Day 7 Arenal, Tamarindo

Happy Friday to everyone!

We are back in Tamarindo after a brief stay up at the Volcano. We saw the lava the first night we arrived up at Arenal but, it was very cloudy yesterday and we couldn´t see the top. We did enjoy the hot springs again yesterday morning and then packed up our things and drove to La Fortuna to hike down to the waterfall. It was so beautiful. The hike down was a bit scary, and the hike up was a test of our heart strength. But, it was totally worth it.

We left Arenal around lunch time and headed back to Tamarindo. When we were driving back into town, I believe Leigh said it best when she said, ¨We´re home!´¨. Immediately, we saw about 10 people who were so excited we decided to come back to Tamarindo. We definitely feel more like locals in this part of CR. The people here are so happy and content with where they live and love when others love it too. We went to a place called Babylon last night which is right down the road from our hotel. They have Reggae Thursdays which includes a live Reggae band. Everyone in town goes and it was a blast!

Today, we are hoping to surf a little more...if the weather permits. It rained last night but is clear enough right now. This will be the last day of our blog but, we´ll have many pictures and videos to share on our return.

Hope you all are doing well and we will see you soon!

Pura Vida...

l and k

Day 6 Peninsula Papagayo - Arenal - Nicaragua

Hello from Arenal...
Finally! I{ll explain...

We started yesterday morning at the Four Seasons on Peninsula Papagayo, which is amazingly beautiful. We went out on the private beach and amazed everyone with our paddle ball skills. Our friend Percy, one of the cabana boys, would whistle at us everytime he saw any kind of animal and tell us all about it. It was hysterical, and informative! We then took a jetski out to see what we could see, until the storm came. And boy did the storm come!

It started raining around 1 pm and didn´t stop. We left Papagayo around 4 and started toward Arenal, the volcano and hot springs were our destination. We rented a car so we could come and go as we pleased...no longer within walking distance to everything. Well I (Kelli that is) told Leigh to turn the wrong way...completely mis-read the directions and took us right to the border of Nicaragua. The policia was not too pleased with us and spoke ZERO english. We said, Cañas? Which was the town we needed to turn at...and he said, ¨No! Nicaragua!¨ YIKES!!!! So, he let us turn around and after lots of rain, lots of curves, lots of climbing the mountains, we FINALLY ended up here in Arenal around 9. Should have taken 3 hours but, it made a great story.

We went to the hot springs for a little while last night, then went to bed so we could get up and see the Volcano this morning. We just ate breakfast and are heading back to the springs and then to La Fortuna to see the waterfall. It is only a 15 minute drive (so probably 2 - 3 hours for us). After that, probably head back to the beach. We have decided, the people who live in the beach towns are more our speed...slower, kinder, happier. We will be sure to let you know where we are and can´t wait to tell you about all of our adventures today...

Oh, and mom, it was Luis our surf instructor who called us the other night: )

Lots of love and fairy dust from CR...

k and l

Day 5 Tamarindo / Peninsula Papagayo

Bueno dia! Before I forget, for church Sunday, we listened to Don preach on the i-pot and then had discussion. We loved the lesson and wanted to give a shout-out to TDG.

Leigh here... Kelli is in the spa trying to get her feet fixed. She has six toenails left! We've decided that when all her toenails have been ripped off or otherwise removed, it will be time to return to the U.S. SO, we've made an executive decision that she should lay low today because we'd like to stay here! Not here exactly...

While the Four Seasons is something to behold, luxury beyond luxury, we're more Ginger and Maryann than the Howell's. Let me share a few things we did yesterday and the picture will paint itself. Ronnie, a friend of Chino's, drove us out here to the Peninsula! He was very joyous. The three of us sang reggae and 80's songs the WHOLE way here - laughing and dancing the entire time. Awesome! When we crested the mountain which leads to the Four Seasons, you could see the isthmus from 5,000 ft through the tropical forest. The sight was majestic. So much so that Kelli almost cried it was so incredibly beautiful. I needed a restroom very badly and also wanted to cry. ; ) This place is extremely private and remote. Exquisite. So what did we do... Juju will not be surprised. We did laundry, swam around gorgeous coves on the playa, had our ears candled, then ate dinner in our bathing suits. OHHH. The hot tub in the spa is outside up on a hilltop over looking the Pacific Ocean. Now that was tuanis! We then retreated to our room to veg. Oops... I sort of left one part out. Importante. Kelli left her passport in Tamarindo, so when we got here, we immediately began trying to figure out how to get it... and that's before we even knew if they could find it back at the Diria. I was of course worrying and stewing over what we should do. Kelli was not worried at all and said let's just go the beach and not fret. We met in the middle and e-mailed our friends in Tamarindo. Long story short... they sent her passport with a taxi driver. It arrived around 9:00 last night so I guess we no longer have an excuse to stay past our departure date. Oh well. Maybe those toenails will stay on and we can too!

This morning we had a driver take us out on the Peninsula where we photographed the ocean and monkeys! It is amazing how the animals are just roaming around doing their thing We saw white faced monkeys and howlers. I called up a big family of howlers beside the road. They were swinging in the trees and chatting with us in monkey speak. A bit later at breakfast, Kelli and I discussed the morning events and I very excitedly proported my happiness that the I can call up monkeys like Elmer Fudd calls up turkeys. Much, much to my surprise and crushed feelings, Kelli gently told me that farmers just down the hill (beyond my view, but she documented on film) were making the monkey calls. Now it makes sense why the driver kept looking at me and suggesting I come over there where he and Kelli were standing. Needless to say, we're having a blast!

A group from Eli Lilly is here for an awards trip. It makes us both on edge to see "worker" people. We're much more into the surf towns and locals... we really like being a part of the Costa Rican culture. The Tico's are just our speed. No worries... just sit back and let life happen in right in front of you. Love it!

Bye for now loves!

P

Day 4 Tamarindo

Hola!

Before the kelli makes me stop typing, let me tell you a few things. yesterday was spectacular. let me start at mid-evening. we were at the oceanfront restaurant hanging with some folks from canada (it was raining very hard out for a bit)... and some friends from london, when what to EVERYONE´s surprise... the phone rang and it was for kelli! the crowd went wild and said they had never had anyone receive a call there that wasn´t local. wow. also, i need to tell you that kelli is funny in every culture and language. she is very popular among the brits, ricans, and long islanders. anyway, she is getting annoyed with me right now, so i´ll let her tell you about the rest of our day starting at the beginning. ciao!

OK...first of all, the phone was not for ME it was for US. I just happened to be closest. So, now that we got that straight...

We actually slept until 7:30 yesterday morning which was nice. Had breakfast and went for a swim in the ocean. We didn´t have surf until 11 because of the tides so, that was our mid-day which was very fun. Leigh has done awesome and gets up every time! We are going to tear it up in Jax Beach!

After surf and lunch, we went on a canopy tour! Or zip line tour to some. We climed a VERy high tree, which at one point, we both said we weren´t going to go. But, after we got up there...it was amazing. We went from tree to tree 11 total! We saw monkeys, heard them howl...they were howler monkeys. I even went upside down on one...hanging like a monkey. When in Rome, I say.

So, last night after we recovered from all of that, we went to dinner with our group again and had a blast! They are so much fun and we are sad to leave them. Feels like we have real friends here in Tamarindo. We may even circle back here before we leave.

We got up this morning for our last lesson at 6! Beautiful surf and sunrise. We loved it. Luis didn´t love it as much as we did! 6 is EARLY to him!

Well, we are packing our bags and heading to the Four Seasons...poor us. Hope you have a beautiful Tuesday! Mom, we love seeing your posts even if it is about to frustrate the living daylights out of you.

Love and kisses to all...
l and k

Day 3 Tamarindo

Well, we´ve made it to day 3! Yesterday we went out twice to surf, the afternoon was harder since we were so tired! We have found muscles we didn´t know we had...so sore! But amazing.

Every morning we get up and walk down the street to get our Cafe´con leche. Mmmmm...so good. It gets us going in the morning. Then, we come back to the hotel for our breakfast buffet which includes rice and beans! That is great to eat before you go lie on a surfboard for a couple of hours!

Our instructors and one of the owners of the surf camp took us and some other people out to eat last night. The food here is so good and everything is so fresh.

Today, we surf in the morning and then are heading out to do a zip line tour this afternoon.

I´m not sure how the time works around here but, seriously, every time we check the clock and then go outside for what feels like an hour, we re-check the clock and it has only been 10 minutes according to their clock! So, I´ve figured we must be behind Florida time by about 10 hours by now. I wish time went this slowly at home! Well, sometimes...

Heading out to the beach where the sun is shining and the humidity just doesn´t stop. OH, and the water here is around 80 degrees all the time. Perfect for you mom!

Miss and love you all...can´t wait to see you and teach you some of the new words we have learned! We think they are all legit but, I´m sure we´ll find out soon enough.

Ciao!

Leigh and Kelli

Day 2 Tamarindo

Good Sunday Morning!

Yesterday we surfed really big (huge) waves! And by surf I mean Kelli rode them and I hung on to the board... under the water. It was super fun and we are improving fairly quickly. That´s what we say! Ok, so on to the rest of the day in no particular order:

- Kelli already has ripped off the toenail on her left foot - middle toe. Plus, she destroyed her big tow, same foot. On the other leg she has a big diaster on her knee. Now, she hasn´t complained about it. She just pulled the one toenail off and threw it in the ocean. No big deal. I would have cried and gone home. Now Kelli is reaching for the keyboard...Now it´s kelli...doesn´t hurt at all and we all know how hard I am on my feet. So, the weird thing is I did all of this while surfing. No idea how. Just didn´t want you to worry...doesn´t hurt, healing nicely, and I´m sure it´s the end of my injuries. That´s all...now here´s Leigh again.
- the power went out at the hotel and when we asked about it the staff said, "We called the people and no one answered. We keep trying." They´re very relaxed here. Very. Kelli just told me to tell you that the power came back on in about an hour... she didn´t want you to worry.
- we saw a dog surf. He stood in the waves until his owner let him have a turn. Cute and amazing.
- lunched at Nougui´s which is right on the ocean and serves fresh fish, etc. We had fish tacos and even the tortillas were hand-made. Delicious!
- Relaxed on the beach, walked about the little town, and just chilled in the afternoon.
- And we never know what time (tiempo) it is here... neither does anybody else. If you ask, you get a time. If you look at the one clock you get another. So we´ve forgone the need to know.
- We invited our surf instructors to have church with us this morning, but they didn´t know ¨church.¨ Kelli said we are going to read about Jesus in the Bible. They understood. They are not here... yet, still (we´re going to pray about that!). And, we are going to start our church in a little bit. I´d give you the time, but alas we do not know.

More surfing today, canopy tour tomorrow, then off to the Paypayo Peninsula to the Four Seasons on Tuesday.

We´ll try to post again. Please hit the "Comments" button at the bottom and leave us a message if you´d like to. We´d love to hear from you!

We love you!

leigh and kelli

Day 1 Tamarindo

Good Morning Everyone!

We made it safely to Costa Rica yesterday around 12 noon CR time. It has been beautiful weather since we arrived. Close to 95 degrees and sunny.

We had our first surf lesson yesterday afternoon...3 Costa Rican boys and us 2. It was a proper ratio for sure. They are Luis, Caesar, and Roberto and are very sweet...and VERY patient! We had so much fun but the tide was going out which makes surf a lot more difficult. So, we are heading back out in about an hour for a second day of lessons, while the tide is coming in. So excited.

Our hotel is beautiful with a great ocean view from our balcony. The first people we met here were from Jacksonville Beach. Small world indeed! We are looking forward to seeing more of the town after our surf lessons today. Everything is outdoors/open-air and the only place we have air conditioning is in our room, which is fine with us.

We filmed video but haven´t found a port to transmit it on our blog yet. We´ll keep trying so you can see how pretty we look! Ha!

Miss and love you all! Can´t wait to fill you in on more of our adventures in the next couple of days. Hopefully with video!

Pura Vida!

Leigh and Kelli