In our last few days in Costa Rica, we got to go raft down the river Naranjo. The highlight of the river trip was at the end when we passed by a construction crew gathering materials from the river. We passed right under a backhoe that dumped a full load of water right on us! After our travels, we spent a few short days in Arizona for the open house. We loved Costa Rica, but we were also excited to return home to the United States (it must be the root beer).
Back in Provo, we opened all the gifts and cards from the Salt Lake reception and packed them into our civic. Currently, the gifts are scattered around the house which is in desperate need of a cleaning. I started my job at the hospital as a phlebotomist and have been working nights in 12-hour shifts. It's going very well and I'm getting back in the rhythm of using needles.
Heather is still working at Hallmark and finishing her online New Testament course.
May 31, 2008
May 19, 2008
Honeymoon - Costa Rica Part IV
The other day we took a horseback tour up to these magnificent waterfalls. There were about 15 people all together on this tour. My horse's name was Belin and David's was named Pompeye. These horses had attitudes and egos. My horse definitely thought that it was superior to David's horse. Belin made sure that Pompeye stayed behind him. If Pompeye got too close to Belin, Belin would kick him. One of the times that Belin kicked Pompeye David's foot also got kicked. Luckily David's foot was covered by the stirrup so he did not get hurt.
The hike up to the waterfalls is on the steep slopes and narrow winding trails. I'm glad we didn't try to walk to the waterfalls. The horses were so good with walking up the steep trails, through the mud, and with crossing the rivers.
Half way to the waterfalls we stopped for breakfast that the tour provides. They have a pet Toucan named Tito. David and I both got to feed the Toucan out of our hands as he sat on our arms. The tour guides also have these pets that are the second largest rodents on earth but we can't remember what they are called.
The waterfalls were amazing. There were two sets. One was on a higher level and fed into the lower ones that we were at. We climbed up on the waterfall and jumped off the rocks. It was really fun. Our tour guides climbed up the face of the waterfall about 20 feet up and made it so we could climb up there with them and jump off. One of the guides did a back flip off of the waterfall. Then the tour guides climbed 30 feet above the water and did beautiful dives into the water.
On the way back you could tell that the horses were ready for our tour to be over because they were going a lot faster and would often break into a gallop. Half way back we stopped for the lunch that the tour provides. It was a lot of food.
The rest of the way back one of the Tour guides kept smacking David's horse in the rump to make him go faster which he would. Pompeye would start to gallop and Belin couldn't stand Pompeye being in front of him so then Belin would start to gallop. Then David and I would be racing each other. No worries though, Belin always won.
At the end of the tour we were glad we went and had a lot of fun, but we were also sore from riding the horses.
The hike up to the waterfalls is on the steep slopes and narrow winding trails. I'm glad we didn't try to walk to the waterfalls. The horses were so good with walking up the steep trails, through the mud, and with crossing the rivers.
Half way to the waterfalls we stopped for breakfast that the tour provides. They have a pet Toucan named Tito. David and I both got to feed the Toucan out of our hands as he sat on our arms. The tour guides also have these pets that are the second largest rodents on earth but we can't remember what they are called.
The waterfalls were amazing. There were two sets. One was on a higher level and fed into the lower ones that we were at. We climbed up on the waterfall and jumped off the rocks. It was really fun. Our tour guides climbed up the face of the waterfall about 20 feet up and made it so we could climb up there with them and jump off. One of the guides did a back flip off of the waterfall. Then the tour guides climbed 30 feet above the water and did beautiful dives into the water.
On the way back you could tell that the horses were ready for our tour to be over because they were going a lot faster and would often break into a gallop. Half way back we stopped for the lunch that the tour provides. It was a lot of food.
The rest of the way back one of the Tour guides kept smacking David's horse in the rump to make him go faster which he would. Pompeye would start to gallop and Belin couldn't stand Pompeye being in front of him so then Belin would start to gallop. Then David and I would be racing each other. No worries though, Belin always won.
At the end of the tour we were glad we went and had a lot of fun, but we were also sore from riding the horses.
May 16, 2008
Honeymoon - Costa Rica Part III
After our eventful day in the Pacific, we took things a bit slower. We took a much needed break, but we did get to see a huge Toucan right by our pool. He flew from one tree to the next, closer and closer to the house. He went right in front of the porch then flew about six feet from Heather. It was really cool and exotic. We hope to get more colorful visitors to the house. Then we took off for another adventure yesterday. We went to Hacienda Baru for a jungle tour and ziplines. We got all geared up with helmets, gloves, and harnesses and walked into the jungle with our two guides and three other tourists. Along the trail, our guide would show us different animals and explain some plants.
In that tour, we got to see a few different three toed sloths and one two toed sloth. One was about twenty feet from us! They don't move very fast and apparently sleep fourteen hours a day...just like me. Once a week they come down to the ground to go to the bathroom, but that's the highlight of the week. There were lots of leaf-cutting ants. Our guide showed us the three different sizes of the ants and the specific jobs that each has. The big ones are the guards that attack any predators, the medium ones are the cutters and carriers, and the little ones ride on the cut leaf and clean it before going into the hill.
One time along the trail, we saw some big, scary looking ants that were crawling really fast. Our guide said, "Dees are Army Ants. Dey are Car-NI-vor-us. Dey cannot eet you, but dey will try bery hard!" We quickly stepped over them and got out of there.
Then we started the walk up to the ziplines. It was pretty hot, but mostly humid. We were both dripping sweat by the time we made it to the first zipline. It was actually really fun. They had a sign at the beginning of each zipline that told how long it was and how many seconds it took to ride it. You really got to enjoy zipping over the jungle. There were eight ziplines in all. One of the last ones took you to an old wood platform 120 ft. above the ground. That's probably where I felt most precarious. But it was soon onto the next station. We had a really good time, and I'm glad that I got to see more of the jungle.
That evening, Heather had been having some trouble with her ear after snorkeling, so we took her to the local doctor here in Dominical. There was a tiny waiting room, which could barley fit a bench where the doctor greeted us and told us to wait. When we finally got back into his exam room, it wasn't much bigger than the waiting room! The doctor gave Heather an exam and looked in her ear. He found out that it was infected and gave us a presciption that we could fill in the next city over, Uvita. So, we took off south to Uvita to find the pharmacy. A huge storm blew in, and it was raining real hard. Some of the road was flooded, so I had a good time with our rented four-wheel-drive. All in all, we got the prescription and had a good time of it too.
In that tour, we got to see a few different three toed sloths and one two toed sloth. One was about twenty feet from us! They don't move very fast and apparently sleep fourteen hours a day...just like me. Once a week they come down to the ground to go to the bathroom, but that's the highlight of the week. There were lots of leaf-cutting ants. Our guide showed us the three different sizes of the ants and the specific jobs that each has. The big ones are the guards that attack any predators, the medium ones are the cutters and carriers, and the little ones ride on the cut leaf and clean it before going into the hill.
One time along the trail, we saw some big, scary looking ants that were crawling really fast. Our guide said, "Dees are Army Ants. Dey are Car-NI-vor-us. Dey cannot eet you, but dey will try bery hard!" We quickly stepped over them and got out of there.
Then we started the walk up to the ziplines. It was pretty hot, but mostly humid. We were both dripping sweat by the time we made it to the first zipline. It was actually really fun. They had a sign at the beginning of each zipline that told how long it was and how many seconds it took to ride it. You really got to enjoy zipping over the jungle. There were eight ziplines in all. One of the last ones took you to an old wood platform 120 ft. above the ground. That's probably where I felt most precarious. But it was soon onto the next station. We had a really good time, and I'm glad that I got to see more of the jungle.
That evening, Heather had been having some trouble with her ear after snorkeling, so we took her to the local doctor here in Dominical. There was a tiny waiting room, which could barley fit a bench where the doctor greeted us and told us to wait. When we finally got back into his exam room, it wasn't much bigger than the waiting room! The doctor gave Heather an exam and looked in her ear. He found out that it was infected and gave us a presciption that we could fill in the next city over, Uvita. So, we took off south to Uvita to find the pharmacy. A huge storm blew in, and it was raining real hard. Some of the road was flooded, so I had a good time with our rented four-wheel-drive. All in all, we got the prescription and had a good time of it too.
May 14, 2008
Honeymoon - Costa Rica Part II
We came to Costa Rica looking for adventure, and we got more than we bargained for. Yesterday we woke up early to meet Brian's surfer friends for some snorkeling out at Cano island. We got everything together and headed out for Uvita, a little town just south of Dominical. One of the dive instuctors, Sebastian, drove us in a seventies van to the beach where we unloaded and waited for the boat to come pick us up. The boat came right up on the beach, and we loaded everyone and the dive equiptment into the boat.
With two engines roaring, we started on the one-hour trip to Cano Island out in the Pacific Ocean. About twenty minutes in, we started to sink! The driver turned the boat right around while two of the workers used some plastic containers to bail out the water as fast as they could. We made it back to the beach alright, and the driver just drove the boat up on a sand bar. We unloaded all the gear there and waited for our driver to come back with another boat. We ended up waiting about an hour until he came back with a slightly smaller boat with only one engine. While we were waiting, Heather and I skipped rocks at the beach. Although Heather didn't see it, there was a singray about a foot from where I was standing. So we backed out of the water quickly and went back to wait with the other divers.
We couldn't make it out to Cano Island anymore, so we went diving at some local sites. Heather and I snorkeled around with a guide that could hold his breath for a very long time. We got to see big black and while fish chase around smaller colorful fish. It was pretty fun. Heather saw a jellyfish right next to her and screamed through her snorkel while trying to swim away. That scared the heck out of me, because I was already afraid of sharks. So, we got our aerobic exercize for the day.
We dove one more time and swam around a bit, but there wasn't too much to see. My favorite part was when I got to take a quick nap on the boat with a towel over my face...so I wouldn't get sunburned. We made it back to the shore alright and loaded everything into the van and were off.
We were in the van with a couple from Spain, the dive instuctor, and a couple from Oklahoma. We dropped the Oklahoma couple off at their place and couldn't find a place to turn around. So, we continued on down that road. While trying to flip around on a very narrow, steep dirt road, we got the van stuck. After many attempts to push it, we got the locals involved with a four wheel drive SUV and tow ropes. The tow ropes snapped on several occasions, but the large wire worked. Together, we got eleven bug bites while waiting for this to transpire. There was also an old neighbor from Switzerland who came out to yell at us for getting the van stuck on her road. She made things entertaining.
At the end of it all, we got back into Dominical and got some of our money back. We ate at a Thai restaurant for dinner, and it was alright. Back at home, we watched an incredibly slow movie and went to bed.
We decided to take today off due to our many adventures yesterday. The power went out around six in the morning, and our fan stopped working. I've never enjoyed a cold shower like I have this morning. We have a new pet, a fruit bat, that we discovered hanging on the outside of our bathroom screen. We dropped Brian off at the bottom of the hill to take the bus, becasue he is off to Colombia on vacation. As I type, Heather is eating a coconut that's been chopped at the top so you can drink the milk off of it while she is spell-checking what I write. While we are here, I want to find some sort of Costa Rican field guide so we can find out what kind that huge spider was near the pool. We'll let you know.
In the mean time, we hope you're all doing well and we'll keep you updated.
With two engines roaring, we started on the one-hour trip to Cano Island out in the Pacific Ocean. About twenty minutes in, we started to sink! The driver turned the boat right around while two of the workers used some plastic containers to bail out the water as fast as they could. We made it back to the beach alright, and the driver just drove the boat up on a sand bar. We unloaded all the gear there and waited for our driver to come back with another boat. We ended up waiting about an hour until he came back with a slightly smaller boat with only one engine. While we were waiting, Heather and I skipped rocks at the beach. Although Heather didn't see it, there was a singray about a foot from where I was standing. So we backed out of the water quickly and went back to wait with the other divers.
We couldn't make it out to Cano Island anymore, so we went diving at some local sites. Heather and I snorkeled around with a guide that could hold his breath for a very long time. We got to see big black and while fish chase around smaller colorful fish. It was pretty fun. Heather saw a jellyfish right next to her and screamed through her snorkel while trying to swim away. That scared the heck out of me, because I was already afraid of sharks. So, we got our aerobic exercize for the day.
We dove one more time and swam around a bit, but there wasn't too much to see. My favorite part was when I got to take a quick nap on the boat with a towel over my face...so I wouldn't get sunburned. We made it back to the shore alright and loaded everything into the van and were off.
We were in the van with a couple from Spain, the dive instuctor, and a couple from Oklahoma. We dropped the Oklahoma couple off at their place and couldn't find a place to turn around. So, we continued on down that road. While trying to flip around on a very narrow, steep dirt road, we got the van stuck. After many attempts to push it, we got the locals involved with a four wheel drive SUV and tow ropes. The tow ropes snapped on several occasions, but the large wire worked. Together, we got eleven bug bites while waiting for this to transpire. There was also an old neighbor from Switzerland who came out to yell at us for getting the van stuck on her road. She made things entertaining.
At the end of it all, we got back into Dominical and got some of our money back. We ate at a Thai restaurant for dinner, and it was alright. Back at home, we watched an incredibly slow movie and went to bed.
We decided to take today off due to our many adventures yesterday. The power went out around six in the morning, and our fan stopped working. I've never enjoyed a cold shower like I have this morning. We have a new pet, a fruit bat, that we discovered hanging on the outside of our bathroom screen. We dropped Brian off at the bottom of the hill to take the bus, becasue he is off to Colombia on vacation. As I type, Heather is eating a coconut that's been chopped at the top so you can drink the milk off of it while she is spell-checking what I write. While we are here, I want to find some sort of Costa Rican field guide so we can find out what kind that huge spider was near the pool. We'll let you know.
In the mean time, we hope you're all doing well and we'll keep you updated.
May 12, 2008
Honeymoon - Costa Rica part I
After the Salt Lake reception, we were pretty worn out. We stayed in the Grand America right there in Salt Lake which is a five star hotel. It was great! In the lobby we saw some of the Lakers players after they were defeated by the Jazz.
That next day we flew out to Houston, then to San Jose, Costa Rica. The flights were just fine. On the way to Houston, we sat next to Chad. He's a studio musician who plays for big bands who come through Utah. He's played with Augustana and Paramore. Also, he went on a mission to Argentina, so I had alot to talk about with him.
Once we arrived in the airport in San Jose, our rental car company had a shuttle to take us to their office. We rented a four wheel drive SUV for our expiditions around the country. But that night we were just going to the Marriott Hotel a few miles from the airport. We got a GPS device so we could get around, but we only figured it out after getting lost a few times, then driving back to the rental company. Once we arrived at the hotel, we got ourselves some room service of classic Costa Rican cousine. It was pretty good. Out of our hotel, we had a good view of the countryside and there was a golf course below our window. When we get home, we'll upload some photos.
The next morning, we ate at the hotel restaurant and paid in Colones. The dollar goes pretty far around here. Using the GPS, we got lost twice while trying to get out of San Jose, but it was a good way to see some of the city. The unique thing about the streets in San Jose is that practically none of them have signs or go straight. So, if you don't have a GPS, you're out of luck. But once we got the GPS completely figured out, Heather was able to navigate and get us safely to our bed and breakfast near Hatillo. On an American Interstate, it probably would have taken an hour and a half, but these were winding switchbacks up and down the jungle mountains. It is beautifully green here. For about an hour, we had to pass through the clouds, and it was incredibly foggy, but it looked really cool. The road that we were on was paved, but it didn't have any lines painted on it, so I just tried to stay to the right and suck in whenever a semi passed us.
When we got near Dominical, it turned into a very rocky and bumpy dirt road that we stayed on for a good twenty minutes or so. Off of this bumpy road was another dirt road that led up the mountain. Off of that dirt road was a concrete paved pathway that went almost straight up. I was afraid that if we went too fast, we might fall over backwards. But as we went up the hill, we finally arrived at our destination deep in the jungles of Costa Rica.
The caretaker, Brian, was there to greet us and help us get settled in. We got lots of good local information out of him and then we watched a movie and called it a night.
When we woke up, we were able to sit on the screen enclosed patio and admire the view. It's just thick green jungle to the beach about two miles away, then ocean. We just sat and admired for a while until we went with Brian into Dominical, where we found this internet cafe. We spoke with some of Brian's surfer friends and will probably go out with them to snorkel tomorrow on an island off the coast.
That next day we flew out to Houston, then to San Jose, Costa Rica. The flights were just fine. On the way to Houston, we sat next to Chad. He's a studio musician who plays for big bands who come through Utah. He's played with Augustana and Paramore. Also, he went on a mission to Argentina, so I had alot to talk about with him.
Once we arrived in the airport in San Jose, our rental car company had a shuttle to take us to their office. We rented a four wheel drive SUV for our expiditions around the country. But that night we were just going to the Marriott Hotel a few miles from the airport. We got a GPS device so we could get around, but we only figured it out after getting lost a few times, then driving back to the rental company. Once we arrived at the hotel, we got ourselves some room service of classic Costa Rican cousine. It was pretty good. Out of our hotel, we had a good view of the countryside and there was a golf course below our window. When we get home, we'll upload some photos.
The next morning, we ate at the hotel restaurant and paid in Colones. The dollar goes pretty far around here. Using the GPS, we got lost twice while trying to get out of San Jose, but it was a good way to see some of the city. The unique thing about the streets in San Jose is that practically none of them have signs or go straight. So, if you don't have a GPS, you're out of luck. But once we got the GPS completely figured out, Heather was able to navigate and get us safely to our bed and breakfast near Hatillo. On an American Interstate, it probably would have taken an hour and a half, but these were winding switchbacks up and down the jungle mountains. It is beautifully green here. For about an hour, we had to pass through the clouds, and it was incredibly foggy, but it looked really cool. The road that we were on was paved, but it didn't have any lines painted on it, so I just tried to stay to the right and suck in whenever a semi passed us.
When we got near Dominical, it turned into a very rocky and bumpy dirt road that we stayed on for a good twenty minutes or so. Off of this bumpy road was another dirt road that led up the mountain. Off of that dirt road was a concrete paved pathway that went almost straight up. I was afraid that if we went too fast, we might fall over backwards. But as we went up the hill, we finally arrived at our destination deep in the jungles of Costa Rica.
The caretaker, Brian, was there to greet us and help us get settled in. We got lots of good local information out of him and then we watched a movie and called it a night.
When we woke up, we were able to sit on the screen enclosed patio and admire the view. It's just thick green jungle to the beach about two miles away, then ocean. We just sat and admired for a while until we went with Brian into Dominical, where we found this internet cafe. We spoke with some of Brian's surfer friends and will probably go out with them to snorkel tomorrow on an island off the coast.
April 20, 2008
Finals and Wedding Preparations
All I can really say is that we have quite a bit on our horizons for the future. With finals week, wedding preparations, starting a new job, and furnishing and moving into a new apartment, you could say that we are the busiest that we've ever been. But things are getting along rather smoothly. We just got the wedding invitations printed and we'll be sending them out soon.
On an unrelated subject, Heather and I recently went to the Jimmy Eat World & Paramore concert at the UVSC McKay Events Center this past week. It was a blast! I ordered the tickets about forty seconds after they were available online, and so we got great seats on the second row. We really couldn't be happier about our location. Paramore started out with a high-energy set that got everyone on their feet and Jimmy Eat World followed with a classy performance. We sang along to most of the songs. Heather got herself a Jimmy Eat World t-shirt, while I got a the new Jimmy Eat World vinyl record of Chase This Light. We had such a good time, it was perfectly surreal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)