It is hard to believe it's already April 23 and we've been back in northern Michigan for well over a week. The demands of a busy modern life returned relentlessly, if not revengefully, and it's only today that I can find a few moments to write about those pervasive images of Costa Rica that continue to run through my head and that reassure me that, indeed, Glen and the boys and I took this most amazing trip together.
Here are a few of those images:
Leonard, our first morning in the country, shouting "Hola! Hola! Hola!" with joy from the swimming pool. I was mesmerized by the heat - already at 7:00 a.m., it was blazing hot in the sun!
The rest of the Chown family stumbling through our first attempts to order a meal or greet someone in Spanish. We were game but timid. What a contrast to the end of our trip!
Green and yellow parrots flying freely overhead during our first swim.
EARTH University and meeting students from all over Central and South American.
Kristine, Eduardo, Coco, Iris, Ana, Eric, Lauren, and so many other friends who took an interest in us at EARTH! The warm, beautiful smiles and helpfulness of the Costa Rican people. The amusement on their faces as we practiced our Spanish. Their appreciativeness at our efforts.
Iguanas, iguanas, iguanas!
The Costa Rican National Anthem, played each morning at school, and the look on William's and Martin's faces as they stood listening.
Seeing my boys play soccer with Costa Rican kids. The moves were all the language anyone needed, and respect was earned on both sides.
Tino, in the Manzanillo National Forest on the Caribbean, close to the Panama border. We had many fabulous guides, but he was tops. From cacao beans to pipas to eyelash vipers to golden orb spiders to keel-billed toucans, he showed us the beauty and mystery of the Costa Rican rainforest.
Palm-lined Punta Uva Beach and those endless Caribbean rollers.
Sunscreen at dawn.
Leonard and I as target practice for monkeys in the trees!
Strawberry poison dart frogs - I can never get enough!
Learning about sea turtles at Tortuguero National Park.
Horses and cattle wandering down the road, grazing where they pleased.
Snorkeling in the Pacific and William losing a tooth!
Tide pools and happy kids.
Misguided adventures on unbelievably bad roads, all the while listening to Ziggy Marley sing "One Bright Day."
Waterfalls, fumeroles, and bubbling mud pots at Volcano Rincon.
Meeting the Wilsons at Mystica and adventuring together to Volcano Arenal, Monteverde, Charlie's Jungle House on the Pacific, and to the Osa Peninsula!
Steep hills of coffee.
Quetzals, cloud forests, and the Continental Divide!
Very hot hot springs!
Boogie-boarding!
Thanks to Martin, the red-eyed tree frog...finally!
Our friendly neighborhood boa constrictor.
Hermit crabs!
Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp and scarlet macaws everywhere! Worldclass dining and stumbling along the beach to our small, not-so-confidence-inspiring airplanes our last morning, nearly blinded by stinging sweat and steaming heat!
Nightly journals at dinnertime.
Ultimately, just being together, day after day and week after week. We have very few regrets about what we didn't do in our time in Costa Rica, but we are sorry our timing was off so that we weren't able to witness sea turtles laying their eggs. Some August or September, we would like to return to this small and supremely important region to witness this miracle. Until then, Costa Rica...pura vida and muchas gracias!
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