Pura vida!

Hot springs at Arenal Paraiso. Ahhh....

I just returned from my belated honeymoon-postbar trip to Costa Rica and it was fun, fun, fun! The country is lush during rainy season. K planned our trip beautifully - from the mountains to the beach, back to the mountains, then a last stop on the coast again. The highlights of our trip: lots of hiking, unpaved roads (thank goodness for 4WD!), beautiful beaches, ziplining/tarzan swing, waterfall rappelling, outrigger paddling, snorkeling (among other things, we saw a shark, sting rays, mating turtles and a couple of blowfishes), dipping in the hot spring pools in the rain, volcano eruption sightings, and last but not least, highway robbery (had to pay a cop $150 for four tickets - (i) passing in a no-pass zone (ii) speeding (iii) failing to stop and (iv) evading an officer.) I fought the law, but the law won... And luckily for me, I got food poisoning on the very last day we were there - K and I think it was the jugo de guanabana con leche drink that I had. Ironically, this was my all-time fave drink in Costa Rica (can I just add how much I enjoyed Coca Cola Light there? Much tastier than Diet Coke here in the States...)

The view from our room at Hotel Sugar Beach

Zip-lining in Monteverde

Canyoning or waterfall rappelling (yup, that's me)

Our view from our room in Manuel Antonio.
K and I spent an entire day reading and doing sudoku puzzles on this balcony.
How can anyone NOT want to be lazy here?

The scariest thing we did: waterfall rappelling. At the mid-point of a 100+ foot waterfall, I had so much water pounding into my face that I seriously thought I was going to die. A split second after the occurrence of such a thought, I firmly told myself that I was the only person to save myself and I needed to climb down the waterfall! Second scariest: the tarzan swing (not pictured above.) During our ziplining tour, we climbed up a series of ladders, hooked ourselves onto a rope and were pushed off a platform, swinging Tarzan-style. I couldn't stop screaming.

Culinary thoughts: If any of you decide to stay in Monteverde, I highly recommend Sofia, a "Latin-fusion" restaurant. Kanji and I had probably one of the best steaks there - the grilled tenderloin. Its sister restaurant located nearby, La Chimera, serves delicious tapas and drinks, notably the passion fruit caipirinha. If you visit Manuel Antonio, do not eat at Coconuts - the worst sushi we ever had in our lives, although a particular sushi spot here in San Diego may compete for that position.