Exploring Costa Rica with Dede & Guy

Last week, Graham's Aunt Dede and Uncle Guy (Claire's grandparents) came to visit. We had an amazing time with them, and now every day Claire asks us if this is the day Grandma and Grandpa are coming back. Time is a tough concept for little ones.

We wanted to go to Manuel Antonio National Park, so drove out and stayed in the town of Quepos at the La Foresta Nature Resort. The resort had a large nature trail through the rainforest that spanned much of the grounds, so we enjoyed trekking through the rainforest.

Claire and Grandpa Guy in the rainforest

A howler monkey (conga) on the grounds of our hotel

As always, Claire's favorite part was the pool, and she even made a friend.

Claire with her new friend Kiara, who was 2 1/2 and the same size as Claire

Our hotel recommended the Titi Canopy Tour (which conveniently finishes at the hotel itself), so Dede, Graham, and I gave that a try. Guy wasn't too interested so was kind enough to stay with Claire so we could go. It would've been a bit much for her. The tour consisted of 13 zip lines through the rainforest canopy and lasted about 2 hours. We all had a marvelous time and agreed that we would do it again. Some pictures from our adventure:

Dede and Graham geared up and ready to go

Me zipping through the trees

Adventure Graham on the zip line

Dede soaring through the canopy (She did GREAT!)

Claire dancing with Grandma and Grandpa - nothing could be more fun!

We went to Manuel Antonio National Park our last day, and saw a ton of wildlife: howler and white-faced monkeys, sloths, toucans, skinks, chameleons, a capybara, and even a little snake. We hiked in to Playa Espadilla Sur where Claire immediately wanted to play in the sand. The scenery was just beautiful - we really enjoyed the trip. Claire is already saying she wants to go back to Manuel Antonio.

A sloth hanging out in the trees

Happy girl playing in the sand - she didn't want anything to do with the ocean

Dede, Guy, and I did a little exploring of downtown San José (Graham needed to work and Claire was napping) and went to the Jade Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, and the National Theatre of Costa Rica. Unfortunately we didn't get to do the full tour of the theatre as we ran out of time, but it looks spectacular so we'll have to go back.

Teatro Nacional

Our last excursion was a day trip to Volcàn Poàs, which is only about an hour north of where we live. People actually live on the slopes of Poàs, and we looked down into the crater. The clouds rolled in ten minutes after we arrived, so we counted ourselves extremely lucky to have such a clear view.

The main crater

We hiked a little trail into Laguna Botos (Botos Lagoon) and encountered another spectacular view. We also saw a very friendly Poàs Green-Yellow Squirrel - it's apparently only found at the volcano.

 Claire and I hiking to the Lagoon in the light of God (sun rays through the trees) 

Laguna Botos

For more pictures of our fun week visit: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150219125171367.312643.503061366&l=e71f2d06ae (You can see the pictures even if you're not on Facebook.)

The summary in Spanish (feeling rusty with no class this week):

Pasada semana, Tía Dede y Tío Guy de Graham nos visitamos. Nosotros teníamos mucha diversión con ellos y cada día, Claire preguntaba cuando Abuelita y Abuelito regresaremos. 

Nosotros explorábamos diferentes lugares en Costa Rica con ellos. En Quepos, Dede, Graham, y yo tomamos el Titi Canopy Tour. Fue muy divertido.

En el Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, nosotros vimos muchos animales: monos (congas y caras blancas), perezosos, tucanes, escincos, camaleones, un carpincho, y aún un serpiente pequeño. A Playa Espadilla Sur, Claire quería jugar en la arena. El parque era muy hermoso.

Dede, Guy, y yo exploramos en el centro de la ciudad de San José. Nosotros visitamos el Museo de Jade, el Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo, y el Teatro Nacional. 

Finalmente, nosotros fuimos Volcán Poás y caminamos a la Laguna Botos. La vista era espectacular.