Costa Rica Vacation

For spring break this year we went on vacation to Costa Rica. We stayed in the Guanacaste province in the Northwest area of the country. Guanacaste is unique because the climate is a dry tropical forest. We were there during the end of the dry season and it was very hot, over 100 every day! The beaches were beautiful, the water was warm and the Ticos (locals from Costa Rica) were very friendly and helpful. Almost everyone spoke English, but we were still able to practice some Spanish. The kids all learned a few phrases, and had fun ordering their own food and saying please and thank you in Spanish.

Almost there! This is during our brief layover in Dallas before flying to the Liberia Airport in Guanacaste.

Our lovely room.

Charlotte had a very hard time eating breakfast the first morning because the pool was calling to her.

The view from the chairs we lounged in on Day 1.

The girls and Daddy invented a hiding game that occupied much of their time. Daddy would hide specific pebbles in the pool and the girls would search with their snorkels on until they found them.

A lift from big sister.

Tim loved having the freedom to swim in the pool by himself with his lifejacket on.

Off they go!

This is the life.

One very happy girl to spend the entire day in the pool.

We went into Tamarindo, the closest town to our hotel, on the first night for some local food.

Mango and papaya smoothies

An evening stroll on the beach in Tamarindo.

A beautiful way to end our first day.

A lizard in the one of the trees right off the balcony of our room.

The beach during low tide right in front of our resort.

A sea urchin was the first find on our tide pool exploration adventure, good eyes Charlotte!

We found tons of hermit crabs, little fish, snails and barnacles of all different sizes.

Our resort in the background.

Timothy sees some birds in the distance.

The girls busy writing messages in the sand.

It is so good to be here!

Time to head back to the pool.

French fries! Our favorite lunch snack. We food and beverage service was excellent at the pool.

Marin getting a lift, could she possibly be tired?!

Ready for dinner!

A view of the main building at the property.

Pre-dinner cocktails.

Time to have local beef at Sabanero Steak House - so delicious!

We sat outside even though it was a warm evening. It was perfect of a leisurely 2+ hour dinner.

A little gelato for dessert. (We may have had gelato almost every night we were on vacation...)

We took a dip in the pool many evenings. We could swim and not worry about the super strong sun!

Endless Summer 2 surf spots

Catarata Llanos del Cortés

The water was much colder than the ocean or the pool water. It was really awesome to swim under the waterfall!

Daddy and the girls look so tiny.

Timothy leading the way on our hike to the top of the falls.

Another lizard

We made it!

Our next stop, a visit to the most active volcano we have ever been to! The hike to the rim of the volcano has been closed for years because of the activity.

The first steam vent we came upon.

What's that smell? Just a little sulfur.

Boiling mud

Unfortunately we do not have a video, but this mud was seriously boiling.

A very cool tree that had a bunch of monkeys running around in the canopy.

Can you see the monkey stretching between the branches?

Another boiling mud pot.

Boiling water, this place was hot!

This is a large rushing waterfall during the rainy season, but just a trickle at the end of the dry season.

Dinner on the beach? Yes, please.

The view from our table.

The kids enjoying the surf while we wait for our food to arrive.

Another day at the pool.

A tired little one.

Even with gobs of sunscreen, a little sunburn is inevitable.

Our dinner view.

During our after dinner stroll on the beach we found tons of hermit crabs scrambling around.

Beach day in Tamarindo

Charlotte tries surfing first.

The water is coming!

Here she comes.

Yeah! I did not get a picture, but she had a stand up ride too.

Here she comes again.

This is so fun!

Daddy takes a turn.

Go Daddy!

Here goes Marin.

Here she comes.

Woohoo, look at her go! First time on a surfboard.

Daddy is up again.

Oh yeah, so fun.

Mommy takes a turn.

So far so good...

...or not. This is harder than it looks!

No surprise, the coconut water out of the fresh coconut on the beach tastes a lot better than anything from a can in the US.

The view from Play Conchal.

The sand was just crunched up shells.

Time to snorkel.

It was a little rough to snorkel, but we saw a few fish.

The local cattle are all thin and white.

Daddy with our pizzaiola in Costa Rica who is from Italy. He makes gluten free pizza at his restaurant in Tamarindo.

There was a play structure right by where we ate our pizza.

The beach with a surfing wave that is walking distance from our hotel.

That's Daddy out there.

Here is ready to catch a much bigger wave than the one at Tamarindo beach.

Happy and relaxed after a week in Costa Rica.

Uno

Room service for dinner, yummy on our balcony.

Watching our last sunset before we have to leave.

A note Marin wrote and gave to the Front Desk.