rsizeland

This morning we got up and went to Arenal National Park for a hike on the lava flows. We were given the choice between an easy hike about one hour, or a hard hike about 2 1/2 hours. We knew we could do the long hike so that’s what we chose. The trail meandered around a lake where we spotted chestnut mandibled Toucans, Oropendolas (they make the strangest sounds... hard to describe), herons and 30 other species of bird we couldn’t identify. We also saw beetles, leaf cutter ants and a scorpion! It was over 30°, there was significant elevation, and humidity was near 100%, but Scott persevered. The views of the top were worth it, and as promised we did walk on the lava flow. It was around 1230 when we got to lunch, and ... read more

This would be our second day at altitude (about 3000m) and slightly cooler temperatures. Such a relief! We enjoyed the lovely breakfast buffet orchestrated by a very French head chef. He pleased the crowd of mostly seniors and very serious bird watchers. We had come to the right place?! With our tiny bit of advice we started onto the trails in search of a brightly coloured Quetzal, the star of the area. Sadly we never did spot one but Scott and Alexa managed a pretty long hike in the forest. Aside from arguing over the best sticks and who had the next turn to hold them, the hike was great! Many things were spotted like yellow birds and blue birds and black birds with orange beaks. There were lots of fruit trees, clouds and views from ... read more

The beach today was such a success we decided to do it again (except for the sunburns). Tiffany decided to rent a surfboard and hang 10! She insisted she didn’t need a lesson and to her credit she did get up a couple of times. For some reason the waves this day were far bigger than previous days. This made for challenging surfing but very fun boogie boarding. After a pizza lunch it was, of course, back to the pool. For dinner was, can you guess? Rice and beans. Was early to bed as we had to get up early the next day for a departure into the mountains. It was Jen’s turn to read some BFG which doesn’t really make the kids sleepy as they get very excited. For those of you that don’t know ... read more

For Alexa’s birthday we decided to take a trip into a beautiful set of waterfalls. There were three options to reach the falls. One - hike 4 km up-and-down steep dusty roads in the 35° heat. Two - ride sweaty hot horses four kilometres up-and-down steep dusty roads in the 35° heat. Three - a pick up truck foor kilometres up and down steep dusty rose In the 35° heat. I’ll let you guess what we chose.The waterfalls were spectacular. There were two of them, one for taking pictures at which was the higher of the two, and a smaller one for swimming which had a large pool at the base of it. The water was beautifully cool, clear and refreshing. The children didn’t much care for it maybe because of the fish swimming around ... read more

After seeing some wildlife near our hotel, our taste for adventure had been whet. The next morning we Headed for reptile Park about a half hour drive away. Sure enough we found dozens and dozens of snakes, lizards, Caymans, tortoises, turtles, fish and frogs (Much to Tiffany’s delight). Lunch with some very nice fish tacos in the town of Dominica, run by an American ex-pats. We then hit the beach again, the waves were much different in Dominica. The beach was much flatter so the waves came in for miles and miles. As they rushed back out, the sand but if your feet would become a wrote it in you to sink into the beach. Dinner once again consisted of rice beans ham and cheese.Bedtime seems to be right after dark for both children and adults ... read more