Guanacaste, Costa Rica

This is our second time visiting Costa Rica, and I can easily say that it is just as wonderful as I remember it.

Going with friends makes the experience even more fun.

While all the adults were looking up at the fascinating howler and capuchin monkeys…

The little girls were happily digging in the dirt.  You can’t help but laugh when you drag your 4yo halfway across the world so that she can dig in different dirt.

I just love the variety of animals that we got to see.  In addition to the monkeys we saw crocodiles, toucans, and these guys.

And of course the ever-present, noisy and bold coati.  We loved the show that they put on for us every day during breakfast.

We got to press our own sugar cane

Swim in hot springs heated by the Vieja volcano  (I will never again allow volcanic mud to get on the white trim of my bathing suit.  What a mess!)

Swim on the most amazing beaches

Hike in beautiful rain forests.

And have some amazing adventures.

Yes, that really is my 4 year old zip-lineing all by herself.  She went with a guide at first and got upset when he got a few trees ahead of the rest of us.  We thought she was scared and offered to take her down the next bridge, but she said “NO!  I want to zip-line, but I just want to be near Momma too.” Go kid!

Don’t let that waterside fool you – it is 400 meters (1,300 feet!) long and those helmets are necessary.  What a ride.

The ride home was pure torture (ear infections and airplanes don’t mix) but even with the sour end we would all do it again in a heartbeat.  As my oldest said “Now that we (the kids) have our passports, we can go anywhere we want!”