Our first guests of the winter arrived on January 2nd for a 9 day visit. My day captain from the Minnesota Zoo, Gail, and her granddaughter Emily took us up on our invitation to join us in Costa Rica. We picked them up after 9pm at the San Jose Airport, and one of the first comments I heard was how warm it felt here! The temperature was probably in the middle 60’s, and coming from the frigid cold of Minnesota was certainly a nice change for them.
We went somewhere everyday, from the mountains North of where we live, to the Southern part of the Pacific Coast. Our travels took us to Grecia, Manuel Antonio, San Joaquin, San Isidro, through the Braulio Carrillo Rainforest, the tram near Jaco, Puriscal, and to the Toucan Rescue Ranch, just to name a few of the places we went to. We ate at a number of restaurants, including Ajua in Heredia, Raphael’s Terrazas in Manuel Antonio, and Sibu in San Isidro. We went into a few churches along the way, most of them easily over 100 years old. And of course, we stopped many times for photo ops. The scenery wherever we travel in Costa Rica never ceases to amaze us. The different textures of the mountains, the colors of plants and flowers we never imagined we would see in person, and the seemingly endless valleys that roll on for miles as we explore this country always brings a smile to our faces. Emily would remark quite often, in a kidding way, how “mediocre” the countryside was. It got to be a running joke among the 4 of us, the total “mediocracy” of this country. Believe me, she sure took a lot of pictures of the mediocre scenery everywhere we went. It was great watching both of them take pictures and remark about the surroundings that our travels took us to on any particular day.
Our days almost always started with a trip to the porch. Listening to the birds, watching the vultures glide on wind currents, and taking in the serenity of the porch is such a great way to start every day. And of course, drinking Costa Rican coffee. Gail loved listening to the different birds singing their morning songs. She and I were always the first ones up and about, and seeing the smile on her face as she listened to the birds was wonderful.
Before leaving for a daily adventure we normally ate a fairly substantial breakfast. Both of our guests said they didn’t usually eat much in the morning. But that was before fresh mangos, pineapple, bananas grown here on the property, fried plantains, fresh eggs with peppers, and birds still singing in the background. I don’t remember ever having leftovers from breakfast!! Great food and wonderful people to share it with. Nice way to start the day. Thank you both.
Almost every night we would play games and enjoy each other’s company. We played a form of Rummy that Deb loves, and also the game Qwixx, which Emily really seemed to fall in love with, and Farkel. It was a nice way to relax and talk about the day, and get to know each other even better.
Their visit went by much too quickly for all of us. But that just means that we all enjoyed ourselves and didn’t want the fun to stop. After dropping them off at the airport, we both wondered what the weather was like back in Minnesota. I looked up the temp on my phone. I’ll just say that I doubt they said how warm it felt when they walked out of the airport back home.
As many of our family and friends know, Deb and I have been volunteering at The Toucan Rescue Ranch since November. We knew we would enjoy working there, and we most certainly do. But we are amazed by the number of countries that are represented by some of our fellow volunteers. We are in a small Central American country, and we are volunteering with people from Mexico, England, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France, Germany, Hungary, and Turkey! There are also people from Seattle, Idaho, North Carolina, California, and a teacher from Purdue University. One of the staff members here retired from the San Diego Zoo, but was originally from White Bear Lake in Minnesota! Our experience there has been so much better than we could have ever imagined. We are now taking a break from there until March as we are going to Ecuador next week, and then our close friends Renee and Rob will be here for 16 days. But we will return to volunteer after that and hopefully work with people from other parts of the world. Sometimes our life down here seems like a dream. If I’m sleeping, please don’t wake me.
Here are some photos from our travels with Gail and Emily. Enjoy.
Our visitors Gail and Emily.
Both of them taking photos in Manuel Antonio. This was a common sight. They took lots of pics, understandable.
These three pictures are perfect examples of Costa Rican mediocracy. For Emily.
Waterfalls along the way are common throughout this country.
These ladies set up a stand of fresh fruits and homemade pastries across from the waterfall. Lots of people stop there for a photo op, so this was a great place for them to set up. In case you are wondering, yes we did buy some pastries. Delicious.
These photos are from a church in San Isidro, Heredia. It is over 100 years old, and beautiful. The top picture is of the pulpit. That is not gold paint, but gold plating on much of it! The bottom picture is of the ceiling of the church. It looks like tile, but is actually small slats of wood, wall to wall, running the entire length of the church. And I mean small slats. Once again, this is over 100 years old and in remarkable condition!
Enjoying a cold drink on a hot day in Manuel Antonio. The relationship between Gail and Emily made their time here even more special for Deb and I. Thanks to both of you.
The four of us having an early dinner at Raphael’s Terrazas in Manuel Antonio.
A thorn between two roses. This was in front of the church in downtown Sarchi.
Unfortunately, departure day arrived much too soon. Thank you Gail. Thank you Emily. We will both be back at the MN Zoo in May. But the four of us have memories of our time together in Costa Rica that will last for years.
Pura Vida.
Deb & Tim.
Deb & Tim's Adventure 