Costa Rica Day 1 & 2

So here's my quick warning. I did not write extensive journals on our trip, and I don't plan to type a blog explanation and then write in my journal separately . . . so if you aren't interested in reading, skim through the pictures. This might get wordy. I'll probably post one or two days at a time.

Friday night we arrived in Costa Rica. Alicia and her husband picked us up at the airport. It was a little nerve wracking - we'd been communicating by email, but I had NO CLUE who I was looking for. It was a busy airport too. Fortunately Alicia had a sign, so after a couple nervous moments, I saw the sign and Alicia. We drove an hour to get to their house. The guide books were right. Roads in Costa Rica, even the good ones, are much bumpier than the roads here. Her older two children, Carlos (21) and Karina (16) had waited up for us. We had some sweet water and pastries while chatting. Alicia's English was outstanding, and Carlos Jr. and Karina also spoke quite well. By then it was 11 or so and we were all exhausted. Alicia and her husband generously gave up their room to Matt, Danny, and I. Once again I felt humbly overwhelmed by the kindness of people I hardly knew. They had just moved into the house the week before and it was beautiful.

The next morning Danny arose bright and early. We thought we were in the same time zone, so were happy he slept until 6:15 AM. After we'd been wandering around the house a while we found out we were in Mountain Time Zone, so it was actually not even 6 AM. We felt awful for waking the whole family up so early! The morning was filled with "ball" on the soccer field in front of their house, playing animals with the twins (Rebeka and Erika - 10 yrs old), and eating our first pinto gallo - rice and beans - made by Alicia. Turns out hers was the first and best of much more that we ate throughout the trip.

At 9 we picked up the rest of our group to head to Arenal. After a very short stop in Surchi to see the world's largest ox cart, we made our way to the volcano. We enjoyed catching up and hearing all about their adventures the week before. I'm glad I asked Alicia to take this photo - it's the only one of our whole group!

It was exciting to drive into La Fortuna and catch our first glimpses of the volcano. We were so happy to have a clear day . . . the first of many. Some people are there several days and never see the top of the volcano, but could see it perfectly. Shortly after checking into Arenal Observatory Lodge (AWESOME) the rain started. We were too excited to let that stop the fun though, so we went to the pool anyway. I think I should have let the rain cancel Danny and my fun . . . we got soaked en route and on the way back. Our room was about 3/4 mile from the main lodge and pool so it was a bit of a trek every time we needed something . . . like dry clothes. The main problem was the second hand rain jacket I got Danny was not actually a rain jacket. Or at least not one that repels water. To save a trip down to our room we ended up buying him a souvenir t-shirt. It was a wet, wet evening. Fortunately our lava views at dinner made up for any headaches I had gotten earlier.

The lodge we stayed at is the only one on the lava side of the volcano, so at night you watch this amazing glowing show. Mindy got some great pictures, which I'll post sometime. It's unreal though - your sitting there eating your fajitas and then there's a rumble, rumble (or as Danny says - "boom boom") and you watch a fiery explosion right out the window. Then you see the glowing rocks as they tumble down and you hope the lava doesn't flow too much further towards you down the hill. It was absolutely amazing!