Playa Ostional

When we got to the place where Olive Ridley turtles nest, the first thing I thought was, “ HOT, HOT, HOT! The sand at Playa Ostional was as hot as a stovetop. I was running toward the water to soak my feet, when I stepped on something. I stopped and picked it up. It was a dried egg the size of a bluebird egg. As we walked down the beach I noticed more of these strange eggs. Were these shrunken turtle eggs peeking out of the obsidian sand? The sand was littered with the remains of papery turtle shells.  

We walked along the beach and came to a little cove. It appeared to a be a river mouth over a sandbank, home to some mangroves and biodiversity. Blue Herons, Egrets, and beautiful, white, driftwood was piled near the water bank. The marbled, petrified, wood sat against the black sand like stars in the Costa Rican night sky. After meandering along the beach we returned to our car. We were tired, thirsty and ready for a nice cool beverage at La Tortugas, a local restaurant.

La Fiesta Nosara

We departed from our cozy suite to attend La Fiesta Nosara, a fair with a bullfighting ring in celebration of Nosara town. We knew we were in the right place when we got there! Bright lights, rickety rides, music, horses and bulls welcomed us. 

There was also a carousel, bumper cars,  a Wonder Woman ride (she had a unibrow!),  a small rollercoaster and the Black Pearl ride from Pirates of the Caribbean complete with a creepy looking Jack Sparrow. 

The first ride Ella and I went on was The Black Pearl. We were seated in the very back of the boat that began to swing up and down until we were almost upside-down. I was screaming my head off the whole time!

Next, we went on a roller coaster. You know the ones, where you sit in a tiny cart and skid over copper rails that sound like they are coated with rust.  We kept on going around corners like ping pong balls. At one point my six year old sister was asking to "make it stop!".  However, the guy running the ride did not seem to speak English.

Wonder Woman Ride

After eating a bag of cotton candy and pinchos (grilled pork skewers) we went on the Wonder Woman ride. We spun around and around faster and higher. I kept getting whacked in the face with tree branches.

Finally, after watching Lucia ride a kiddie carousel with creepy worms as horses, another turn on Pirates of the Caribbean, and watching countless giant grasshoppers wreak havoc on the local vendors, we got tired and went home.

I will always have happy memories about that night at the fiesta.

Feliz Cumpleaños Lucia

Yesterday we celebrated Lucia's 6th birthday. She had a great day at camp, they even made her a cake! More cake when we got home too. She misses her entire family. We still  had a great day!

L - LOVEABLE

U - UNIQUE

C - Compassionate

 I - ILLUMINATING

A - AMAZING in every way...

Eduardo's Finca (Eduardo's Farm)

La Fiesta, Muchas Gracias!

Eduardo's Finca (farm) has many Interesting things to do! We fished, we hiked, we, held chicks and eggs... It was an amazing experience! 

My sister Lucia had to go home early in Ms. Elizabeth's car. I got to ride in the back of Ms. Cinthya's pickup truck! 

Eduardo's mother Doña Gisselle lives across the river. She made a delicious and traditional lunch for us. She served rice, black beans, chicken, greens, starfruit and pineapple! We also got to eat the fish we caught. DELICIOUS!!!

Piglet... obviously.

Ella and the egg.

Ella and the 'adorable' chick.

Me holding a baby chicken.

From Swinging to Swimming

Our first adventure, Climb Nosara, a freestanding climbing tower near Del Mar Academy. I challenged myself to reach the top twice, telling myself "USE YOUR CORE! USE YOUR CORE!" Our guide Steve harnessed us up. We drove in Ms. Elizabeth's car down the dusty road to Playa Pelada. I got the privilege to spend some quality time with Ms. Elizabeth walking along the beach, sharing thoughts and taking in the salty ocean breeze. I observed a rock covered in hermit crabs and another shaped like a whale. Our pleasant beach outing was followed by a delicious lunch at the Harbor Reef Hotel.

Lucia, just hanging around.

Ella, determined to reach the top!

What goes up, must come down!

Playa Pelada

Natural Wonders - Blowholes

Pura Vida!

Mala Noche Waterfall, Nosara Costa Rica

Today was my first day at Nosara Day Camp! It is run by two women named Ms. Elizabeth and Ms. Cinthya. I did not want to go at first, but I learned to like it. I climbed a waterfall, roasted marshmallows and un perro caliente (a hot dog). I helped the smaller children complete the hike. It is dry season in Nosara, so the river was low. A little boy named Max fell asleep on my lap on the way back to the Harbor Reef Hotel. It was an exciting and adventurous day in the jungle of Nosara!

Walking through the meadow on our way to Mala Noche.

There were tons of rivers and streams coming from the waterfall.

Mala Noche Waterfall

We climbed the waterfall to a higher spot.

Ella jumped in!

The Exhilarating Expedition

I woke up at three in the morning to find my sister’s pointy knees in my stomach and her voice in my ear. “ MARLEY, ITS TIME TO WAKE UP AND IF YOU STAY IN BED WE’LL MISS THE PLANE AND MAMA AND PAPA WILL BE REALLY MAD AT YOUUU!!!” yelled my smallest sister Lucia, and then she sank her tiny little fist into my stomach. I groaned and rolled over, it felt like I had only been asleep for a minute when in reality I had been asleep for many, many hours.

After a while a car came to pick us up and drive us to the airport. We stood outside the airport as our baggage was unloaded from the black car. The night air was frigid on my tired face. I could see my breath in the cold night air. We entered the thankfully warmer airport and checked in our bags. Then we went through security and sat on a bench so my parents could get a snack. Then we set off for our gate. 

I boarded the plane in hope to get some sleep, it was after all still four in the morning, I was sadly mistaken for the seat I had chosen just had to be next to the loudest girls in the entire universe, my sisters Ella and Lucia. They talked and giggled and sniffled and coughed and sneezed and snored and talked some more. They argued about the window seat because Ella wouldn’t let Lucia see out the window, they argued about space because Lucia was napping and laying her head on Ella’s shoulder, and they argued about food because, “it was totally each others fault”, they were hungry and tired.

By the time we got to North Carolina, I was very, very tired and hungry. We ate at the worst restaurant in the entire universe and had the worst food in the world. After a three hour layover we boarded the plane to Costa Rica. My sisters fell asleep halfway into the ride! I just played Minecraft for the rest of the time we were on the plane. I stopped now and then to cover my sisters up with hoodies so they wouldn’t wake up and complain. Near the end of the ride Ella woke up and started complaining that her ears were hurting, but otherwise It was more enjoyable than the last ride. 

We arrived in sunny Costa Rica right on schedule and went through customs, got our baggage, and left the airport.