we had just had dinner. the other was on the road. Not my favourite wildlife! But at least they would stay still while I took their pictures.

Sunset at our Favourite Spot

I'd like to say we are doing exciting new things everyday but we are not! We are into a very nice routine at the moment and have made no real effort to change. We have explored various excursion options and will make some decisions tomorrow! Or is that "manana"? Here are just a few pictures of one of our favourtite spots called Playa Langosta Beach Club. For the price of a drink or two you are able to spend several hours at a lovely spot on the beach and enjoy the surf and the sunset. We will keep returning to this spot and will have dinner there soon.