The Ultimate Dog Showdown

As we enter and leave our neighborhood, there are always 4-5 dogs sitting in the road.  One of them is bold enough that if it sees your car coming, it will walk to the middle of the lane and sit down -- a showdown.  Who will flinch?  We just drive

Family Soccer League

Our house has a large, grassy, flat area -- perfect for soccer.  So we bought a soccer ball today and Savannah and I challenged Tucker and Carson to a game of soccer.  Savannah and I won 2 to 0, but the boys have requested a rematch.  (We actually played width-wise

Casa los Cielos, San Jose, Costa Rica

As January came to a close, we reluctantly had to say farewell to our home in La Fortuna.  We had enjoyed the house, the birds and animals, the amazing volcanos, national parks, and the beaches we visited.  We wished our wild pets (Duermito the sloth, Dueño the cat, and Diego

Carson at the Restaurant Alone

Carson walked alone to a nearby restaurant, ordered, and bought some fried chicken that he brought home.  The kids Spanish skills aren't great, but they are learning enough to navigate on their own.

Ice Cream at Fortuna Park

At the center of La Fortuna is the Catholic church -- Parroquia San Juan Bosco -- and Fortuna Park.  Fortuna Park is a beautiful area where people tend to relax and talk.  We were hopeful to find good ice cream at the nearby gelato shop, but the results were mixed.

Things that are different here II

* eggs are not refrigerated in stores, they are stacked in cardboard crates wrapped in saran wrap. * salt is granulated, (with fluoride and iodine) but the texture is different than in the US. * jam and mayonnaise are in bags with a tube at the top to squeeze it out of. * Peanut

Hiking Volcano Rincón de la Vieja, Costa Rica

It's just fun to say that you are on your way to hike a volcano for the day.  Volcán Rincón de la Vieja was our primary reason for going to Guanacaste -- Tamarindo Beach was a nice bonus.  We wanted the family to learn more about Volcanos and

Playing at Tamarindo Beach, Costa Rica

We went for a quick overnight trip on Friday, stopping in Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica for some lunch, then proceeding to Tamarindo Beach on the Pacific Coast.  It is only about 130 miles from our house, but takes about 4 hours to drive there due to slow, windy, steep roads

Milking Cows in our Back Yard

Behind our house is a small dairy farm (about 12 cows), so we see cows wandering around all day.  I was talking with the person that runs it (practicing Spanish, but also to meet the neighbors) and he invited us to watch while he milked the cows. So Savannah and

Locally Grown Pineapples in La Fortuna

While driving around La Fortuna and the surrounding areas, we see vendors on the street selling various fruits grown in the area.  We bought pineapples at this one.  4 pineapples / 1000 colones is about $0.41 each.  Great price and they taste delicious -- a little sweeter and less acidic

El Salto (Rope Swing) Swimming Hole Near La Fortuna

El Salto (The Rope Swing) is a nice swimming hole on the edge of La Fortuna.  After finishing school work, we tried it out today.  It had beautiful waterfalls, and as the name implies, a rope swing that would launch you about 20' into the air.  People would swing

Collared Aracari and other animals in our yard

Today while we were studying at home, we saw: 10-12 Collared Aracari: A Golden Hooded Tanager: A Spotted Woodcreeper: Plus a sloth and about 50 vultures and many other birds that we see regularly like the Cherries Tanager and Great Kiskadee and some hummingbirds that we haven't identified.

Things that are different here

Things that are different here: -when you go to a restaurant, usually you just walk in and seat yourself, the server will come to your table when he/she is ready -no tipping, cause the tip is included at every restaurant -all US branded products made here have a different

Fried Sweet Plantains - Platanos Maduros

I (Angela) love fried sweet plantains for breakfast. You can't make them with regular bananas, you have to get plantains. They're the green, larger bananas and they're at all markets here. I looked it up online, and you can fry plantains in oil, but

US Food in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Now that we have been in Costa Rica for a few weeks, the rare restaurant that serves US food is so tempting. We went to Pizza Ranch for dinner and loved the pizza.  We had breadsticks, chicken wings, and a large pizza and drinks for under $30 USD (including tip)

Swimming in the Rio Fortuna

There is a river near our house, so the kids went for an afternoon swim:

Neighborhood Animals in La Fortuna

Carson asked how he could earn some money, so I told him if he spotted a sloth near our house and showed it to the family, then he could earn a few dollars.  I didn't really expect to see any, but Carson did it. While studying in our

Lake Arenal

Lake Arenal looked so beautiful at a distance while we hiked near Arenal Volcano, so we wanted to see it up close.  Yesterday we drove to it, hoping for some amazing views.  Instead, we found really windy roads, surrounded by trees that blocked all possible views of the lake.  Well,

Kids Shopping Alone

Tucker and Savannah walked to a nearby store to buy some treats.  They brought their Colones (Costa Rican currency) and a cheat sheet with common shopping phrases in Spanish just in case.  Pretty brave of them to handle the transaction in Spanish without their parents. Tucker bought: Pinguinos (like Hostess

Rock Stacking at the Rio Machuca

We perfected our rock balancing and rock stacking skills at the Rio Machuca.

Arenal Volcano National Park

As we finished breakfast, six toucans flew up to our house.  An amazing way to start the day.  Despite the overcast, slightly rainy day, we decided to head to Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal (Arenal Volcano National Park).  Clouds are almost always covering the peak of the volcano, for a few

Church in Quesada

We drove to church this morning in a town called Quesada, which was about a 50-minute drive from our house in Los Angeles (near La Fortuna). The hermanos y hermanas (brothers and sisters) there were very welcoming, there being a group of about 5 men there at the door to

Panaderia

There are bakery sections in grocery stores here just like in the states, but they aren't self-serve. You get a tray and tongs, select your purchases and bring them to the bakery counter where an employee will bag them and tag them for you. Then, you are ready

Animals We've Seen

Here are some of the animals that we've seen so far: A Three toed Sloth A Keel Billed Toucan Some White headed capuchan Monkeys Egrets These were all taken by me, Carson Golden Hooded Tanager Cherrie's Tanager Great Kiskadee Iguanas Gecko Sparrows Pigeon Toad Vulture Chicks

Carrots

The carrots here are big and fat. Sometimes they are lighter orange in color.