Beach Tour...

Having had enough of the resort for a while (and especially the food there), we left for the day on a beach tour. The tour bus was ours to command.

We first stopped off at a place called "Flamingo Beach." This is like the Rivera of Costa Rica. An American came here and saw a pink bird. He assumed it was a flamingo, although it wasn't. Still, the name stuck. Despite the misleading name, this place offers a beautiful view and beach which do not disappoint.

Rob and Wendy walking the beach.

Away from the beach we saw a swamp-like area filled with very colorful crabs.



Another beach of interest we visited was Shell Beach. It's name is more than just a moniker; it's literal.

This beach has no sand. These broken down shells are the sand.

This is where the family went snorkeling. Being all shells and having some rough rocks, they got cut up a bit. As you might recall, I went scuba diving the day before. What I saw then would only pale in comparison to what I'd see with a snorkel, so I opted out.

A fin farm. Little known fact: This is how fins grow in wild.

...never did finish reading this book...

Near Shell Beach we ate lunch at a quaint seafood joint right on the beach.

The hand washing bowl went around the table. But since it ended on me, there wasn't much cleansing power left in it.

Mutilated but decent tasting lobster.

We saw some other beaches, but after a while they do kind of seem to melt together. Then we took a stop in a touristy town whose name escapes me.

This sign is great. Apparently, you have to buy stuff first before they tell you the price...

Shortly before we left, Mom treated us to ice cream. It was a great treat knowing that we'd be stuck at the resorts lackluster buffet. And it was worse than I'd expected.



To avoid watching the resort's pathetic "night show" we went to the lobby and watched "Pink Panther 2" on my laptop. We were dead tired after that. The next day is the zipline and horse riding tour, so we called it a night early in preparation.

Diving in Costa Rica...

Today we split into groups. Most of the group went on a day trip to Nicaragua to see some poverty. Anna wanted to take it easy and play tourist at the pool. I went scuba diving.

This was my first time diving in a wetsuit. It was uncomfortable, but not a big deal. I wasn't sure what I'd expect, but I really enjoyed this dive; probably two of my favorite.

The boat took us out by this small island that resembles a monkey head looking out to sea.

Monkey Head

We hit the water only long enough to snap off a shot of myself before we saw a wreck.





Just then, a few sharks suddenly surrounded us.

Sharks!

Next thing we knew, they were gone again. As we were swimming along, we saw a beautiful Eagle Ray.



And the sea life kept coming.

Mystery Urchin

We surfaced after an hour below and took a break above. Then, back down for more.

The first thing we saw on the second dive was a few deadly sea snakes. Our guide almost touched one by accident swimming by.

Sand Ray

The biggest sea horse I've ever seen. It was about 6 inches tall.

Just as we were about to end the dive we saw a lone sea turtle. It was like he was posing for me.





This was also my first time diving with my good camera in a real dive case. And I'm glad I did. I was able to make a great diving video with all the footage. Normally, this is where I'd put an embedded video from my YouTube account up, but I used too many copyright protected songs and I'm getting tired of having my videos muted. If you want a copy, you'll have to contact me directly.

Anyway, the dive was only till lunch. I met back up with Anna and played tourist with her for the rest of the day. Something about diving always takes the energy right out of me. I slept sound again, ready for the next day.

Arenal Volcano and the Hot Springs...

On Monday July 6 we had our first real Costa Rican activity. We loaded up in a van and drove a couple hours to the active volcano, Arenal. On the way we saw our first, and last, Tucan.

Not quite the same as the Fruit Loops mascot, Tucan Sam, but close enough...

When we got near the volcano we stopped first to experience the rain forest. We had a good guide that really knew the place and explained more than I could ever recall.

Our guide explained that this was a plant that could be used to poison people, and was often used on Mother-in-laws. Rob took careful notes...

Along the way we stopped at a traditional hut. I don't think any of our party knew previously about a small group of indigenous people within Costa Rica called the Maleku. It is almost like the Native Americans for the U.S. They live in separate villages through the country and have a language and culture all their own. This hut was typical of their dwellings.

A fire constantly lit in the hut produces smoke that keeps bugs at bay and drys the roof allowing them to keep it usable for as much as 40 years.

These masks are carved out of balsa wood and are custom made for the individual to give others a glimpse into the owner's personality.

The masks were not worn over the face, but attached like a hat, which is why they chose the ultra light balsa wood.

Following the nature walk we drove to a new fancy resort called "The Springs" at the foot of Arenal Volcano.



At this resort there are many pools of naturally heated spring water. Before we got in the water we ran into a three-toed sloth which we had to gape at for a while.



This resort had more than nice pools, it also had a slide which was piped with the same hot spring water.





And since we were in such a picturesque place, we had to do an impromptu photo shoot with Anna.







As it got dark we cleaned up and went to the resort's balcony where we ate a delicious meal with a gorgeous view of the volcano, as you can see below.



Following dinner we drove around the volcano to see the red hot lava squirt out of the side in small flashes of light. We saw some moments of action, but not much and were not able to get a good shot on camera. Oh well. As we drove the couple of hours back to our rooms we wondered how the fancy resort we had just left and the mediocre resort we were returning to could be the same star rating. We returned late and very tired from the day's trip and slept like babies.

Summer Vacation '09 Begins...

Our trip actually started July 1, 2009. Anna and I flew on a grueling 14 hour flight with 5 layovers from Guam to Hawaii. We had layovers in Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Kwajelen and Majuro. Most, if not all, of those places sound made up to most Americans, but when you land on them for an hour each you can verify they are indeed real.

Anna on our layover on Kosrae.

We landed in Arizona long enough for me to be mauled by my nieces and nephews, do some shopping, eat good Mexican food, and enjoy a good sunset or two.

Arizona Sunburst

Anna and I also got to eat the top piece of our wedding cake from three years ago. My sister, Wendy, kept it in her deep freeze the whole time. It was hard to cut, but remarkably still good tasting.

Anna cutting our wedding cake for the second and last time.

On July 4 we left early in the morning to jet off to Costa Rica. We arrived just as it was getting dark.



Our resort is called the Papagayo by Occidental. To me the name "Occidental" sounds too much like "accidental" which does not give you the best expectations for a resort.

View of the resort from the bay.

To welcome you to the resort you are greeted with this sign:



At some point at least one member of our party saw every one of the animals listed above, but they oddly left out the one animal we saw the most around the resort compound.

One of the many giant lizards we encountered on this trip.

We woke up on July 5 to choke down the all-you-can-eat buffet. After that we arranged our week of activities and got situated for the rest of the trip. We didn't have any activities planed the first day, so we enjoyed the resort.

First we played in the ocean.

My mom on her own canoe. Although this pic does not illustrate it well, she was zigzagging all over without my dad in back to steer.

Wendy and Rob enjoying the beach chairs on the very black sand beach.

After lunch we moved to the resort's pool.

I really enjoyed the swim-up wetbar.

All drinks were included, so we never stopped drinking.

Although alcoholic drinks were part of the all-inclusive stay, we obviously didn't partake. We would order drinks like Pina Coladas and Strawberry Daquris. If we asked for them "virgin" we ended up getting ones with alcohol in them. We had to say very clearly "no alcohol." One bartender looked at me very confused and asked me, "Why?" "Well, I don't drink alcohol." "But, why?" The though of someone not consuming free booze was a bit too foreign to him.

We also soaked in the jacuzzi some before dinner. After dinner there was free entertainment. We dropped by to witness what they called the "entertainment." It was more like really, really bad acting on a self produced version of High School Musical, but with no music...or plot. At least we knew this meant we'd have the nights free.

All in all, we had a good first day. Tomorrow we are going to see the active Arenal Volcano and enjoy natural hot springs.