visiting a little slice of heaven on earth...

it was a lovely little visit. to a place i could have only dreamed about.  where the indoor living was actually open to the out-of-doors.  a beautiful place of  warm hospitality...

these built-on benches go all around the living space...

there were purple tropical flowers floating on the ponds...

it was a gorgeous place of wood and thatch, nestled into the edge of the jungle...

it was a place of  wonderful art and luscious colors...  i dreamt cozy dreams under gauzy mosquito netting, in a beautiful lime green room with a mysterious intricate wooden window panel...

the thatch itself was a work of art by people who have been doing this art for generations...

yes, it was such a lovely visit. hosted by some of the warmest, most loving people one could be blessed to meet.  Thank you so much, Yolande and Lukas, Annebelle, Alaster, and Lein Lein...

Dale, enjoying the great outdoors from the comfort of indoors.

a beach trip was also involved but that's another story for another day...    love, Shari

it was an art thing...

First... there was gelato...  coffee plus coconut.

Shari and Carol... VERY happy!

Then, there were the flowers...  beautiful, intricate, colorful flowers...

And then, there was this public building. They had dressed it up with some gorgeous mosaic! I can't imagine the time it took to do this!

The leaves were children's handprints...

Some of the mosaic bits were mirrors, so that the whole thing sparkled in the sunlight!

Another building with mosaic just at the roofline.  Fabulous. Gorgeous.  I was lost in wonderment.

And then. There was one last look at the ocean as we began our journey inland. 

Imagination is an incredible thing!  Decorate a little piece of YOUR life today, okay?  Flowers. Bits of broken china. Bits of broken mirrors. It might all turn out to be very very wonderful.  love, Shari

Farewell to Potrero... I hope I get to come back sometime...

Back to jungle nights full of bird-song, howler monkeys' roaring, geckos' chirps...

sunset at Potrero Apartmentos...

Back to the little pool that refreshed us, rain or shine...

Dale soaking in the rain...

Back to this tiny oasis of serenity and quiet...

Where the rainstorms were beautiful to watch...

And the yard was full of beautiful flowers and butterflys...

And coffee on the front porch was a soothing ritual...

Carol and Jerry

Yes, someday, I would like to return here.  But for now it is a treasure of a memory, tucked away to make me smile on some less beautiful day....   Wishing you a lovely little oasis of your own today...  love, Shari

they went to the coast...

We have spent the last week at the ocean at Playa Potrero. This is the place that Jerry and Carol took their intensive Spanish classes for10 weeks.  It's absolutely gorgeous here.

Vulcan Arenal, on our way here...

We are staying in a small apartment in Potrero. It has been a little haven for our souls.

It's a lovely little 8-apartment complex with a pool.  We didn't realize how we would come to love this little pool, a refreshing hideout from the heat...

Jerry and Dale in the pool

Of course, there WAS a burn factor...  This is the "before" picture. Color them in with red, to see what happened later...

Carol, in front of "our" apartment...

I really love the color of this little building... and swinging in the hammock I could hear the parrots screeching in the trees and the thunder from the purple clouds rushing past, and the rushing water sound from the pool's waterfall.

The grounds were kept groomed by a young man named Alvero, who we came to really like... he was always smiling.

going in...

And then there was our beach time.  It was partly cloudy/partly sunny on our beach days, and during the week we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.

The water was like bath water and so relaxing! Well, except for the wave that slapped me upside the head and knocked my sunglasses from my face.  Jerry found them a  few minutes later, which was a miracle!

ocean bobbing... one of our favorite things to do!

And so there were hours of bobbing, talking, bobbing, talking... then the rain would come, and back we would go to the apartment. *Washingtonians.... the rain here does NOT cool anything off!!  It is so not like at home.

the view from the beach...

view from the ocean

Mother's Day fell on a Thursday here, so that day the beach was more occupied than usual. But it was still wonderful to just bob....   Wishing you plenty of time to just relax and refresh yourself wherever you may find yourself today...  and ocean breezes. and calypso music. and palm trees swaying.  imagination is a wonderful thing!!   love, Shari

a little nail salon... to pamper the village women...

Our women's ministry time included a little pampering of the village women, who do not live a soft life... it's a hard life. So we washed their feet, polished their nails, did a little hair, hugged a lot and did a drama about giving your hard situations over to the Lord...

Shannon polishing toe nails...

Becca polishing toe nails...

Carol polishing fingernails...

Stephanie and Rochelle polishing nails...

Trish and Krystal Wisdom polishing nails...

the "salon" in the community center, where the men's tent village was...

Reuben and Becca dramatizing the "Burden" drama...

"single mother"...

Becca, showing the anguish of many women's problems...

and the craft... scratch off crosses...

and of course, there's always friends to be made...

May your blessings be rich and your friends many....   love, Shari

(once again I apologize for the giant spaces...sigh)

a little jungle walk...

take a little walk, he said...

a little jungle walk...

a fruit the monkeys eat, not edible for us...

15 minutes up the road, he said...

hot and sweaty after about a half hour...

to see the Howler monkeys... those little monkeys that make the huge howling sound...  at dusk and dawn...

really?! a "little" jungle "walk"?

so up we went... through the hot, sweaty jungle... and up the muddy creek... boots full of water, slipping in the mud...

oh yes! the views were spectacular!  the bugs were buggy! the sweat was sweaty...

and down through a cow field, with a big bull looking us over...

and there it was... one monkey...

one small monkey in big ol' tree... not howling... just wondering what these gringos were looking at, standing in that cow field, sweating like crazy...

the survivors.... heading back to the church... glad to have made it out of the jungle... alive. (some parts of this tale MAY have been slightly dramatized but all of it's true!!).  May God grant you adventures in your own neck of the woods...  love, Shari