Through all of this, though, I am 100 percent convinced that God has hit the reset button on our lives for His glory. The thing that keeps boggling my mind is that this is not just the United States. This is the WHOLE world. The WHOLE world is sequestered in quarantine with the people they love the most. The WHOLE world has more time to just sit, BE STILL and KNOW. I even read that in Costa Rica they are seeing even more animals because things are slower (which is saying something because Tico Time is slow anyway). So, you know, I'm thankful for all of that. I'm thankful that people in Italy are singing with each other from their balconies. I'm thankful that choirs are joining each other via Zoom and singing His praises. People are praying. Because "It is written: "'As surely as I live' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.'" He's working through every. single. detail of this.
I'm so extremely thankful that we were able to go to Costa Rica. I've been wanting to go back since we left the last time, eight years ago. I could not wait to take Reece! We made so many amazing memories, and it is no doubt my favorite place on earth! I'm pretty sure it's what Heaven will look like with mountains, ocean, breathtaking plant life, and animals everywhere! Put a few streets of gold in there, and I know it just HAS to look like Costa Rica! I took almost 600 pictures while we were there, and I obviously can't upload all of them here. But, it's like one of our tour guides said "The best pictures are the ones you take in your mind." I hope that Reece never forgets this trip! I really don't think he will!
Our first flight left New Orleans at 5:09 a.m. Breakfast for Reece and Nick were Cafe Du Monde beignets. There might have been a little powdered sugar on this black hoodie by the end of the meal.
After we arrived in San Jose, we had a 3.5 hour (insane) shuttle drive to our resort in Manuel Antonio.
When Nick and I came by ourselves, we took a 30 minute puddle jumper plane ride to M.A. We weren't comfortable doing that with Reece, but I'm almost wondering if we would have been safer. lol. Our driver would just stop in the middle of the road if he saw someone he knew in car coming toward us. They'd chat a bit, and then we'd be on our way again. There were a lot of flashing lights, honking horns, passing, and apparently stop signs are only suggestions. About halfway, he asked if we needed to stop and get some food. We were so tired and hungry by this point, that we were all like "YES!! PLEASE!" So, he pulled in at this little roadside restaurant next to a river full of crocodiles. We later learned that a man from Nicaragua had had a little too much to drink and jumped in one time. They found his head a week later. These were some BIG crocodiles. We didn't linger on the bridge overlooking them for long.
Our meal was delicious and was just what we needed to keep us going. Fresh sea bass topped with shrimp with the typical Costa Rican rice and beans on the side. This little kitty really was hoping we would drop a shrimp or two.
When we finally made it to Parador Resort, they told us we had been upgraded to a suite. It turned out to be a huge blessing as it was a suite with an accessible bathroom for Reece! He was greeted with this cute little baby sloth that we later learned was Flash, the resident sloth on property.
The real Flash below
Here are some pictures from around the resort.
Bananas
Some type of parakeet
View from our room
Hotel Parador Resort and Spa
This white hawk was all over the property. You could either hear or see him all day every day.
Unfortunately, I am no photographer so I know nothing about lighting. This was a pair of macaws I tried to capture as they flew by our room.
On our way to zipline!
Reece was a bit nervous about this. But, after the first line, he was ALL in!!!
Nick and I zipped at this same location eight years ago. It was a little more physical than we remembered and some of it was tough for Reece. Rainforest humidity, uneven surfaces, inclines, and gear gave him a workout, but he did it! The picture below is one of the swinging bridges. You can't tell it from the picture, but it is going uphill and the slats are about 5-6 inches apart. When we saw it, Nick and I exchanged looks that said "Are we going to be able to make it through this one with him?" It definitely took us a while, but you can tell how amazing the guides were with helping him.
I'm not going to lie. As excited as I was to share this with Reece, it was also a bit nerve wracking to watch my baby step off the side of a tree and soar over the top of the rainforest by himself. Of course, he couldn't hold on like typical, so he did it his way. Our guide kept saying "He's strong to hold himself like that." You can see the pride in his face here, and I love it!
The last part was rappelling down a tree. I think it was the most intimidating for Reece because you jump off backwards. His eyes as he jumped were priceless!
Here are some pictures of plant life
One of our amazing zip-line guides, Kenneth.
Pool time! There was memory made here as a troop of monkeys came swinging by. Reece said it was one of the coolest things he's ever seen in his life.
Dinner at Gabriella's... We met the owner who happened to be dining there that night. He was from Greenville, MS. Small world!
Walking back to our room at the resort
Our second day, we went back to MidWorld for a 2 hour ATV tour through the rainforest. Nick and I also did this last time we were here, but it was rainy season so we were unable to hike down to the waterfall then. Again, we weren't prepared with this being something so physical, and the hike was difficult for Reece. BUT, he did it and never complained. When we finally made it to the waterfall, we weren't sure we were going to get him out because he was loving it so much! Again, our guide was amazing and helped us with Reece every step of the way.
Plantains
Peppers
Fuchsia
These cows weren't too excited with us making them move out of the way.
Mono titi monkeys... They just recently went from critically endangered to endangered. Manuel Antonio is the only place in the world where you can find them.
Living his best life
This iguana was chomping on some cilantro.
Diego was our ATV guide. We went back in our pictures from 2012, and he was mine and Nick's zipline guide then! Pretty cool!!
One of the coolest places to eat in Manuel Antonio. They have amazing food and a gorgeous view, especially for sunset.
This was my dessert, Monkey Business, at Ronny's Place. Banana fried in rice paper on top of Nutella with a serving of coconut ice cream on the side. Delish!!
The next day was probably my favorite. We went on a walking tour of Manuel Antonio National Park. Most of the trail was wheelchair friendly, but there were a couple of instances where members of our group helped carry the chair and Reece had to walk the terrain. Again, he was a trooper with no complaints. And, we highly recommend the Fold and Go Wheelchair! If it survived that, it will survive pretty much anything!
Our guide, Elias, was perfect for Reece. In a group of about 10, he spoke educational information directly to Reece, often repeating it again for him. He also adjusted the scope down every time he spotted something to make sure Reece was able to see the wildlife just like everyone else. Just so heartwarming.
This was a rainbow grasshopper. It is the size of 1/2 of a thumbnail. Elias was able to spot it based upon the holes in the leaves of the tree it likes to eat.
The sloth above is a three toed sloth, and this was taken thought Elias' scope. The one below is a two toed sloth that was chilling next to the ocean. It was also taken through the scope.
If you look closely below, you can see the red legs of a Halloween crab.
Ok... So here are the white faced capuchin monkeys, AKA the mafia monkeys. They are pretty funny! They really like to steal, especially food. One of them walked on the rail behind Nick and unzipped our backpack. There wasn't any food, so he moved on. One came eye to eye with me, about 6 inches from my face. I got kinda freaked and broke eye contact with him, so he jumped over behind me. Reece was like "Mom, that was close! He looked mad at you!" He did!
We stopped at one of the beaches for an hour to swim and hang out. The monkey mafia was there too. One had stolen a granola bar, two were in the public shower having a Discovery channel moment, and then the little guy below swiped some chips. He looked disappointed when he figured out the bag wasn't very full. Hahaha!
Reece had no idea this capuchin was right beside him while he was looking at the sloth.
We were able to see more mono titi monkeys, or squirrel monkeys here as well.
One of the most exciting moments in the park was seeing and hearing the howler monkeys. They were hard to get pictures of because they were really high up in the trees, but there are two in the picture below. However, you knew they were there when they started howling. We were witnesses to some of the capuchins trying to take the howler's babies. It was a full on fight. If you did not know it was a howler monkey, you would think it was a lion. Their call can travel two miles, and they were very upset with the capuchins. Reece's eyes were as wide as saucers. It was definitely like something you sit at home and watch on tv. The morning we left to come home, we could hear howlers outside our room.
Reece and his Tico friend and guide, Elias
Our last day there we scheduled a sunset catamaran cruise, so we spent the first part of the day exploring the trail at the resort. The three of us went first, and I spotted the last animal I had been looking for... a toucan!! He was right at the window of a room at the resort.
Later, when I came back to do some exploring on my own, there were two!
We also saw this unusual lizard. It's kind of hard to see because it blends in with the ground, but it's almost flat!
Yes, I stopped and sat here for a while.
The three of us encountered some titi monkeys! This little guy was so close I could have touched him. They are so adorable!
This big guy blends in with this concrete post right beside the pool. Nick was a little freaked by him.
This is one of the overlook points on the trail.
The picture below is a second overlook point I found. It really does take your breath away.
Around 1:00, we headed for our catamaran tour. I think this was the least favorite for us. I would have preferred less people and no loud music. It took away from the beauty of what you were looking at to me. We did all agree that it was really cool to see the terrain from a different angle. The waves hitting the large rock formations almost didn't look real. We did catch a quick glimpse of a sea turtle close to the rocks too.
Nick was the most adventurous and jumped off of the top of the catamaran at our swimming/snorkeling stop. Had the coronavirus not been increasing, I would have loved to snorkel. I just couldn't put my mouth on the equipment this time though. Germs were weighing on my mind too heavily. Reece and I did get in and float though. I wasn't really relaxed, however. I was a nervous wreck he was going to float away from me, and I stink at swimming. Plus, my husband was busy jumping off the top of the boat to save us. lol. But, we survived, and Reece smiled a lot.
The picture above was sunset on the catamaran. The picture below was the marina when we docked and got off of the boat. None of these pictures were altered or filtered. Everything is literally that beautiful.
So, after leaving Manuel Antonio around 5 a.m., we arrived really early at the airport in San Jose. We all needed to caffeinate up for what awaited us at home.
So, today is 14 days from when we last were in an airport/airplane. We were in three airports that last day, and things were starting to ramp up. I'm thankful the Lord allowed our trip like He did. I got to spend time in my favorite place with my favorite people, and we made lifetime memories! It blessed my socks off, and I'm already planning when we will go back. I've spent a lot of time outdoors because the weather has been nice here, and we spent most of our time there outdoors. I miss it! lol. Reece and I have been doing school outside too. Well, he saw wasps today, so that may have ended our alfresco schooling. Ha!
Keep on keeping on, world! The Lord is listening and He is faithful! Let's take the time to be still. He's teaching us something... that He's in control and that He's the only one we ever need to turn to!
With love,
Beth
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