Author: Denise

Pura Vidaaaaaaa: Ziplining

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Another activity we did twice was ziplining.  Piper was feeling pretty low after a bad sunburn so she stayed in our room while the rest of us went the first time, but was up for it the second time.

Although it was a tree-canapy run high above a chasm, it wasn’t scary, even for our height-sensitive participants.  
All the kids at some point had to pull themselves along the last few feet.
I like how Piper walks on air!
On the last run, which was the longest, and Wesley (at almost 60 pounds), was the lightest of the group, so he went with one of the guides and go FAST!  


Pura Vida: Football!

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Wesley was so stoked about playing pick up soccer at Punta Islita.  A couple of days a week, the locals met on the field for a late afternoon game.  We all went down to explore “town”, and the girls and I walked the one street and did our shopping (in a mini-supermarket that made a 7-11 look like Costco).  
Dwayne gave up playing soccer sometime between Piper and Wesley’s arrival, perhaps a decade a go.  He still looks like a soccer player to me, and Wes was thrilled to run around behind Daddy…

…or not.


The game broke up when it got too dark, and rather than keep coordinating rides with the hotel, we walked a block to one of the two restaurants in town before walking back uphill to the hotel.  I got pretty good at always carrying a cribbage board with me, and so not only did we have a great meal, but Wesley beat me in cribbage over dinner.  

It was exactly the experience Wesley was hoping for, and since there was just one other kid in the game, all the guys (who were casually awesome at soccer) were really kind to the newbies.  In fact, it was so “just right” that we opted not to do it again, as why dilute a good thing.  It was one of many lessons we learned from this trip.

Pura Vida: First taste of the beach!

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Playa:  Beach
Pura Vida: National motto of Costa Rica, literally “pure life”, but more like “life is good”, “enjoy life”, “greetings and salutations”, “it’s all good”. 
What is not to love about a man who sees you like this, regardless of reality?  I’m not sure which is less likely–this gorgeous nude body or that I would ever deliberately get that much sand in delicate areas.  What’s not exaggerated?  I’m reading a book.  In fact, I was reading a book and didn’t notice I was being drawn until he was done and moved on to his next masterpiece….
…our family. 

Pura Vida: Heading to Hotel Punta Islita

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Don’t let the map tell you otherwise–it was a long trip.  I loved our driver!  Eddy stopped by the best fruit stand and his favorite place on the route for a casado (traditional beans & rice with protein, salad, and a lovely squash succotash), and made the best of a journey that ended with more than an hour on dirt roads.  


But somehow, at the end of the earth, we made it to paradise. 

Punta Islita, if you read the fine print, is a Marriot Autograph Hotel.  But it screams tropical destination instead of hotel, and we were grateful to arrive at the last leg of our vacation–6 nights in one place.  

  

Animals, Animals, We Can’t Get Enough of Costa Rican Wildlife!

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Since arriving Monday afternoon, we have seen, fed, and interacted with so many animals.  Costa Rica is amazing!
Humming birds

Frogs

Butterflies 


 
Sloths

 

7 of the 8 species of native wild cats


Amazing insect–just hanging out with the flowers

Residents of the Aviary 

 (We loved this pair!)

And while there was a snake-atorium that we enjoyed, 4/5th of my fam stepped over this without appropriate care and analysis, what I call “examine sticks for potential snakeness”. Because I was busy lecturing my family on snakenicity, I forgeto to wet myself. 


With Glee: Waterfalls at Peace Lodge

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Forget Muggle pictures–Look at what I learned about photography at Hogwarts! 😂



Peace Lodge has over 2 miles of trails through the rain forest and most of them follow the waterfalls.  They weren’t the type you could swim in romantically with mermaids (Pax probably likes to keep it’s fatalities low for PR purposes), but they were beautiful and lush…and very popular in the middle of the day. Which is why I ran down the paths one more time after the day visitors left.  

Why was it just me, you may ask?  Here’s a hint.  The pic on the left shows us early into the trails.  The left one shows us a little further in.

Piper sometimes breaks hard.  And occasionally this kid doesn’t make sense.  The child who climbs trees, goes on any ride (the scarier, the more quickly she runs back in line), happily ziplined across the tree canopy…is scared of bridges and waterfalls??  Or is it just an excuse to justify crankiness? 
Before we ended up skipping some of the viewpoints just to get Piper off the trail, we had some fun frolicking.
Kids totally made it almost 3 minutes before getting shoes wet!  Not really a problem, though, when it’s 80∘.  

We came across this buzzard by the pools.

Regardless of Piper Drama, I enjoyed my late afternoon solo run much more. I got a shot of all three falls at once.  

With Glee: Butterfly Release

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At 1:30 every afternoon, the Peace Lodge did a butterfly release. We were there twice when all the butterflies that had emerged that day were let out of their netted enclosure.  And they don’t just open the lid and let them fly out when they’re ready. Nope, the butterfly-ists gently put them on the guests while the wings dry and strengthen.  I was charmed…and tickled!

Trout Fishing…With Glee!

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We only had one full day at the Peace Lodge, and Piper and Wesley really, really, really wanted to C-N-R (catch, name, and release) fish.  They spent a few hours in the afternoon torturing fish while I read in the sunshine.

 

 

Wesley gave up swimming (in the cold-ish) pool to join in the fishing expedition. The fishing guy baited the hooks with puppy chow pellets.  When the kids’ lines hit the water, the guide threw a handful of pellets in the water near the line so the trout would start snapping at the food and maybe accidently get hooked.  It wasn’t very sporting, and I can’t justify the pleasure I got watching my youngers get a nibble…but I took a lot of pictures!  

I liked how the trout pool and swimming pool were next to each other (and the hot tub was set into the trout pond).  It was so picturesque and Wesley was able to bounce between swimming and fishing.  Kyla had no problem just enjoying the pool and waterfalls. 
Dwayne gives you a sense of how cold it felt (when one expected bath water).

  

Costa Rica: Perfect Peace Lodge

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From the Monarch Villa

The only way the Peace Lodge could have been more ideal is if it had come at the end of our first destination.
After leaving our home at 4:30pm Sunday, we arrived at Peace Lodge about noon local time the next day. I haven’t heard of a flight route that isn’t awful from North America to Costa Rica. Even if it isn’t particularly far away, the two hops to get there seem to be scheduled at terrible times.  The pictures you won’t see are 1) me holding a sobbing Wes-with-a-tummy-ache in the plane aisle has a hundred people ahead of me are slowing getting off the plane. 2) Kyla barely able to sleep in the plane, even with the one window seat. 3) Me trying to cradle Piper in a way that she could repose as much as possible without losing all the feeling in all 4 limbs.  All that to say, arriving at San Jose and packing away the puffies and socks was freeing.  
And then we got to the Peace Lodge.  
This is the view from the deck outside the guest office as they were preparing our welcome drinks. 

Our room wasn’t ready for us yet, but they stored our bags for us as we used the next several hours to explore the amazing animal exhibits and grounds at what they call the Waterfall Gardens. 
When we were ready to check into our room, we walked in to this:

The master bedroom had a marvelous view over the valley to the volcano. 

The bathroom had the smallest gas fireplace, but since it was right over the waterfall bathtub, we tried not to sneer.  I’m actually embarrassed to say that we didn’t have enough time during our two nights there to use this one.  

That’s because we were too busy using the waterfall jacuzzi on the deck.  So many baths!  So little time!

 

This picture doesn’t do it justice, but the shower was cavernous, with two showerheads.  And by showerheads, I actually mean two waterfalls.  Yep, waterfalls coming out of the stone to shower under. 


This is what the Peace Lodge says about it’s Monarch Villa:

This 1,200 square foot villa leaves nothing to be desired. First there are not one, not two, but three fireplaces to set the mood for this wonderland in the Cloud Forest. The master bedroom alone invokes thoughts of romance with its king size canopy bed set before a gas fireplace. The oversized master bathroom, complete with full Jacuzzi tub, fireplace (yes, fireplace) and waterfall shower will make you wonder why you aren’t staying longer (we did wonder but then we realized it was because we couldn’t afford another night). The villa is complete with a luxurious living room with a two-story fireplace and a second floor loft with a queen size bed, a single bed and full bathroom. If that isn’t enough there is a kitchenette and dining area with refrigerator, coffee maker, microwave and room safe.

But, the villa would not be complete without a view of the La Paz River Valley and the Poás Volcano and how best to enjoy them but from the Jacuzzi tub on the balcony. But don’t worry, when you’ve had enough ‘nature’ for the day, the villa is well equipped with a stereo system with speakers in every room and satellite TV in both the living area and master bedroom.