Hiking cool!
Still fun, even after several hours on the trail.
Time for a rest break.
Lovely view of the Enchantments Range across Ingalls Creek.
J's parents enjoying the view.
Time for some lunch!
Too much snow for easy hiking.
After two nights, heading back to the car.
We had a slightly delayed family day this year, due to C's travel schedule. But that meant we were able to celebrate on a lovely warm June day with a bike ride to Matthews Beach. The waters of Lake Washington were still a little chilly for swimming, but we managed to have plenty of fun anyway.
Dad and Cara heard the ice cream truck - that's always good news!
Mom gets a taste.
This takes concentration.
The playground has fun rocks to climb on.
Made it to the top!
And she once fit in the baby swings...
Our family.
Our last stop in Costa Rica was at La Fortuna, near Arenal Volcano. We stayed in a charming B&B with small cabins in second growth jungle. Although second growth, the trees were already of an impressive height and home to a large number (and variety) of frogs. While we only saw a small number (with some local help), they made a tremendous noise at night!
Having seen the quetzal in Monteverde, we still had the tree frog and toucan to complete our Costa Rica wildlife highlights. Although we didn't manage photos of either, we saw a tree frog in the jungle by our cabin, and the toucan made a brief appearance on our last day in La Fortuna (but not close enough for a photo). A very satisfactory ending to a wonderful vacation.
Cara was impressed by the size of this leaf.
We couldn't see much of the volcano through the clouds, but it is known to be active!
A flower that caught C's eye.
The trees compare to the Pacific NW for size!
We sometimes had colorful company at breakfast.
The Hanging Bridges were a wonderful way to explore the rainforest in the Arenal region.
And this friendly cockatoo by the park entrance happily ate up guavas that Cara held out.
Our final site was the lovely La Fortuna Waterfall.
But the pool at the bottom was more of a draw for Cara.
And after 9 days of non-stop photographs - enough!
We left the (mostly) clear blue skies of the coast and headed inland, up into the famous cloud forests of Monteverde. The guide books had warned us about the constant drizzle, so we spent just a full day touring the rain forest. But with the help of a good guide we were able to see plenty of interesting creatures.
Our first wildlife sighting was this lovely snake, hanging out a few feet from the trail.
Even the puddles were pull of life, with frog eggs.
Not flowers, but very striking.
A glimpse of the famed Quetzl.
Hummingbirds at the hummingbird garden were much easier to see.
Cara checks the trail sign.
It was a muddy trail, but Cara was a good sport.
Eventually she got tired, though.
One of the great sights of Nosara is the mangrove swamp, best enjoyed by boat. On our third day we went on a kayak tour of the swamp, and were treated to a wide variety of bird life. As a break from sitting in the kayak (much appreciated by Cara), we landed on the beach side of Nosara River and crossed the dunes to the ocean. There Cara had a lovely time building sand towers and watching them be washed away.
On learning that the combination of a mid-morning low tide and low river levels made crossing the Nosara River on foot possible, we decided to return soon to this secluded beach. The following two mornings we walked, ran, played and thoroughly enjoyed the beach. A handful other tourists made it across the river and the beach was also popular with Tico fisherman, using traditional throwing nets.
The fine black sand on the beach made for fun sand castle/tower construction.
Watching the waves wash over a castle was part of the fun.
Not deep enough to swim, but the gentle surf was fun to splash in.
The pelicans grace flying along the surf line amazed us.
Cara explored the beach from all angles.
Always finding interesting things to look at.
We enjoyed the complicated grain of this piece of driftwood.
The peace and beauty of Playa Nosara.
The lodge we stayed at in Nosara, Lagarta Lodge, turned out to be ideal for our family. Our room was simple but large and very comfortable. The proprietors were extremely pleasant, dinners excellent and breakfasts heavenly. At the end of a warm day, there was nothing more delightful than sitting on the veranda overlooking the mangrove swamp and Nosara beach below, sipping an ice cold sandia juice (watermelon). Absolute heaven - we're looking forward to a return visit.
The lodge grounds include a sizable nature reserve in the mangrove swamp. We made several forays to explore the trails, learning about the native trees, birds, crabs and monkeys. Even around the lodge itself we found huge toads, geckos, a bat family, and Craig saw a large (non-poisonous snake).
Walking into the nature reserve.
A howler monkey watches us from above.
The curious juvenile.
These vultures hung out everywhere.
The local bat family.
Along the path from the beach to the lodge.
Cooling off in the pool.
Sunset from the bar.
As we searched for our next family vacation location, Costa Rica seemed to have a lot to offer. Beaches for Cara to play on, interesting hikes in cloud and rain forests and not too much driving to see it all. We started in the NW part of the country, in a lovely beach community called Nosara, 20 km down a dirt road. The actual town of Nosara is 5 km from the beaches, but a series of three beaches support a range of lodging and restaurants.
We spent most of our time on Playa Pelada, a lovely cresent-shaped beach. The different aspects of the beach resulted in varying sizes of waves to splash in (or dodge) and a rocky outcropping provided interesting tide-pooling. In the evening we were surprised to find the shell-strewn edges suddenly springing to life in little hermit crabs scurrying along the sand.
Playa Pelada.
A good place to run!
Play in the sand.
Find some friends.
Play with the waves.
It's catching up to us!
Sitting and enjoying eachothers company.
Not need for sand toys - sticks and shells abound.
The last comment on a beautiful day.
