Hola from Costa Rica!

We are having a WONDERFUL time here! We arrived late on Friday evening and were greeted at the airport by Alicia and her husband Carlos. She was an exchange student at my family's home when I was a little girl. They took us to their home, about 45 minutes away in Grecia. Their house was beautiful and in a georgeous location nestled in her father's coffee plantation. Some of the wood in their home was from trees her grandfather had planted in the area. We had fun helping her older children, Carlos and Karina, practice their English while I tried to practice my Spanish. In the morning Alicia cooked us a delicious traditional breakfast - rice and beans, eggs, bread, sweet water - everything was so yummy. Danny had fun playing with the twins, Erika and Rebeka, on the soccer field in front of their house.
We picked up LaRue, Lance, Mindy, and Kaya and headed out of town. Carlos was our driver and Alicia joined us for the day. Every town we passed through had a church, school, and soccer field right in the middle of it. The landscape was beautiful, though the bumpy roads were not. A few hours later we arrived in Arenal. WOW!
We were fortunate to arrive on a clear afternoon. The volcano is definitely active. I can't wait to post pictures. Danny learned some new words and phrases. "Cano . . . boom, boom, boom" and at night when we watched the lava flowing down "Cano hot." IT was breathtaking. Oh, and we also had a view of a stunning lake. I can't wait to post pictures. We also saw monkeys, frogs, toucans, cootie (I can't remember the spelling, but it really sounds like this), and many other birds (sorry Chris and Stacey. I'm sure you would have been able to list the names. We want on a hike to a waterfall "splash, splash," swam in the pool and jacuzzi while enjoying a "-cano" view, hiked over hanging bridges, "high," and watched many rain showers from the comfort of our bungalow "splashy."
Yesterday Grandma watched the kids while the rest of us went on a long, STEEP, hike to the top of a dormant volcano and into the crater. It was an exciting hike and though we were too chilly at the top to go swimming in the crater lake, we had fun listening to and watching all the frogs.
After the hike we finished packing up and then had a bus-boat-bus transfer here to Monteverde. The trip was long and VERY bumpy, but fortunately our hotel, Arco Iris, is fabulous. We have a whole house to ourselves and it's very comfortable. Later today we're heading to the cloud forest for some bridge tours and zip lines. And it's only Tuesday! More later!