Welcome to Day 1 of our Costa Rican adventure!
We started day 1 VERY early in the morning. We were all packed up and headed for the airport by 4:50 a.m.!!! (Thanks, Matt, for getting up so early to haul us all there!)
First order of business: Where in the world is Costa Rica?
Yep, waaaaaayy down there in Central America--just above Panama. It's amazing that it's just a short 3 1/2 hour flight from Houston!
In Houston by 8:30 a.m., our adventures began. . .
First item lost by my adorable son, was his half-read Harry Potter book. Seems he left it on the first plane. Dave, being the awesome dad that he is, trudged ALL the way back to the first gate to see if perhaps someone had found it and turned it in. No such luck.
To the kid that finds it: you're welcome, from the Anderson's.
With the book lost so early in the trip, of course the only place to go was to the screens. . .
We arrived mid-afternoon in San Jose and were met at the airport by our friend Tom. Thanks, Tom, for picking us up, entertaining us, feeding us, and putting us up for the night! Our digs for the first night were absolutely amazing! We were blessed to stay at Portantorchas. You can read all about that facility here, but basically, it is a Christian School that teaches a variety of bible classes on a semester by semester basis. If you know of any college-aged kids that need a break from the hum-drum of American life, they should check this place out! Amazing! If I were 21, I would absolutely do this for a year.
This was one of the many mountain views from the property. . .
There is a large field in the middle of the facility that acts as a walking path, jogging path, and soccer field. It is Central America, after all!
The most recent addition, at the edge of the soccer field is this little amphitheater. It has tiered seating with a fire pit, and even a small pool for the occasional baptism. Really beautiful!
I just loved this tree/bush. Made me think of "The Lorax". . .
At the back of the property is "the boathouse". Not sure why it's called that. . . neither was our friend Tom, but it sits next to this gorgeous lily pond that is teaming with ducks, mosquitoes, and I suspect a number of unsavory water-borne bacteria, but I digress. . .
I just adored the bridge. . .
And then there were the rabbits. . .
Seems my son is "the rabbit whisperer". He got closer than any of us!
I finally managed to sneak up on this little guy while he was napping and snapped this pic with the telephoto.
According to Tom, these are eucalyptus trees. They are not indigenous to Costa Rica. The property has a number of them, though, and the word on the street is that they were brought over from Australia and planted on the property. The colors are absolutely amazing. These pictures are NOT photo-shopped! They are really that pretty!
The wood is really heavy and burns very hot. So, this is a stack of trimmed eucalyptus that they use for the fire pit.
The Coy Pond. . .
And the ducks. . .
It's hard to see, but this is a duck with her chicks. . . there are much better shots below. . .
The chicks were all crammed underneath her. . . so funny!
Of course, the foliage was spectacular!
It was so quiet, with no wind. . . We were able to have great conversations on our walk. . . I'm pretty sure that this is the closest thing to heaven I will ever experience here on Earth.
Yep, Dave needs to buy LOTS of guns, and spend LOTS of time practicing his art of intimidation. . . just sayin'. . .
So many spiders! I have much better photos from later in the trip of these creepy things, but Portantorchas had it's share, too!
Coffee plants!!!
Dave's "hot spot"! I was hoping he wouldn't find wifi too early in the trip, but alas he did!
We enjoyed our stay at Portantorchas, but stay tuned for "the rest of the story". . .
No comments:
Post a Comment