A TRIP TO DIE FOR: COSTA RICA

BEFORE WE START: I will be featuring 20 etsy sellers next Monday. I'm getting back to normal here and it's hard for me to prepare it for this week.

You may click on any picture to enlarge it! :)
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I gotta tell you all that a week like that should last longer! I've been back to NYC for two days now and I still look for the morning air and the singing birds of Costa Rica when I wake up.

I always get a bit sad when I come back and leave my family behind. Many latin people would agree with me when I say that latin family members are very attached to each other. And -putting modesty on the side- costarrican people are always welcoming and warm!

But let me swallow my sadness and tell you all how much fun it was to be there.

We landed in Alajuela on Friday 8th. and stayed at my sister's place for one night. She's got the cutest baby girl in the world!!! It didn't take too long for my husband to fall in love with her too.

On Saturday 9th, my best friend came to pick us up to go to the beach. We chose Hermosa Beach, which is close to Jaco and close to San Jose. Convenient for a short trip like ours! Tarcoles river is on the way there; full of crocodiles!!!

We stayed in a place called Las Olas in Hermosa Beach. We had a swimming pool, a rustic restaurant with hammocks and we were right in front of the beach.

On Monday we drove to Manuel Antonio, about an hour away. We were lucky to find a very typical costarrican kitchen located right on the beach, a place that resembles the old fashion cooking. We ate casados (a full meal: pork, beef or chicken with rice, beans, plantains, salad, etc), tamales, yucca and more.

On Tuesday we drove to Carara National Park; the mosquitoes made a nice party out of us! When we came out though, we found a huge iguana on the parking lot and got some awesome pictures of it!

Hubby enjoyed that stay but he fell in love with the country when we drove to my parents.

I grew up in a small town in the north of the country. The whole area is surrounded by volcanoes, mountains, rivers, cows, horses and the greenest fields ever! Somehow, seeing my husband so thrilled about it made me appreciate it more.

We stopped in Zarcero, which has a church surrounded by a beautiful park. This is a very small town (not smaller than my town:) and it’s located on the mountains.

Once at my parents, I got to see the guests’ room that my mom added to the house. It’s separated from the house and it’s not finished so it’s quiet rustic: more rustic than you would wish.

When I got in the room I rushed to close the windows and told my mom that I didn’t want to let the mosquitoes in. They all laughed at me and showed me the huge gaps everywhere including a window that’s only covered by curtains. I told myself: shoot, you’ve been in NYC way tooooo long!

I and hubby stayed in that room. We didn’t get eaten by any wild creature and we slept like kings. We showered with cold-very cold-water every morning and it felt good. We had costarrican coffee every morning and that felt damn good!

While being there, we went to La Fortuna, to see the Arenal Volcano; this is a tricky one because the area is located on the mountains and you have to be very lucky to catch the volcano free of clouds. It’s also great to spend a summer night there because there are fewer clouds and you can see the lava coming out of the volcano. While you are around, you can also check the Arenal lake: it's made by man but it's a cool lake :)

We went to El Tucanito, a small and isolated resort. You walk down the trails through the mountain and you get a natural river of thermal waters. There are many rocks colored by sulfur, small waterfalls and the whole thing is just dead gorgeous!!

We also went to the zoo which is located in La Marina, very close to the hot springs. We saw lions, tigers, birds, monkeys, peacocks, ostriches, wild pigs, ant eaters, owls, snakes, etc.

On our last day; Saturday 16th, we went to the lagoon of Río Cuarto with a couple of my sisters and their kids. The walk there is a killer. It’s very far and isolated. The lagoon is a mysterious place with tons of stories and a myth of a treasure hidden in its waters. They say in town that the people who have drawn in the lagoon have never been found.

Costa Rica Turn off’s

- Seeing a tourist shaking a small tree in order to catch an iguana.
- Prostitution growing heavily in touristic areas: immigrant ladies.
- All prices are in dollars at the airport- and expensive!!!
- Los Chiles town fighting against some rich dudes who came up with a project to build a golf field in their area (thousands of trees have to be cut in order to build a golf field).