Last summer we didn't get to travel like we normally do because Sadie had her first year of club soccer & qualifying tournaments, but this year her coach gave them a few weeks off late June/early July so we took advantage & booked a trip for the 4 of us to Costa Rica! We have always wanted to travel there but we were waiting until the girls were older because we heard there was a lot to do there & we wanted to make sure the girls were old enough to do everything.
We flew out after the 4th of July holiday & had a quick layover in Houston:
The girls played in their play area:
And then we boarded for our next flight to Liberia! We were having a great day & then half way there, while over the ocean, they had a medical concern on the plane, called for a doctor or nurse on board & before we knew it, they told us we had to turn around & head back to Houston:
We were pretty bummed! Of course when we got to Houston, they made us de-plane, the flight crew couldn't fly anymore so we had to switch gates, wait for a new plane & a new flight crew. One of the things we have learned the past few years is that there are not a lot of gluten free options in airports. You can find a few gf snacks at the stores, but most of the restaurants cannot accommodate it. BUT somehow we found a Chick Fil A! So we ordered lunch, found a spot to sit & had a picnic while we killed time:
Finally, we boarded a new flight & safely made it to Costa Rica, but we were about 6 hours behind schedule. We were greeted with a beautiful rainbow as we flew in! I don't know if I have ever seen a rainbow from an airplane window before?!
Luckily we didn't have anything planned the first day, but we were hoping to arrive that afternoon because it was a 2 1/2 hour drive to our resort so we were hoping to see the country during the day. Instead we arrived after dark so it was a late night with tired girls & we didn't get to see much of anything:
The next morning we woke up though & were excited to find beautiful weather with a spectacular view of the arenal volcano:
That picture was from our front porch. We got up & walked the property so we could see everything during the day. Everything was so green & tropical with beautiful foliage everywhere:
I couldn't help myself - I took pictures of everything! The girls found the hammocks:
we had brunch & then we checked out the pools. The resort is so close to the volcano that all of their swimming pools are actually hot springs made with limestone floors. The temperatures range from 93 - 104 degrees & they felt amazing!
I couldn't wait to try them out but first, we had an excursion planned! The girls have always wanted to go horse back riding, so we thought we would surprise them & take them for our first adventure there. We drove from our resort to La Fortuna, where we met our guide. We saddled up & made the 1 hour trek via horseback up the mountain towards the La Fortuna Waterfall:
When we got to the top, we left our horses, changed into our bathing suits & then we had to hike in about 20 minutes to the waterfall. When we got up there, it was cloudy, sprinkling & we were in a cloud:
Eventually we made it to a river & we had to cross the river to get to the waterfall:
Finally, we made it to the waterfall & it was beautiful! Probably one of the best waterfalls we have ever seen:
Our guide, Cell, brought his nephew with us. He was Sophie's age but he didn't speak any English, but that didn't stop him from swimming & having with the girls:
We walked around the waterall & swam in the shallow water, but we couldn't get too close because it is so powerfull, it isn't safe. But we still enjoyed seeing it & hearing it!
Eventually we had to swim across the river again & make the hike back out to our horses. By the time we got back, the clouds had cleared & we had a gorgeous ride back down the mountain:
Our horses names were Palamino (Bryan), Moreno (Shaye), Fragile (Sadie) & Hidalgo (Sophie). Our guide was Cell & his nephew was Joseph:
They have a guide dog that also came along with us the entire trip - while horseback riding, hiking & swimming - his name was Jupiter! He took a nap while we swam:
We didn't see many animals on this trip, but we did see a snake - he was bright yellow & he was a tiny little thing, but apparently super poisonous:
We were gone about 4-5 hours then we headed back to the resort. Instead of cleaning up & going out for dinner, we decided to spend the evening at our resort enjoying the hot springs, which was an excellent idea! It sprinkled most of the night & it was cooler but the water felt amazing! They had swim up bars everywhere, so we actually ordered edamame, fried rice & sushi and we ate dinner poolside:
They even had gluten free soy sauce!
Later in the evening, we tried their coconut flan & their chocolate panna cotta for dessert - both also gluten free:
Not a bad way to end our first day!
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