Costa Rica

We enjoyed this view for 5 days walking from meetings to meals during our ministry conference east of San Jose.

Adam enjoying the cold but beautiful pool at the conference center.

Oops - sorry I forgot to rotate it - the lushness of Monteverde goes deep into your soul.

View from the top of one of the canopy tour zip lines - so relaxing!

Ok, this part was not relaxing - at the end after 20 or so zip lines, you can choose to do a tarzan swing, which includes a long drop before the rope catches you - absolutely terrifying - I'll never do it again.

Costa Rica Travel Tips:

Better late than never - we were blessed to have 4 romantic days in the lush highlands near Monteverde and Arenal and would highly recommend the trip to anyone. It's easy to take the bus from La Radial station in Alajuela near the airport up to Monteverde the day of your arrival - don't go into San Jose - for only a few bucks each. Stay at Sleepers Sleep Cheaper hostel in Monteverde owned by a precious family and only $10 per person per night with a private room with hot water shower, perfect view of the valley, a great breakfast, and unbiased travel advice. Bring your own snacks from the US to Monteverde as the tourist prices on food are outrageous. Go ahead and cough up the $40-50 per person for the Extremo Canopy Tour - it'll change your life and will only fuel your dreams of flying! Forego the horseback to Arenal as the groups we saw looked wet and uncomfortable. Do reserve a car rental in La Fortuna for the time you'll be there - they were all rented out when we arrived without a reservation and realized how helpful and cheaper a car would be than paying taxis to take us all around the spread out area. At Arenal, don't stay in croweded La Fortuna (which is on the dormant side of the volcano), and don't pay to go to the hot springs. Instead, ask any local where the free hot springs are where the locals swim in natural waterfalls - but don't take your camera as we steamed ours by accident. And make a reservation in El Castillo - if you can afford it, the Arenal Lodge of the Observatory lodge - closest to the lava - but we were happy with the cheaper cabins on the hill in El Castillo, each with a full back-wall window view of the volcano. We woke up every hour through the night and caught majestic glimpses.

Now I'm planning our January vacation to Honduras - apparently many of the same lush rainforest areas, amazing beaches/snorkeling, but add ancient ruins and all for 1/2 the price of Costa Rica. If you don't yet have an Amex frequent flyer credit card, get one! We pay for everything on the card and pay it off every month, and after two years of $55 annual fees, we're able to take all 4 of us to Honduras for only $200. Let me know of any travel tips from those who've been to Honduras - especially cheap beach spots.