Arenal Lake with the Boyer's

Scott and Roseanna invited us out for a Sunday on Lake Arenal so we loaded up and met them in town at 7 am(which was no problem---being this close to the equator, the sun still goes down at about 6:15 and it's dark by 6:30, so by about 8:30, we're all in bed! And then, in turn, the sun is up at 5 or so...so we get up!)

We buzzed up the highway and had breakfast - hearty, American-style - in Nuevo Arenal and then headed down to the boat.

Jack jumped right into the driver's seat as we got loaded up and settled into the boat.

 We even got a peak at the cone of Volcan Arenal - more than we did when we came up with Dave --- can you see it out there in the distance???

 Jack was very good about wearing his life vest - not one complaint!

 And the guys set about fishing...

And Ella and Roseanna set about soaking up some rays...

 Scott was so nice about letting the girls reel in the fish -- anytime there was one on the line, he would ask, "who's turn is it???"

 This is a jaguar guapote... or a rainbow bass...

 And this is Ginger - Scott's First Mate

Toward the end of the boat ride, Jack started getting tired!  He and Ella lay down and rested...

Meg was hungry again after the all went swimming in the lake!

Must be Ella's turn!  We caught 4 or 5 fish - most of them while trolling (is that spelled correctly?) behind the boat.

Scott took us up the hill on the way out of town to see his favorite view of the lake.  It is absolutely beautiful!  And this was a cloudy day - Roseanna said it is soo blue and even more beautiful when it's sunny.

Jack and Ella were asleep - mind you this stop was about 10 minutes from where the boat is parked! 

So, Wayne, Meg and I all posed for a pic!

Playing in the Sand

I think the kids' favorite activity is playing on the black sand beach at Bahia Pez Vela.

They have staked claim on the space under the big Guanacaste tree which is perfect! After playing in the pool or in the waves, the shade is very welcoming and the hermit crabs think so too!  We constantly find many little hermit crabs and the girls like building houses and corrals for them.

 I am so glad that we have a washer and dryer in our condo - otherwise, I do not know how we would manage the black sand. A trip to the beach creates at least 2 loads of laundry just in the towels - blue ones for the beach and white ones for the showers afterward!

 Jack is sporting the faux-hawk.... a very popular hair-do for the young Tico's.

Bahia Pez Vela

Nice view.

;)

Playa Conchal

We ventured out today to Playa Conchal - the Seashell beach. I drove from Coco and we followed the signs, until there weren't anymore signs... I had to ask a little Tica - probably 5 years old - "Playa Conchal es ayi??" and pointed down the bumpy dirt road. Sweet little girly just shook her head at the Gringa and said, "NO! Aya!!!"  and pointed back the way we had come.  So, we turned around and went back! ;) 

Then we found another sign and followed it down the sandy beach road we'd read about in our guidebook - until we came to the hill. 

 Seriously steep hill that was pretty much washed out. 

I parked.

I told Wayne, "I don't think we can make it up that hill." 

 "Aaaaa - sure we can."

So he walked up over the hill- that wasn't very long - just STEEP!  He came back and told us that there was a beautiful beach just on the other side:

He was right!!!

I hopped out and let him drive up the hill and I must tell you, it took two tries to get up it!!!

This beach is made up of broken up sea shells - not just sand but sea shell chunks!!!

As soon as the sunscreen was on, the girls headed for the beautiful, clear water.

Here is the beautiful and perfect spot for hanging out on the beach for 3+ hours. 

We were able to play in the waves and then come back to the shade of this awesome tree and have a snack (our favorite is the Yipy cookies!!!  Chocolate covered wafer cookies.  We'll definitely be bringing some home!)

 This video is of my Wyoming girls playing in the surf.  They really had a great time today!

Also, this is the beach that Devin and Belle were married on 3 years ago... not this exact spot where we were but down the beach a ways (wanna see pics of that???)

 Ella and Granpa headed down the beach to check out the tide pools at the end of the beach - I guess ours here at Pez Vela have more stuff in them! ;)

 Here are my Wyoming girls - enjoying the beach! We had a few Tico's comment on their confidence in the ocean and their outstanding swimming abilities!  ;)

Think this was a reapplication time for sunscreen! Even though we reapplied regularly, Ella got a bit of a burn on her back and legs... but overall, I think we've done pretty well and keeping the sunburns away!!!

Look at Ella!!!  Bodysurfing!  She did really well!!! And even the couple of times that she was totally taken under by a wave she got upand sputtered a bit but went right back out!

So hope this doesn't offend... but there's a hilarious story that goes with it!
So the seashell beach is all pretty and nice but let me tell ya, when you're bodysurfing, the bits of tiny seashells go everywhere!  And girls, you know what I'm talking about when I mention the little 'pocket' in the bottom of your bathing suit??  Well, Ella could not keep the shell bits out of that little pocket - and it was not comfortable!  I took her out in the swells once - she just took off her bottoms and got the shell bits out, put the bottoms back on and went about her business.  About 5 minutes later, she is needing to take care of this again - I was making sure that Jack didn't get swept out to sea - because the kid has no fear of the ocean and he loves it!  So I was not able to take her out to the discretion of the deeper water... so she took care of it on her own!  Well, I guess with Meg's help too!

 It is very tricky to get the sand and shells out of your pants and maneuver safely through the crashing waves...


Down there was where the wedding was...

This is the tiniest hermit crab ever!

What a great day!

Dave's Last Day

So Dave and Sandy headed home on Saturday but not before we spent one more morning in the pool and at the beach! 

 I love how Jack is looking over his shades in this one ;)

Unfortunately, I think this was the only time Dave got to relax in the hammock... 

 And of course, these guys had to get in one more bit of fishing 

Looks like Wayne (on the left) is setting a hook into something! 

We've Been Busy!!!

So Dave took our computer home with him so that I wouldn't have to manage it on the way home with the kids - we have Wayne and Sandy's computer so I haven't been downloading any pictures but I thought I'd share with you all what we've been up to...

Saturday, Dave and Sandy headed back to the States.  They drove over to San Jose and stayed the night there and then flew out the next day.  I guess they had quite an adventure in Miami -- the airport was closed there due to storms so the flight out of San Jose was delayed. Then, when they did get into Miami, everything was backed up so they had to wait on the tarmak for 45 minutes or so for a gate.  Then they hit more back up in customs and immigration and almost missed their delayed flight into Denver. I hate to say it but I hope that doesn't happen to Wayne and me with the three kids!!!  I am glad to report that Dave is safely back in Sheridan and Sandy is home safe in Laramie.

Sunday we headed back up to Arenal Lake to do some boating with our friends who live here in Coco, Roseanna and Scott.  They've always been very welcoming and generous with the boat rides. Jack and the girls both had a great time. We buzzed around the lake a little bit and did some fishing.  We caught some rainbow bass or guapote.  Wayne says that they are a fish that is related to the commonly known Oscar.  They were striped and Wayne also said they have big teeth! Scott was awesome and anytime there was one on, he would ask "Who's turn is it?" and let the kids reel in the fish.  They enjoyed it!  I was so impressed with their behavior on the boat - I wasn't sure what to expect, especially with Jack. I was afraid he'd get antsy but he was very content.  He didn't mind wearing the life jacket and was happy to wander around a little bit - good thing Scott has a 22 foot plontoon boat! We had a good time and were even able to see the cone of the volcano while we were there. 

Monday, we went swimming and then I had my dentist appt... yeah - it was supposed to be Thursday but she didn't like the way the crown didn't match my other teeth --- wish she'd realized that before she numbed up the right side of my face!!!  So, I had all the work done on Monday - literally, my whole face was numb.  I had the crown on the bottom right and then two fillings replaced on the top left - I was numb all the way up my nose!!!  - and another filling replaced on the bottom right. Ugh.  Hopefully this means I won't need any work done any time soon!

Today, we hung out pretty close to 'home' --- we went swimming in the pool and then played on the beach from about 9 until about 12:30 --- we had fun playing in the waves and building hermit crab houses and we even had some more hermit crab races!  Good times! 
We found one hermit crab who was "naked" -- without a shell.  They are sure strange looking creatures!  So, Jack and I set off to find him a shell.  During our search, we found another hermit crab who was about the same size as the naked one... I was looking in a different place while Jack held that one - next thing I knew, Jack was screaming!  As I understand it, Jack tried to take the crab he was holding out of its shell so that we could take it back to the other one who was without shell -- needless to say, the crab who was inhabiting the shell Jack was holding, didn't want to part from his shell and pinched Jack... and I think that I understood that he pinched Jack a few times!!!  I think Jack learned about how hermit crabs defend themselves!!!

This afternoon, the girls and I went into Coco for some souvenir shopping -- they chose some necklaces and bracelets and a pair of really neat puzzle boxes. They are little wooden boxes that are a puzzle to open - Meg got one that is shaped like a toucan to remember the toucans that we saw on the way from Arenal on Sunday and Ella got a parrot to remember the green birds that Granma Sandy saw while she was here.
This evening, we walked back down to the beach and found the BIG hermit crabs.  During the day, the little ones, that are about the size of a finger nail, are abundant.  In the evening, the hermit crabs that are wandering the beach are much bigger - their shells fill the palm of Meg's hand.  The girls are much more uneasy about these crabs. To my surprise, especially after his experience earlier in the day, Jack was not afraid to pick up the bigger crabs. He didn't hold onto them as long after they emerged to walk but he wasn't afraid to pick them up!  In fact, he had one who I could see that it was pinced onto his finger... Jack just took his other hand and swiped it off!

Maybe I will get some pictures downloaded in the next couple days...
Until then...

Roseanna and Scott

Got to see our friends Roseanna and Scott that live in Coco --- these are some folks we met last time we were here.  Good folks!

 Meg and Ella were thrilled that they brought their dog Ginger. They've been very interested in the many stray dogs here and their Mama says, "leave 'em alone!" So they were very happy to play with Ginger when she came over.  Ginger is the pup of a stray who lived at Hermosa Heights - Chupa. 

So good to see you guys and look forward to hanging out together some more!