Thursday February 3, 2005

Click here for photos of La Paz

This morning we got up early and it was so overcast that you couldn’t even tell that there was a volcano nearby!  After a delicious breakfast of gallo pinto, plantains, eggs, bacon and sausage and fresh fruit we packed up and headed out.  We were on the road by 8 am on our way to the La Paz Waterfalls and Gardens.  We arrived there at 11am.  The drive between Arenal and La Paz was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. 

La Paz was gorgeous.  It was so perfectly manicured.  We first spent time in a huge butterfly garden.  It wasn’t nearly as good as the Butterfly garden we visited in Alajuela the first week as far as seeing butterflies up close, but it was impressive.   Then we had a look at the hummingbird gallery.  We saw many of the same hummingbird species that we had seen in Monteverde.  The paths down to the waterfalls were very impressive.  There were four big waterfalls and we hiked down a series of steps to get to them.  It was truly breathtaking.   Once we got to the bottom, I opted to hike back up the steps while Mark and the kids took the shuttle like the rest of the smart people.  When we met at the top I was utterly exhausted!  We bought a lot of coffee and souvenirs at the Britta gift shop there and then loaded up to head toward Alajuela and the Hampton Inn for our last night in Costa Rica.  While we were getting into the car we spotted a monkey up in the tree tops near the parking lot.  It was funny to see monkeys along side the road in Costa Rica.

On our way to Alajuela we got a little lost so we asked several people for directions.  My Spanish was so limited that it was difficult but we finally arrived and checked in at the Hampton Inn San Jose Airport.  Alba had already called so I called her back and with my limited Spanish we arranged to meet at her house, pick them up and come back to swim at the hotel.  On the way to San Joquin we stopped to grab a bite to eat at a little restaurant.  It was fairly questionable food.  As good as some of the fruits, vegetables, and rice and beans are in Costa Rica is as bad as the meat is.  Mark nearly lost it with his dinner.  We have decided that ice cream is the safest bet.  We took a quick drive in San Joquin and I gave Mark the tour of the church, the school, and Super Snacks before heading to Alba’s house at 6:30 pm. 

Jenny giving Grayson a buzz cut

Darby, Xiomara, and Luis take a chilly late night swim at our hotel

We arrived at Alba’s and all the introductions were made.  Jenny was there with her girls also and she proceeded to cut Grayson’s hair in the same style as Luis has.  It was really short but looked great.

Luis and Xiomara really wanted to swim so we headed back to the hotel.  It really was way too cold to swim but I guess they don’t get the opportunity much so they took advantage of it.  I was cold in a jacket.  I am guessing it was about 70 degrees but because it was windy it was quite chilly.  Grayson didn’t stay in but a minute but Darby was a good sport and stayed in with the kids even though she was turning blue.

Once we coaxed the kids out of the pool and they cleaned and warmed up we treated the whole group to ice cream at Super Snacks.    We finally dropped them off at the house, returned our rental car and turned in for the night at the hotel.

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