The Final Leg

So, today we say goodbye to Pete's Place and begin the trek home.  Here are a few of the highlights of our journey back to the U.S. . . .

We woke up to extreme humidity the day we left.  It was so hazy, I wasn't even able to get a good parting shot of the mountains from my usual spot on the porch. . .

 

 

It was so humid, my camera lens kept steaming up. . . I have to say, that was a new one for me!  The images kind of turned out cool. . . kind of hazy, like I planned it that way. . .

 

Kaylee was sad to say goodbye to Sasha.  She was a fun addition to our vacation.

 

One last trek to the pool in hopes of seeing more monkeys. . .

 

No such luck, but the pool was stunning as always. . .

 

Even the moss on the concrete patio furniture seemed pretty. . .

 

One final trip to Emilio's for some coffee. . .

 

 

We didn't get dessert for breakfast, but these are some pics of the dessert we had the night before at our favorite little coffee shop. . .

 

Dave's favorite thing about this place was the coffee.  Mine was the napkin holders. . .

 

I know, I'm weird like that!

 

 

This was Emilio.  We had asked him earlier in the week where I might purchase on of these awesome napkin holders.  We searched and searched and everyone was out!  So, on our last morning there, he sold me one of his!!!  What a great guy!

 

 

Happy to say, I now have a Costa Rican napkin holder adorning my breakfast nook table in Amarillo!

 

And back to San Jose for our last night. . .

 

 

The hotel where we stayed had this fun little garden with a cow statue and coffee plants. . .

 

Coffee Beans!

 

And the lobby of the hotel had this interesting art work.  Something about chickens. . .

 

The more I studied them, the more disturbing they became to me. . .

 

But this pottery finally distracted me from the bloody imagery of the chickens. . .

 

Quick trip downtown to the open market where we found this gigantic statue. . .

 

Dinner at the only interesting restaurant within walking distance to the hotel. . .

 

Rosti Pollos. . . basically a sit-down, fancy version of El Pollo Loco. . .

 

And Kaylee decided she wanted to start some photography lessons. 

 

Finally!  I get to be in some pictures!

 

Roasted chicken breast with cheese, fried green plantains (yuck--the ripe ones are WAY better), and fried yucca. . .

 

Then, we ran into our friend Tom at the airport very early the next morning!

 

We said goodbye to him. . . . and Trevor's Rockies hat on the same leg of our trip. . .

 

 

More Kaylee photography. . .

 

And then weather in Houston delayed our flight to Amarillo.  Two hours in, the fire alarm started going off.  After 30 minutes of fire alarm, Kaylee decided she had enough of the blaring. . .

 

I feel your pain, sista!

 

We finally made it home. . . about 6 hours late. . .

 

Fun times were had by all.  We love Costa Rica, and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to take a tropical vacation. 

 

Goodbye, Costa Rica, and Pura Vida!!!

 

 

We hope to meet again soon. . .

 

 

 

 

Day 6 and Day 7--Quepos, Manuel Antonio, and water. . . LOTS of water!

Day 6 and 7 of our Costa Rica Adventure were pretty subdued.  We had lots of relaxing down-time, so we spent some time just roaming around, taking in the sites and LOTS of time in the water.  Here are some pics of both days. . .

 

Day 6 started out relaxing and wandering around Pete's Place.  It was a short hike down the hill to the pool, but well worth the trek.

 

Sasha liked to join us. . .

 

This was the cat. . . never did catch his name, but he was pretty friendly.

Sasha liked to go wading in the pool. . .

 

 

Dave had to get his morning cappuccino fix at Emilio's Café. . .

 

 

We decided to ride the bus in to Quepos for some shopping.  These were the shoes that were hanging on the electrical wire at the bus stop. . .

 

 

Interesting stop sign in Quepos. . .

 

Had to stop for donuts at a local bakery. . . just because it was there and smelled great!

 

 

Then, back down to Manuel Antonio for some coconut juice. . .

Just too funny NOT to take a picture.  Dave was NOT amused. . . but the rest of us were. . .

 

Relaxing night at the house with Sasha and a movie. . .

 

Day 7 started much the same as day 6. . . a walk to the pool. . .

 

 

Then off for a catamaran cruise and snorkeling. . .

 

The water was really rough.  So rough, they almost cancelled the tour. . . Kind of wish they had, but it was another new experience. . .

 

The motion sickness had not yet set in, so it was still all smiles. . .

 

Starting to feel a little queasy. . .

Aaaaannnnddd, there it is. . .

 

 

Dave and Trevor were good to go.  Kaylee and me. . . not so much. . .

 

The surf was too rough, so no snorkeling today, but they did let us get out in the water. . . just pretty far from shore so we wouldn't get beaten up by the surf. . .

 

Once the boat stopped, we all started feeling better.  Kaylee was a trouper and conquered her fear of the open ocean. . . with the help of a personal floatation device. . .

 

On the boat ride home, one of the crew showed Trevor how to tie a few knots. . .

 

So, Trevor thought he would give it a try on his own. . .

Viola!  Papa Roger would be so proud!!!

 

Then it was back in the water at Pete's Place for some more fun!

 

So, of course, it became a cannon ball competition. . .

 

 

Love that it looks like he's levitating!

 

And then we thought we'd work on diving. . .

 

 

Ummm. . . yeah, that's gonna need some more work. . .

 

Dinner at Aqua Azul. . .

 

My dinner was Macadamia Nut crusted Mahi Mahi. . . Delish!

 

Dave had the seafood linguine. . .

 

Kaylee was route 3'd out by this time and opted for the chicken quesadilla. . .

 

Same with Trevor. . . he got the beef tacos. . .

 

And we all enjoyed the sunset. . .

 

 

Sad that we have to leave Pete's Place tomorrow. . .

 

BUT:  we still have one more day in Costa Rica!