Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

We decided that we needed to get out of the city for a couple of days to experience a little more of Costa Rica. So, we headed out to the Pacific Ocean to the towns of Quepos and Manuel Antonio. It was a pretty warm day in the van. We went with Katie Carter (missionary associate headed to El Salvador) and her mom (visiting from Tennessee). Roxana & Jose Antonio drove us - they are such a wonderful couple!

Our first stop along the way was at a bridge. Living in the water under this bridge are quite a few crocodiles. The kids loved seeing them!

Then we drove for a few more hours until we finally arrived at the beach. We headed immediately down to the water! The kids started by digging in the sand for an hour. Then they got brave and went with us to jump over the waves.

Manuel Antonio is known for monkeys. We never did see any monkeys (because we didn't pay to go on a tour). But they had statues all over of monkeys. Here is a picture that someone else took of a monkey in Manuel Antonio Park.

At our hotel, there were some lizards and many birds. We were surrounded by a little jungle of our own. There was a swimming pool that Katie & her mom, Karen, helped us swim in. It was not very kid friendly and we forgot our inflatibles. There was also a small restaurant that we had dinner at. The kids ate cheese pizza (a favorite)!

Oh yeah... and after being there for a few hours, Heather fell while carrying Aliana. Heather sprained her ankle and split her knee open. She received four stiches. Aliana was fine with a small scrap on one knee. We got to know a clinic in Quepos!

Downtown San José, Costa Rica

The other day we had an chance to head downtown to get an idea of the city that we live in. We are praying that God will move here in Costa Rica while we are here.
This sculpture is called Quetzalcoatl. (It's a snake in the form of a pile of poop - look it up... that's really how the artist sculpted it).

This left picture is a coffee shop inside a busy market. And the right picture is a normal carneria. This is a picture of some pork spine.

And below is a picture of some workers at the ice cream shop POPS and a picture of the national theater.





This is one of the many beggars seen downtown. The locals will ask you NOT to give them money, since that is just empowering them to continue begging.


This is a very famous scultpure of a fat lady. While we were here, two little boys ran up and hugged her. Then they went around to the back side and stuck their faces between her cheeks. It was hilarious! I'm sure it was culturally relevant (like for good luck or something)!




There are nut shops that make peanut butter, among other things.

This wagon is traditionally decorated (you can click on it to see it better); normally they would pull this in parades with coffee beans in them.









And lastly, just a nice picture of what the currency (the colon) looks like here in Costa Rica.

Dish Soap & Our Walk Each Morning

So, one of the first things that we noticed in our apartment was the dish soap. It looks like a paste; it is meant to use whether you have warm water or cold water. This paste is AMAZING - it really works well! We would have loved to have this in the U.S. too!











Our walk to school is fairly long (about a mile we think), but all downhill for the most part.











We start by leaving our house, with Aliana and Jonny in tow (Nathanael takes a bus to school). We walk toward a beautiful fountain, but turn before we get there (behind the fountain is the San Pedro Mall). We cross a pretty busy street and head into a few neighborhoods.

Sometimes the kids get tired of walking, but thankfully CINCEL gave us an umbrella stroller! Now one kid can ride once each direction! After classes, we look up to see this gray building. Our apartment is on the other side of this building. The way home is mostly uphill and pretty steep, especially at the end.

Our first week in Costa Rica

We got to Costa Rica on Wednesday after leaving on a plane Tuesday night at 11:50 pm. We got to the airport about 7:30 pm and the kids were up until well into the flight. It was a very long day.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country! We are loving the people here (Ticos); they are very kind and willing to help you learn Spanish. If you come sometime, make sure that you don't go out alone at night though, especially here in San Jose.

We are renting a furnished apartment in San Pedro (a section of the city of San Jose). Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what it looks like (although I wished I had cleaned it first). These first 3 pictures is what Aliana and Jonny's room looks like.

Two pictures of our room...

Our laundry room is partially open air (a window that does not close).

Nate's room is through the laundry room - He even has his own bathroom (which I don't think that he plans to ever use).

Here is what our front door/ parlor area looks like....

And our living room.

Our kitchen/dining room/breakfast nook...

And last but not least - the bathroom...

In case you were wondering, YES that is a Bidet. If you are not sure what that is... go look it up.

Thank you for touring our little apartment with us! :-)