Now, from Costa Rica

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Hello all,

Sorry we haven´t had an update in a while '' I have some entries saved on my computer, but no way to connect my computer to the internet to post them. There are many internet cafes around (and cheap, too) but hard to find the time with the kids around. (As an aside, the keyboards here are different so it is hard to find some keys sometimes... where I am now, the keyboard is like at home, but some of the keys I hit don´t match what is on the key).

Before I forget, Dara has posted some pictures in the gallery so be sure to check them out. Unfortunately the web site sorts them alphabetically so they are out of order. I´m sure any intelligent reader can figure out how they should go (hint: there is no snow in Costa Rica). It does take a long time to upload the photos, so we couldn´t put up too many and we couldn´t upload any from Ari´s camera.

Our trip down went very smoothly. Our anxiety was heightened because of a predicted snowstorm the night before our departure, but it turned out to be a dusting and our fight left just about on time. The plane did have to be de-iced, but the kids thought that was very cool.

As planned, we did have a long layover in Miami (about 7 hours - planned that way in case of problems with the first flight). So we rented a car and headed to the beach for lunch and playing in the sand. Our flight to Costa Rica arrived around 10:30PM and clearing customs and immigration with our mountain of baggage) and two groggy kids (both had slept the whole plane ride) wasn´t too bad.

In Costa Rica, a man named Vernon Bell runs a service that arranges for tourists to stay with a Costa Rican family. Dara had been exchanging e-mails with him for a while and he arranged to have us picked up at the airport and brought to our host family. After getting a little lost, we arrived at the house of Jose and Noemi Figuer, our host family.

A quick aside - many of the streets in Costa Rica do not have names and those that do usually do not have signs. This is even true in a big city like San Jose. So addresses and directions are something of a problem. More of this later, when we have time.

Our host family is very nice. The mother, Noemi, can´t stop admiring our beautiful (if I do say so myself) children, especially Eliana. Of course the kids endear themselves even more by eating and eating and eating the food she serves for breakfast.

All in all Costa Rica is great. The kids are doing very well -- they are so adaptable -- trying new foods, learning Spanish. There is a fair amount of whining because of all the walking we do, but I´m sure they will get used to it.

We are getting a cell phone tomorrow. When we know what the number is, we can e-mail it to you. Look around for good deals and you should be able to call us for $.15 - $.20 per minute or so.

More updates coming soon.

As they say here, ¨Pura vida!¨

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Comments

[Marcy]

Hi Guys!
The pics are great! Keep them coming, and no, we're not jealous (as we were completely snowed in yesterday and plowed in too)... The comments so far are almost as fun to read as your blogs; it's so exciting! And, I do agree with the consensus that Mark is an excellent writer...something to think about for later on, perhaps??? We are all missing you and Jordana still asks for "dahra, ahrwee, and ellllie" (sorry mark). We'll keep avidly reading! Love, Marcy

[Diana & Mike Marek]

We're really excited for you! Thanks for including us in your blog. We're enjoying the updates on your travels. Happy Adventures!!