missing the beach...

the sunsets...
the mariachi band...
beachwear...
glorious clouds...
and exotic flowers...
our next adventure: trip to Nicaragua...please pray for us and stayed tuned for the adventure!!

they ran away to the beach...

we took 3 days and went to the pacific ocean... we were awed by the beauty of the flowers...
there was so much yellow!
so much delicious eye candy!!
so exotic, so tropical...
our first night on the beach, we dined under this canopy. our feet were in the sand and the ocean waves were right beside us. we were treated to floral-scented water to dip our hands in for washing up before dinner. our food was fabulous!! some of us ate fish, some chose pasta, katie tried calamari... then a mariachi band came and serenaded us!! and as soon as we were done eating, we dipped our feet in the warm bath-temperature of the sea... WOW! what a night!!
everywhere we went we were under the canopies of huge ferns and palms and banana trees..
we enjoyed sitting outside our rooms on the deck, visiting and drinking coffee...
"the essence of quietness"... ha! not with us there! no, really. it was very peaceful and quiet and only a short walk to the beach...
the girls (katie, and the 5 oldest wisdom girls) roomed in the top floor of this apartment and enjoyed the swimming pool on the bottom floor. one long slumber party!
every day when we came back from the beach, there were blossoms on the fresh, folded towels on our beds.
these are colored sugar cane tops... aren't they gorgeous?
the stairs going up to our deck and rooms...
a little costa rican decor...
and our guard armadillo. also our rain gauge...if he's wet, it's raining.

our lovely room...
with the giant bed...
we were treated to a fabulous sunset...
and every single one of us enjoyed playing in the sand and finding sea shells. one entire beach was made up of shells and shell bits... collector heaven!!

there was lots of deck visiting and we kept the coffee pot full...
and the cold water jacuzzi soothed our sunburns when we came back from the beach.
more from the beach trip soon. sending our love to you this rainy day back in san jose...

a fascination with architectural doodads...

the Sunday market is beside this beautifully ornate Catholic church building... to those of you not as fascinated as I am by architectural doodads, this post may be a tiny bit tedious... I apologize for this... tune in to a later post. meanwhile...
a stroll around the block gives views of so much!
statuary and arched windows...
natural beauty in contrast with sharp man-made angles...







and a peek in the doorway...
and oh! the entryway chandelier!!!
and this tree full of fireworks across the street...
What a pleasurable eyeful... I have MORE pictures, still. But I'll refrain from boring you to tears. Hope your celebration of the Lord's day was perfectly restful and inspiring. Love to you all....

a walk to a volcano...

We took a day off from studying Spanish and went up to see the Volcano Poas. It was a bit cloudy when we left Wisdom's house but there were sun breaks on the way up that made us hopeful we would see it.
onto the walking trail, headed to the volcano crater... Jerry and Carol Chilcote and various Wisdom kids...
Russell, showing just how big these giant leaves were...
Sasha and CJ showing the trail map sign...
for the briefest of minutes, the clouds lifted just a tad to show a peek of the crater...
and the steam vent...
this is the sign showing what was really out there... what we couldn't see through the mists.
then the clouds lowered again and you wouldn't have even known there was anything to view.
Katie and CJ... there's always someone who has to get up on the railing...
...the steaming vent...
then we hiked to the old crater which had a lake in it.
hmmm... where's the lake again? We waited for awhile and saw just the barest outline of the shore of the lake, then hiked back to the visitor center.
playing with the giant leaves again...Russell
CJ...doesn't she look like a leaf fairy?
walking the trail...
Look at this incredible lacy fern! I think it is just gorgeous!
more of the trail...
Krystal and Russell left a nature collage for everyone else behind them to see. Most everyone noticed it and commented on it later...
Krystal with a small sized fern leaf...
a tiny pink mushroom (hongo). It's pinker than the camera shows...
bigger hongos... about as big as my hand.
...watching the film of what the vocano actually looks like, at the visitor center.
These giant tacky tourist toucans are made out of old rubber car tires, which I thought was quite ingenious!! NO... not bringing one home...
...little fat bird, saying goodbye to us as we left to go visit the Waterfall Gardens... Stay tuned! (love you all!!!)