New Friends

So much to share about our last few days. The greatest part has been the friendship we've forged with Kenneth and Melissa and their two children Nallely (11) (pronounced Najelly) and Jeremy (5). Kenneth and Melissa work at the Villa Decary Inn where we stayed at Lake Arenal. We had an immediate connection with them despite our labored Spanish and their lack of English. After work one afternoon, we met them at some hot springs to enjoy the warm water and play. We were the only gringos there! Lots of different pools, different temperatures, slides, waterfalls, etc. We had a potluck picnic after swimming and stayed until Lucas splayed out on the bench so tired. He was asleep within two minutes once back in the car.

We decided to spend an extra night at the inn so we could have more time with our friends. We grocery shopped together and then went to their house for play and dinner. They have a cow who gave birth 5 days ago to the sweetest calf, 3 goats, a pig fat pig, chickens, and parakeets. They live right next door to Kenneth's parents and 2 houses from his sister. It was so fun to see how Ticos live and share their family life. Lucas and Nallely built a fantastic farm with blocks and toy animals while Jeremy was busy with some Legos that Lucas shared with him from his stash. Nallely taught me a dance called the Bachata, and we all boogied in the living room. Nallely also painted our toe and fingernails in pink and green with sparkles (Lucas and me). You should have seen Nallely's face when Lucas said he wanted his nails painted, too. She got so serious and told me, "No, Maria Elena. Es solo para las chicas." (It's only for girls.) After their initial shock they thought it was hilarious.

We were so sad to leave them. It has certainly got us already thinking about coming back to Costa Rica soon! Especially with an invitation from Melissa and Kenneth to stay with them. They touched our hearts.

Let's see..what else...we went on a raft trip on the Tenorio River. It was really hot, the river dirty and not all that picturesque. Not many animals though Lucas finally got to see the long-awaited crocodile he has been wanting to see. It was a big one sunning itself on the bank of the river.

Another day we drove to a lovely small town called El Castillo on the south side of the lake to a butterfly sanctuary and rainforest restoration project. The area around El Castillo was like Shangra-la. I would go back there in a heart beat. We had an up close encounter with a family of howler monkeys and many, many leaf cutter ants...they are like a green parade through the forest. Truly amazing. Our favorite wildlife encounters have been with the coatis - they are related to raccoons. They have the sweetest faces. They are quite tame so as you stop the car to look at them they come right over hoping to be fed. They are really appealing.

It has been incredibly windy and rainy the past few days. The noise from the rain and wind in the early morning is intense. Everything is quite damp and refuses to dry! The wind did not let up today as we left Nuevo Arenal for Monteverde. I think it's even stronger today - gusting around 60 mph! We had a hard time opening the car door when we stopped for a roadside pee! We have no found ourselves in the middle of nowhere! We have rented a house on a coffee farm about 20 minutes from Monteverde. It's a large drafty wood and stone house. Lucas is thrilled to explore all the nooks and crannies while Matt and I are feeling quite lonely and isolated...especially after all the connected time with our friends. The wind exacerbates our feeling of isolation - it's so loud and makes it hard to be outside to get a sense of where we are. We will head into the town of Santa Elena tomorrow (the town that's the jumping off spot for all activities Monteverde) and see what we can see. For now, Lucas is watching a Pippi Longstocking video we found here at the house, Matt is napping and I am catching up on blogging.

Libby arrives on Sunday for a week. We will pick her up in the beach town of Jaco on our way south to the central pacific town of Uvita. We can't wait for her to come! Lucas is already sad that she isn't staying for TWO weeks!

Wait! How could I forget the most bizarre activity we've done yet! About 13 km from our inn at Lago Arenal is a hotel called Los Heroes (look it up). It looks like a swiss village. There is a main chalet, dairy farm, a chapel on the hill side and at the top of the hill is a restaurant called the Rondorama because it revolves (like the top of the Space Needle). The most bizarre part is that you take a small TRAIN from the "station" at the chalet 2 miles up the hill to the Rondorama. There are bridges and tunnels along the way leading to an under ground station at the restaurant. It was fun and hilarious and very strange! The last thing I expected to find in the middle of Costa Rica! It was especially funny because it was the 3 of us and a family of 10 Mexican tourists on vacation. It was all quite hilarious.

OK, off to face the wind and explore a bit outside. We'll see how long we can last...

Lucas and I are back now. We made it all of 20 minutes! I've never been in weather like this. Ever. Blue, blue sky, sideways rain, wind so strong it stops you in your tracks. And, the most beautiful, big, amazing rainbow I've ever seen in my entire life! It starts in the valley below the house, reaches for the sky and arches over again. It is huge! The moon is at the top. I said to Lucas, "Look, la luna and a rainbow!" And he said, "They must be friends." Gotta love that! Stella, the farm German Shepard tagged along on our adventure as we attempted to go down the rutted "road" towards the coffee farms. She seemed happy for the company and bummed that we turned back so soon! We are now back in the house, wet-headed and windblown. What sort of crazy place have we found ourselves in...