Headed to LAX for an early morning flight to Costa Rica!
Screen time overload.
Todd had no trouble falling asleep. 😂
Then we had a LONG van ride to our final destination via a bumpy dirt road.
We finally arrived to our hotel in Nosara, Olas Verdes!
Just in time for dinner at the hotel restaurant, el Manglar.
Thatcher really enjoyed his quesadilla. 😂
Up early the next day to go out and explore.
Our hotel had a one minute walk through the jungle to get to the beach.
Land crabs!
Amazing breakfast!
Rented boards.
And then back through the jungle to the ocean.
It was pretty hilly, bumpy and hot for a bike ride but we attempted it.
Night swim.
Fanta was a big hit with Thatcher.
The french fries were SO good!
A good sign when there is a butterfly on your saddle.
All set for horseback riding with Horse Jungle for a three-hour ride through the Guanacaste jungle to the white sand Barigona beach.
The company is run by two french women who spoke mostly french to us and to the horses. They had a certain way of saying the horses names that had us all giggling.
Samantha's horse was Centenario also known as "San-Tee"
Thatcher's horse was Jungle pronounced "Jean-Gail"
Todd's horse was Mustache or "Moo-stache"
And this is my horse, Playboy, said in a french accent as if he was ALWAYS in trouble. I was also told that Playboy had to always be in the back which was the first sign that I had the horse who would cause the most havoc.
Playboy had some sweet hair though.
It was a little nerve-wracking because the horses would just go through trees so you had to be ready to control the branches so they didn't knock you off the horse or do some damage to your face.
Hard to see but that tree was full of monkeys!
Up ahead right here was a DEEP mud river. That jeep has a snorkel on it for a reason. And as soon as the jeep kicked it into high gear to go across, all of the horses got spooked. Thatcher's horse out of no where decided to jump across it without any warning. Somehow Thatcher was able to hold on but we all shudder to think what could have happened had he not. Then my horse was not following the leader and decided to do its own thing including taking me alongside a barbed wire fence ripping my pants. I was terrified. The guide was able to come back and get me and lead Playboy out of the mud but after that I was for sure very uneasy and the horse could sense it.
Just beyond the mud you came out at the most beautiful white sand beach.
We stopped here to give the horses a break. Playboy was filthy and mad at me.
I was not looking forward to getting back on Playboy.
Playboy wouldn't line up correctly for the group pic. I knew it was going to be a long ride home.
After a handful of more scary incidents with Playboy involving more mud and water, we eventually made it back.
One and done on horseback riding for me.
French fries and no horses. Much better!
And ceviche!
Our favorite mode of transportation while we were there was via tuk-tuks which are little rickshaw taxis you could call.
We arrived to La Luna for dinner which ended up being our favorite restaurant of the trip.
The sunset was incredible during our dinner. We, along with the rest of the restaurant, got up from our tables to watch.
Off for another beach day.
Perfect waves for both the kids and Todd.
The World Cup was in full swing which was fun to watch. Costa Rica had just been eliminated prior to our arrival which was a bummer.
The forecast showed it raining every single day we were there prior to our arrival and I was worried our trip would be a real soggy one but it barely rained and when it did it was pretty magical for these California drought kids.
Gigantic burgers at Burgers and Beers.
Drinks and dessert at the The Gilded Iguana which was a hotel that our friends were arriving to the following week.
Tuk-tuk selfies were a thing for us this trip.
Not sure how or why they let four of us ride in the two-seater this particular time. 🤷♀️
More to come...
