Vacation(s)

School got out in late November and our travels began in earnest.  Please pardon the long post as we have lots to catch up on.

Jeff, Emma and Hannah went to Costa Rica during the first two weeks in December.  Aileen drove the crew to Managua from where we caught the Tica Bus to Liberia, Costa Rica.  Tica Bus was an awesome way to make the 6 hour trip.  The company runs luxury buses with air conditioning and movies.  Unfortunately the movies contained sex or violence (but never both); thet were totally inappropriate for children and most adults.  Emma was glued to a book most of the trip but I had to spent a great deal of energy distracting Hannah from the screen.

Once we got off the bus it was clear we were not in Nicaragua anymore.  Costa Rica is a pretty developed country - with all the corresponding pluses and minuses.  Liberia is full of strip malls and American fast food joints so we immediately ran into one for lunch.  I guess strip malls count as a minus but it was nice to have something different for a change.  We then jumped into a cab and went to a beach called Playa Hermosa.  We spent a few great days at this beach and had the opportunity to go snorkeling and eat fresh oysters that we gathered ourselves.

Hannah rocking at the food court

Emma searching for more oysters

We then went to the mountain community of Monteverde.  This area was settled by Quakers in the 1950s and is now a very interesting, progressive place.  There are farms, a cheese factory, a Friends school and many nature reserves to visit.  We also went to a frog museum, bat exhibit and butterfly sanctuary.  The girls were most impressed by the Children's Eternal Rainforest, a reserve purchased by a fourth grade class from Sweden and now supported by young people from around the world.  Next we visited Arenal, one of the most active volcanoes in the world.  We stayed at a hotel that was very close to the volcano and expected to see and hear lots of activity.  Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and Arenal had been quiet for a few months.  We still enjoyed our stay and had a great time hiking, horseback riding and visiting a hot spring resort.   While in Monteverde and Arenal we identified 26 types of trees/plants, 6 insects, 7 mammals and 27 birds including a Quetzal.  We also saw dozens of bats, frogs and butterflies in various exhibits.

 

Quetzal

Relaxing at the hot spring and bar

We then headed back to Liberia and learned that there was much more than strip malls in this nice little town.  The next morning we left for Nicaragua.  Since Liberia is not a main stop, we had to wait on the highway to flag down the Tica Bus.  We were given lots of conflicting information as to when it would arrive and ended up waiting for two hours. At least we got on the bus, and much to our surprise they were expecting us!  Unfortunately Aileen's truck broke down on the way to meet us in Managua and though she finally got there, it was a fiasco. We ended up staying the night in Managua and had to bus it back to Matagalpa.  Despite these transportation hassles, it was a great trip to Costa Rica.  It was also fattening and expensive.  The only thing I did not like is that most everyone who works in tourism speaks English.  Some of the folks we encountered were happy to let the girls practice Spanish but most wanted to show off their language skills.  On a related note, Costa Ricans can be a bit arrogant, especially when it comes to Nicaragua; I often found myself defending the honor of our adopted country.

Emma enjoying the diverse cuisine

Hannah showing that she lost her second tooth in Costa Rica

Soon after we returned from Costa Rica, we were visited by our good friends Jason Alberston and his son Elias.  We spent the first five days of their trip kicking around San Ramon.  We visited Matagalpa, toured some local farms and went to a chocolate factory.  The highlight was Emma and Hannah's birthday fiesta attended by their friends.  Jason was a huge help and it was great to have Elias there.  We then spent the next six days travelling around Nicaragua.  We went to the beaches near Leon where we took a boat trip in a mangrove forest full of crocodiles.  Next we toured the City of Leon and found a restaurant that served shwarma!  The next three days were spent in Granada.  We took side trips to: Masaya volcano where we toured some caves; Mombacho volcano where we did a zip line; and Laguna de Apoyo where the kids got to take flying leaps off a dock into crystal clear water.

Birthday dancing

Old friends in a new place

Mangrove tour

Masaya National Park

Team zip line

It was wonderful spending the holidays with old friends. They left on 12/31 and on the way back to San Ramon we got some cool fireworks to celebrate the New Year with some of our new friends.

A few days later Jeff, Emma and Hannah went to Playa Gigante in southwestern Nicaragua for a week.  The girls attended Spanish school in the mornings and Jeff studied a hammock.  In the afternoon we enjoyed the amazing beaches and also took a fishing trip.  Aileen joined us for the last few days and brought along our puppy Cuate who had the best vacation of his life.

The fish Hannah caught

Nobody here but us, Cuate and a few surfers

Tomorrow we are heading for the USA for a few weeks and will post about that when we return.  It was a great 2010 and we are really looking forward to what comes next!