Day 11

E Ben and I got up at dawn today to go on a tour of the Nosara Biological Reserve. We were lucky to be the only two people on the tour this morning, so we had the guide, Gabriella, all to ourselves. This photo is from the starting point of the tour, high above the reserve. We had to walk down about 200 steps to get to the level of the river. 

We learned all about the plants and animals that live in this part of the country. The mangroves here are over 200 years old and enormous. 

There was an earthquake here in 2012 which raised up the ground about six feet. As a result, many areas which were once underwater most of the time are now exposed in the dry season (which is now).

Afterwards, we enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the Lagarta Lodge. The mango pancake and fresh juice were delicious. 

We relaxed for the afternoon, then went to Rancho Tico for dinner...

...then to the beach for a sunset swim. 

Day 10

Jude, Ama, and I went on a zip line tour today (Ada was too young, so she and Dad went on a different adventure to discover a new beach).

Jude was the first one of our whole group to take the plunge. He listened very carefully to the instructions from the guides. 

There were two other kids from Oregon. The girls were six and nine. 

Ama was terrified, but she did a great job keeping it together. 

I got to go with Jude once I learned how to stop. 

Ama got to try some tricks, like going backwards...

For the last run, Jude and Ama rode together, and I got to go upside down. It was awesome. 

Day 9

After swimming in the morning, we went out to lunch at Olga's. 

Jude bonded with a little girl over Angry Birds and Talking Tom. 

The monkeys pass by every evening just before sunset. They lingered long enough today to get a few good photos. 

Then we walked to the beach to swim in the waves and watch the sunset. 

Day 8

Ama arrived today!

As expected, Ada got sick, so we had another low-key day. Dad, Jude, and I went to the beach at low tide and snorkeled in the tide pools. We saw lots of fish and a horde of crabs. Jude got a little scared once, when a big fish looked at him. 

We also waded out to the bat cave. We didn't make it all the way inside, because there was a blue jellyfish in the way, and I couldn't remember if they were poisonous. 

We all took naps in the afternoon, then walked on the beach in the evening, catching another sunset. We made it down to Playa Guiones, the beach just south of our beach, Playa Pelada. The waves looked great for surfing, not so great for swimming. 

In the evening, E Ben started feeling sick. I guess tomorrow it's my turn!

Day 7

This says it all:

Jude got really sick. 

We think it was the rotavirus, since that seems to be going around. 

Jude is feeling better now, but Ada is starting to feel feverish and complain of an upset stomach. 

We may be in for another rough night and day. 

Good thing they're cute!

Day 6

Today we had a rest day. Everyone got to do exactly what they wanted to do and we didn't have anywhere to be. We read books, played games, watched a movie, went swimming, and drank box wine. 

Dad and Ada had an outing to the market and checked out the surf schools. Jude and I played in the ocean at sunset. The waves were pretty big, but Jude loved every minute. 

The kids played in the pool and curled up in beach towels afterwards. It was so cute that I had to take a picture. 

Day 5

After a quick trip to the wildlife refuge to see the daytime animals, we visited our favorite beach one last time. We had two choices for our drive to Nosara, the high road or the low road (which is shorter). We didn't trust our rental car to make the river crossings, so we ended up taking the gringo route. 

We stopped at Marlin Bill's to meet Tiffany from the rental agency and to have some lunch. 

After unpacking a bit, we cooled off in the pool...

...then walked down to the beach to check out the scene. 

It was a beautiful sunset. My camera couldn't do it justice.