The Melissa Trip and More Visitors

Our second trimester of language school ended at the end of April, and our friend Melissa came in town for a week to visit. In the fall we had Molly Pearce come visit in September and Josh and Mandi Warren come see us over Thanksgiving. Will's parents came in March, and my parents came at the beginning of April. We have been so thankful to have so many people travel so far to see us and our life here in Costa Rica.

Since we would be out of school for a week between trimesters, Melissa wanted us to travel with her throughout Costa Rica and pretty much see everything. Which we did! All in about a week's time! It was so fun and we saw so many cool things and places we've never been before. It was quite a whirlwind trip, but well worth it.

First we went to Manuel Antonio State Park with beaches, hiking trails, monkeys and beautiful scenery.

 

The kids exploring with Melissa

That boy loves the beach

 

And of course she's happy with anything. See her ears? The tattoo shop did a nice job huh? 

Monkeys outside of our room

 

Red snapper for dinner...so good!

 

The kids winding down after dinner

Costa Verde...an awesome place to stay!

More beautiful scenery in Manuel Antonio

   

 

   

We stayed in Manuel Antonio for one night, then drove to Arenal Volcano in the town of La Fortuna. Until a few months ago, this volcano would regularly spew rocks and lava all day and night. For some reason it stopped about a year ago and the locals are kind of concerned about it. It still smokes sometimes, but they're not sure why it's not spewing lava anymore. An active volcano regularly releases pressure, so when it suddenly goes dormant that can be concerning.

It was absolutely breathtaking though! We stayed at a resort called Los Lagos that is right at the base of the volcano. It was such a cool place and Melissa and Will were able to go canyoning (rappelling down waterfalls). The kids and I stayed by the swimming pools and slides most of the time. They had 2 cold water pools and many little hot water pools heated by the volcano.

Melissa and me in front of Arenal Volcano

buffet breakfasts are always the best

baby pineapple growing

leaf-cutter ants working hard

crocodile exhibit at the resort

More of Arenal Volcano. We stayed at this resort for 2 nights.

The twisty slide was a hit. They don't have regulations on water slides here, so this is seriously the fastest slide I've ever seen

They went on this slide over and over and over again. It was a nice time for mommy to relax on a chair under a palm tree. At one point, Jack was taken out by a guy on the slide when Jack stopped and tried to climb out halfway through. The guy didn't know Jack was still in the slide and flew right into him (remember...it's really really fast). He was a little spooked for a while, but then went right back for more. 

Family picture by Lake Arenal

And our final stop for the week was in the cloud forest of Monteverde. It's so beautiful up there and pretty chilly. We stayed at a neat European-looking hotel where Emma and I explored a lot and Jack, Will and Melissa went zip lining. I couldn't believe how brave Jack was! What a big boy.

All smiles...and he always went first in the group

Zip lining with the guide because he doesn't weigh enough to get across by himself

Will had a great time too

We stayed in Monteverde for one night before driving back to San Jose. All in all a great time but definitely a quick trip! The kids loved it but kept asking why we couldn't stay in one place for more than a day. I'm glad Melissa was able to see so much of Costa Rica and we were able to see three places we haven't been to before. Thanks Melissa! It was a week we'll never forget.

After Melissa left at the end of April, our friend Caitlin San Roman came to visit us for 10 days at the beginning of May. She studied here for a semester last year so she has seen most of the sites of Costa Rica before and she knows Spanish. We enjoyed hanging out with her at the house a lot and really just showing her our normal life here. We did a few fun things, but with us in school it was too hard for us to try to get away.

Jason Elliott is now here with us and will be staying for a month. He is a student at UT Knoxville and is studying an intensive Spanish course at a University close to our home. He's already studying a lot just like we are and we're having fun just adjusting him to life in Costa Rica and showing him everything. His school is taking out-tings on the weekends, so he's also able to see the fun touristy things as well. I'm so glad he is able to stay with us and see how we live as he's studying some Spanish as well.

Lots of visitors...and lots of fun!