Costa Rica - Home

 It always ends at this place - our home. We are always happy to go on our escapades and we are always happy to get back home. This is the place where we feel most secure, warm, and at ease. It is our desire to take ourselves out of our comfort zone to experience new things and live closer to the edge and to grow. We come back knowing that we have seen things that we had never seen and experienced things that we have never experienced. We also come back knowing that we know one another a little better than we did before. We bring it all back here - our home - and every day is a little sweeter for having made it through yet another Davis Family World Travels adventure.

Things we learned on this vacation:

1. Travelling internationally can be tough especially to a developing country.

2. Howling monkeys do not come out in the rain.

3. They don't use house numbers in Costa Rica.

4. If you want secluded beaches and don't want any amenities - Costa Rica is the place to be.

5. The formula for Pepsi and Coke is very different in Costa Rica - but you better get used to it because the water can't be trusted.

6. Motor bikes outnumber cars by a lot in Costa Rica.

7. If it rains all night your road will likely be washed out at some point.

8. Everything costs at least double in Costa Rica (Not just tourist areas).

9. Rice Krispies are overcooked in Costa Rica.

10. Earthquakes are frequent in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica - Horses and Buggies

 Addison and Emily love horses. We have a horse by the name Shiloh and they spend countless hours with him during the summer. Naturally they would want to ride in Costa Rica so they made plans to ride this morning through the jungle at Black Stallion.

Olivia found this lizard in the house - comes with the territory. Olivia did not go riding horses, not because she didn't want to but because she is highly allergic to horses. She was afraid to go because it takes her days, sometimes, to get over major exposures and she is unwilling to risk that on vacation - especially this close to having to travel back. Therefore, while most of the girls were horseback riding, Olivia and I made plans to take a buggy tour. I was a fun drive and we got to see three beaches

First beach Puerto Viejo

Second beach was Playa Minas (Notice the caves)

This is the entry to a resort - In the middle of nowhere right off of this dirt road - And its for sale!

Third beach: Pirate Beach (Note all of the small islands)

This is a resort right on the beach - again all alone

Costa Rica - Beautiful

 Today is a big day. Originally scheduled for Saturday and cancelled due to weather, this is the day that we planned to spend with the Black Stallion. First on the agenda is the ATV ride through some beautiful back country.

We waited our turn

Olivia made a friend at Black Stallion right away

We learned the basics

Then we were off

It is not pictured here but the road was washed out in many places and badly trenched - it made for a much more interesting ride. Olivia got stuck once and we all got wet from having to cross streams that had washed out the trails and we were muddy from - well, mud

The roads were fun and views were breathtaking 

We came out of the woods long enough to get a drink at this little town

Our guide really wanted to be sure Emily got to drive by herself so she drove the last mile and a half or so and she did a great job

Next up, the zipline

Addison shows some of the mud from the ride

We suited up

Then we were off

Next, a ride to the first line which was about a mile away. Black Stallion is over 750 Acres

Here we are at the top of the mountain and the launch point for the first line

This definitely pushed us out of our comfort zone. The first launch was hundreds of feet across a great ravine with stunning views over the mountain canopy with views of the ocean in the distance.

All of these activities were mostly for fun and to test our daring but it was not until today that I got a very different view of Costa Rica and a deep appreciation for the beauty of this slice of creation.

The final activity for the day a Black Stallion - BBQ lunch complete with music

There was still time for Addison and Emily to hit the pool and I came in later 

Monkeys everywhere even though you can't really see them in the picture

I decided we should spend a sunset in Costa Rica together tonight so I asked my best friend to join me at Portofino on the Beach

The food was quite good and view and company were exquisite.

Ice cream and Shake for desert - What a day in Costa Rica