Costa Rica

Breathtaking. lush. green. Rainforest. adventure. Culture. Banana Plantation. Caribbean Sea. sloth. jumping waves. Authentic food. black sand. J.J. Pot holes. stifling heat.  margaritas. Rice and shrimp. restaurant on the beach. new experiences. Souvenirs. wooden jewelry. first time.

This was by far my favorite stop of the trip.  I love experiencing the authenticity of a new place rather than just the touristy spots.  There's something about seeing first-hand how others live in a culture so very different from yours. Of course, the fact that the countryside is so lush and green and the shades of turquoise of the Caribbean Sea are a feast for the eyes sure doesn't hurt!

It was sweltering when we got off the boat, but since dad had heard it was -14 without the wind chill in Iowa, we were not going to complain! :)  Mom and I headed over to the lineup of taxi drivers and tour guides vying for everyone's business. For some reason, mom headed toward J.J. He grabbed our attention with the variety he could show all 10 of us at the same time with the bonus of riding in an air conditioned van.  I'm not sure if it was the sights we would see or the air conditioned van that sold us!

JJ told us the first thing we were going to do was be able to see a sloth.  I was definitely intrigued by this.  I am a chicken kind of wimpy when it comes to "critters", but as long as they have fur I don't mind them quite as much.  Scaley and slimy animals (the baby octopus from Cozumel) are not my friends and totally freak me out!  Little did any of us realize that JJ was just going to pull the van over to the side of the road for a young boy to show us his three-toed sloth!

I was brave.

Aaron was brave.  This is no surprise as he's a daredevil.  The sloth was nothing for him!

Tim was brave - kind of.  Check out the look on his face.  Notice he's not getting too cozy with Mr. Sloth :)

Granny was brave.  THIS WAS A TOTAL SHOCKER!  My mom is definitely not a lover of animals.  I was sure proud of her for stepping outside her comfort zone! This is about as close as the boys would get.  They would touch the sloth, but in no way shape or form were any of them going to hold it! 

Of course we were encouraged to give the young boy a tip to hold his sloth.  It was well worth the couple of bucks Tim handed him! After we got back in the van, I asked if the sloth was this kid's pet.  JJ informed me that it was illegal for people to have sloths as a pet, and the government would fine you $100 if you were in possession of one.  Strange that there was a lineup of vans behind us to see the sloth that supposedly wasn't being kept as a pet!

Our next stop was a banana plantation. I think it's safe to say that everyone found this stop to be quite interesting and a great learning experience.  The plantation was 315 acres and had a little over 200 workers who reside on the plantation. Each plant will produce fruit only one time.  Your bananas start as little miniature sprouts as you can see here.

From this point, it takes another couple of months to grow into a baby bunch of bananas.  

At approximately six months, the bunch must be covered in order to protect the fruit from insects and other environmental factors.  

At eight months, the bunches are cut down by hand and ready to go through the inspecting and cleaning process which you can see here.

The bananas get a light coating of wax and are then frozen before being loaded onto cargo ships for the three day trek to the U.S. coastline.  From there, the bananas are shipped all across the country.  I definitely walked away with a new appreciation for my favorite fruit!

After the banana plantation, JJ took us to an authentic Costa Rican restaurant situated on a beautiful beach with waves splashing from the Caribbean.  The atmosphere was spirited with a mariachi band playing, the drinks were STRONG, and the food was phenomenal!

Shrimp and rice that was to die for!

Fried plantains with beans, which was described by the natives as nachos!

The Caribbean waters are breathtaking.  The kids and I could have spent hours on the beach there and jumping waves!  The sand was soft and my boys wanted so badly to boogie board, but there just wasn't enough time.  They had to settle for jumping the waves as they rolled in.

Our day ended with a little souvenir shopping before heading back onto the ship.  It was a day that I will remember for a lifetime. The images and experiences are imprinted vividly on my brain. Costa Rica is definitely a country I would LOVE to visit again.  I want the opportunity to further explore and experience the lush countryside, visit the rainforest and see the animals in their natural habitats, and lounge on those beautiful beaches!