A Costa Rican Vacation Wrap-Up

The one day it rained while we were there was the day we went to the beach. Of course. But the cool thing about rain forests near the equator is that when it rains, it's still 80 degrees outside.

Beach at Dominical

rain forest right up on the beach

My love reading on the beach

Just before the rains came...

After the beach, we walked up the hill (and when I say hill, I mean gargantuan mountain like thing) to the Osa Mountain Animal Sanctuary. We met the owner and he gave us a little tour and introduced us to some of the tenants. Mike wasn't officially open yet, so we gave him a donation instead of an admission fee.

This is Bubba. He can't be released into the wild, so he's been Mike's pet for something like eight years. Bubba bites his paw when he's content and happy.

baby parrots

spider monkey

This is Sophie.

a VERY young parrot

Then we went back to my Osa Mountain Village lot and took another photo. This is the last lot that has ocean views. I'm really hoping it will sell soon so I can finalize my Serenity Gardens lot.

On one of our last days in Costa Rica, Ali took the threaded bracelet he'd been given in India (at a temple), and went to release it in water, as per the custom in India. We took a short hike behind some villas and found a suitable place. We brought along a doggie friend.

On the night before we left, we attended the Easter celebration at the community center. We dressed up a wee bit -- neither of us being Christian, but still wanting to join in on the pig roast festivities.

We watched the sunset at the pool.

Had a drink.

And then stuffed ourselves.

Everything was delicious. And. I'm sorry to say ... that the dish on the end there, is Charlotte. (From a previous post.)
This was a first for both Ali and myself -- meeting and petting the animal we'd eat the next day.

The evening capped off with some fire dancing, courtesy of Eric and Brando.

On Monday morning, I taught the community yoga class one more time, then Lisa and Mark drove us to Palmar Norte's bus station for the first leg back of our trip.

Me and the luggage, waiting for the bus to San Jose.

My cutie at the San Jose airport.
The first time we'd worn jeans in ten days.

Unfortunately, I don't know when we'll be going back to CR. We'll most likely travel to India next (A LONG TIME DREAM OF MINE), and quite possibly to Turkey after that. And then back to Costa Rica. I also really want the land at OMV to sell pronto, so that I can finalize the sale of our Serenity Gardens lot. Once that is done, then we can put a yurt on it, and stay on the land. 

I'm looking forward to the time when we can travel to CR and not pay lodging.

Maybe in two years, I reckon.

Serenity Gardens - Lot 21

This is a short visual of my homesite in Costa Rica!

Ali and Christian standing at the top corner of our land. Behind them (and down) is a year-round creek, too!

I claim this land!

The view off the street (side of the house).

THE view.
Hopefully most of our windows will be pointing this direction.

This is Bob Crosby, checking wind measurements to see if we can use it for one of our off-the-grid energy sources.

This is the first of the community gardens.

A whole slew of trees to be planted on the properties. Each lot will get one tree in each corner.
Ours will be: a cinnamon, mango, avocado, and sour orange.

Waiting for the ride back to Osa Mountain Village ... and a beer.

Days Four and Five -- Waterfall Hiking

 Fig tree.

 We could see and hear the zip-line going above us on our hikes.

 Walking trees shoot down another root in the direction they want to "walk," pulling themselves across the jungle floor.

Dogs must always come on hikes. Especially if there's water involved.

 An older version of that walking tree we saw earlier.

The hiking is gorgeous. I loved being out in the jungle. And we actually -- though sweaty -- stayed cooler during the exercise because of the shade and elevation. And the water. That was nice, too. I liked walking through the creek. Felt good on dusty, sore feet.

**

Next post will be on our Serenity Garden tour.
Pictures of our land!!