Not your average tuna sandwich

So Mom and I decided to share a tuna sandwich - thinking we'd be getting some kind of tuna salad with lots of veggies --- no way!!!

It was a tuna steak cooked just right with cucumbers and sprouts and lettuce, a beautiful tomato, olive oil and perfect spices on the most delicious bread!!! It was soooooooo yummy!!

Macademia Cafe

So here's where we stopped for lunch on the way back to the condo -- it was a little cafe that we'd seen many signs for. Neat signs that said things like "Eat, drink and just be..." It also said on their sign that they had a coffee bar and for a girl who enjoys an iced mocha every now and then, those words to music to my ears! I got an iced mocha - a big one!!

It was located just west of the tiny town of Nuevo Arenal. Quite an amazing view of the lake too!!!

We also had amazing sandwiches and the atmosphere was mellow and pretty gringo-ized. But we enjoyed it!

I found a cd of marimba music here and can't wait to share it with you all this summer...

Map of Costa Rica

So here is a map of Costa Rica -- we drove from the north west coast between Coco and Panama all the way over to Arenal. Thought this would give you some perspective...

This is how it looked from our deck in the morning when we got up --- can you see it smoking???



We couldn't stop taking pictures of the volcano as we headed back toward Playa Hermosa (home for now...)

Dinner at Arenal Lodge

random photos from Arenal Lodge

This Blue Macaw is wild. He and his/her companion are always around the grounds - so again, they must be fed but so cool to see right up close and personal!


We played in the jacuzzi
Meg took this picture - my dad had taken one like it and she thought it was cool and liked that all of our toes are red!!!

Butterfly Garden

Can you see the hearts on the inside of these flowers ---
they are much smaller than they appear in this picture...
Orange one on Mom's arm

This butterfly garden is just like the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver but so much better!!!!!!!! It's the real deal -- and not so crowded!!!
And this is right on the grounds of Arenal Lodge... included in our stay. Such a neat place!!!