Farm and More

Sunday night was when we came to Terra Viva that is a farm in Monteverde. That night we went with the owner of the farm on a night hike we found a snake, lizard and a few frogs. We also filled our borrowed galoshes with stream water. It was fun ~ Emma

A Few Pictures

Sunday

Today we left early from La Fortuna to head to Monteverde. We took a taxi “shuttle” to the lake and then a boat across Lake Arenal to the other side where we then took another shuttle to our hotel. It ended up being longer and bumpier than expected and all the Yarger ladies weren’t feeling well in the afternoon, so we took some rest time this afternoon. The view from the lake to the volcano was beautiful! And it was a very calm and relaxing boat ride across.
I went into town – Santa Elena – to get food for dinner as everyone was still feeling a bit whooped. It is quite a bustling town and still pretty touristy but this region is much quieter and more relaxed than La Fortuna. It is fun to get a feel for city life a bit as well as a bit outside of everything.
Tonight we had some good adventures – we are staying at Terra Viva which is a dairy farm and its own natural reserve – they own 300 acres of land, much of which they have restored to natural rainforest. They invited us to watch them milk the cows and feed the calves – the girls had a kick feeding them and unfortunately we missed the milking. We then went with our esteemed nature guide on a night hike of the forest. We saw many different frogs, grasshoppers, and even a snake (which everyone held). I think all of us soaked our galoshes in the rivers, but I think we would all say that it was a highlight so far!
Tomorrow – zipline and canopy walkway tours! :)

Saturday was fun and hard for me because first we walked to a waterfall.It turned out to be a hike because we went the wrong way. Then it became 6 km instead of 2 km. The fun part was the hot springs. We went to those after a tour at the base of the volcano. I went on a slide at the hot springs it was really fast. Emma

Saturday-what a day!

We are now at Casa Luna in LaFortuna in view of the Arenal Volcano. It has been a day full of adventure, challenges and refreshing waters. We woke up with full view of the volcano which doesn't always happen. After breakfast we thought we would take a short hike to a beautiful waterfall. After walking for over a half an hour in the hot, humid sun we discovered that we misunderstood the directions and went the wrong way. After walking back to the hotel we were hot and tired but determined to go see the beautiful falls and swim.

So we continued on, up hill and I would have to say it was far further than the guide books said. A few hours behind schedule we made it. After going down 484 steps (Emma counted) we made it!! It was beautiful and the swim was VERY refreshing. We swam, snacked and took pictures before climbing back up. Clearly we were tired upon arrival as we were all surprised at how fast and easily we made it back up. We taxied back to the hotel, as it was well deserved, to eat lunch before the next adventure. The Costa Rica cuisine is quite multicultural and you often find Italian and Chinese dishes. So we had Caesar salad, grilled chicken and Chicken Alfredo for lunch.

The next adventure was to have a tour of the Arenal Volcano National Park. We hiked through new growth forest and old lava flows. It is the most active volcano and we have heard it rumble and send a dark cloud of smoke into the air. We stopped at dusk to see if we could see any of the hot red rocks being spit out upon erupting and we were lucky enough to see a few flashes of red.

The last leg of the tour was to end at Baldi Hot Springs. Now I have been to a few hot springs in Montana but NOTHING like this place. It was huge with many, many pools of various temperatures, water slides and a buffet. It was a great way to relax after a full day. We all enjoyed laying in the 104 degree pool, surrounded by the many trees and palms of the area,

It was a day that we were challenged by heat and tired legs but the spirit has been strong. The girls, in their tired moments, have been a little silly but such a joy to watch them play together. Time for bed as tomorrow we will take a boat across Lake Arenal and head to Monteverde.

~ Marcy

Friday

We woke up on Friday and had a delicious breakfast with toast, jam, rice, beans, and eggs. Then my mom and I went swimming in a freezing pool. I took a lot of pictures of different flowers and fruits. My favorite one was the one with the tall cactus with big spikes. ~Emma

Leaving Alajula

Today we woke up in Costa Rica!
The sun was shining and the grounds were beautiful. We spent the morning walking the grounds and enjoying the varied and amazing vegetation, while the girls got good use out of their cameras. We ate a wonderful breakfast of fruit, toast and jam (incredible!), coffee, scrambled eggs and beans and rice. Everyone liked the food, Jess even exclaiming that she could eat it every day - I told her we might be ;) After breakfast, Emma and Marcy went swimming, Jess updated her life on Facebook and I took time to upload the hundreds of photos taken in a 24 hour period.
At noon we were on our way to Arenal Volcano, we have opted to do private transportation for the entire trip, so our driver came to pick us up. The roads weren't as bad as I had imagined - much better than roads in India - but it was a windy trip up and down the mountains. There was not always a lot to see as it was raining pretty heavily throughout the trip. We enjoyed a Tico (Costa Rican) lunch along the way.
Upon nearing the volcano I was struck at how enormous it is! It sits next to it's brother, Cerro Chato and the two of them make a beautiful backdrop to the town of La Fortuna and surrounding area. We are at Casa Luna which sits at the base of the volcano, it also has beautiful grounds which we explored in the evening and then went to town for dinner. All in all a pretty relaxing day - tomorrow: waterfall, lava flows and hotsprings!

Taking off from the Airport!

Today we left MN to come to Costa Rica. It has been great so far and everyone traveled well. We got to the airport to enjoy a nice pastry before heading to Atlanta. The first leg of our trip went well and it was fun to see the girls excitement. To our surprise we were on a plane that had individual screens in front of us with TV, movies and games. Why we brought so much stuff to entertain ourselves I will never know now. Upon arrival, and after some lunch, we stored our carry-on bags and took the MARTA downtown Atlanta to check out the World of Coca-cola and the Olympic Park. It was very hot but good to see a glimpse of the town and to get out of the airport.

The second leg of the trip took about 4 hours and it too went smoothly. The girls were excited to get their passports stamped and to have finally arrived. I have to say it is a dream come true to be on this adventure and so happy the girls get to experience another part of the world.

We were greeted with some heat and lots of humidity and a beautiful place to stay. Again I am so thankful for how smoothly everything has gone today. It has been a long day so time for bed. Tomorrow we head to LaFortuna and will be staying at Casa Luna. We will begin by exploring Arenal Volcano and the area that surrounds it.

Peace to you ~ Marcy

This is Emma tomorrow we will be leaving for Costa Rica and I am sooooooooo excited. We are going to the cities and staying for the night and then we're taking off. :)

Welcome

This is my first blog for my girls' first international trip. In 9 days we will be leaving for Costa Rica. This is going to be a great trip filled with many adventures. As we are busy with summer schedules of work for me and soccer for the girls it is hard to believe that next week we will be updating this from a far away place.

This will be the first time blogging for me and the girls so we shall see how we do.

An introduction to the trip...I have just completed graduate school which has taken a lot of work and sacrifice over the last three years and this is my way of celebrating and saying thank you. For this trip I have asked Beth to join us as two adults seem better than one as we travel to another country. Besides she knows more Spanish and has traveled far more than the three of us.

Costa Rica was picked for its natural beauty, ease to get to (far away yet not to far) and bilingual culture. We have begun to learn a little Spanish but will appreciate their fluency in English. I hope this will be the first step in our own bilingual development.

The four of us will try to blog as we prepare and partake on this trip and look forward to using the blog to share our experience with you. ~Marcy