Mark’s head at Manuel Antonio National Park
Before we started this adventure some 18-plus months ago, we had at various times, been in all seven Central American countries. Oddly, though, the country we’d spent the least time in was Costa Rica, which many people say is one of the great tourist destinations in the world. So with a few weeks before joining family in San Diego for the Holidays, we figured Costa Rica was a perfect destination. And with our first stop under our belt, it sure looks as though it was a good choice.
A little, tiny example of wildlife in Costa Rica
At any rate, much of their trip was going to overlap with our time in Mexico that we’d already booked, but we realized that if we hurried down from San Miguel de Allende we could get there for the last three days of their stay. And to our delight there was a nice resort right next to the house they’d rented near the park so it worked perfectly.
My nephew Carl & his wife Hannah on the beach near the park
Carl & Hannah live up in Fairbanks, Alaska, so we don’t get to spend a lot of time with them. And while three days at the end of the month-long trip isn’t a lot we packed a lot in, including one day zip lining with Carl, the two oldest boys, and Hannah’s sister who was along, too, and another day trip on a boat for snorkeling and assorted water merriment.
If this is what two-year-olds are like, I think parents overreact to that “terrible twos” thing. Hallie was simply adorable and she looks almost as good in pink as I do!
After the zip lining and boat trip, we took Carl & Hannah out to dinner for their last night in Costa Rica while Hannah’s sister Chelsea stayed with the kids. I’m not sure how much they enjoyed the quiet time for adult conversations but I sure did. At one point during our visit I’d noticed how odd it was to notice that your little nephew was starting to turn gray. After that dinner I noted how nice it was to actually get to know your nephew and his wife. All in all a wonderful visit.
Mark & I both observed from the start that Haven was the elegant one of the crowd, and then I caught this very Jackie O shot on the boat
I loved this shot, too. We were in an evening market with Hannah picking up a bunch of stuff for dinner. That’s Andrew walking with her (she’s still recovering from a badly broken leg), Connor holding her hand, Hallie holding onto her sweater, and Chandler & Haven trailing behind. That’s her life!
Then we had a couple days on our own, so we actually went into the Park itself. It’s a tiny national park – at under 5,000 acres it’s the smallest national park in Costa Rica – but spectacularly beautiful, occasionally making lists of the best parks in the world; as Lonely Planet puts it, “…a stunning destination worthy of the tourist destination.” And stunning it was, as beautiful and perfect a beach as any we’ve seen, which is saying something.
This was our gorgeous spot on the beach in the park. No buildings, nobody selling anything, just beautiful water and soft sand. And the most aggressive raccoons you’ve ever seen trying to get any scrap of food they could.
But now we’re done with Manuel Antonio and headed south to Corcovado National Park on the Osa peninsula, a more isolated location for some hiking, maybe white water rafting, and whatever else you do in a remote jungle. We think there’s no Internet there, so we may not be back here for a while.
Near the end of the boat ride the tour guide handed out percussion instruments so we could accompany him on a couple songs. Chandler was seriously into it.
Another shot of the photogenic Haven
And Hope, another delightful little girl
Playing uncle with Connor and the baby Creed. Or great uncle, as the case may be.
Oh yeah, it wasn’t just the cute kids – Mark was there enjoying the zip line, too!
Here we are, getting started
Mark doing it in style
I’m starting to think that no blog post should be considered complete without at least one foodie shot. Here’s tuna in a green pepper sauce and a glass of crisp white wine for lunch. Life is good.
