A week at a glance

Sunday, January 08, 2012
Arenal Volcano National Park, Province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica
January 5

Watched 30 baby sea turtles be released from a sanctuary on the beach last night.  Such an awesome thing to see, their little tiny bodies and flippers trying to maneuver through the sand and make their way to the sea.  Some headed straight for the water, while others took a little longer to figure it out and we quietly cheered them on.  Such tiny little things to swim into the water and just "know" what to do, hopefully to return to this beach many times over a long lifetime to lay their own eggs.

January 6
Tami and Dean had a beautiful wedding yesterday (Friday).  The setting was perfect and they threw an incredible party last night. 

The wedding took place in front of the Pacific ocean, waves crashing on the lava rocks behind them.  On the beach, an aisle of flower petals blanketed the sand, waiting for the bride to walk down the cobbled path through the palm trees, in her one-of-a-kind ocean blue dress. The ceremony, blessings, and readings were all beautiful.  I'm not sure if it was Tami's worldly adventures or Dean's integrity that lead to readings by Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa and Walt Whitman; along with an Celtic reading from Tami's sister. The bride and groom discussed sharing their vows in the moment, but Tami lost it when she saw Dean's notes.  His reply, "I'm a project manager, of course I have notes". A few teary moments and we had a union blessed. The reception was fantastic, we started with appetizers, fruit and cheese kabobs, 2 kinds of bruschetta, and I started with Cuba Libras.  During the social hour, they finished pictures on the rocks with a pink sky lit by the setting sun.  Dinner was A great buffet, four tables long with mucho comida. All that mattered to me was the fresh mahi mahi and ahi tuna being grilled to order on the end, with four different sauces. My favorites were the chimichurri and the mango sauces. 

They band had fantastic musicians and their sax player had some great solos. But then the fire dancers wowed the crowd with their incredible acrobatic show. 3 dancers took turns twirling balls of fire.  Lots of dancing for some and I'm not sure how much the salsa and meringue lesson helped.  Mucho cocktails later, cuban cigars came out and we continued to marvel at what a wonderful setting this couple picked to join in marriage. I am confident they will find many more wonderful journeys in their lifetime together.

Saturday, January 7

Everyone was pretty wiped out today from a long night of dancing and celebrating, but we had already decided to do a zipline canopy tour of the Montezuma waterfall.  Michael, having no interest in anything related to heights, stayed back to chill at Ylang Ylang.  The ziplines were a little nervewracking at first... having non-English speaking guides strap us in a harness, give us a helmet and gloves, tether us to a cable 100 + feet in the air, and push.  That pretty much was our training.  Same thing from platform to platform, so after the first few runs, it was easy to be flying through the jungle air and loving it.  Early night for everyone and half of the group has to leave at 4 am for a long travel day home.  

Sunday, January 8

Left Ylang Ylang early this am for 6 hour drive to the Arenal volcano.   Tami driving 1 car, Michael navigating, tyler, terry and I squeezed in a very hot backseat.  Dean, Chris, Jameson and Tamis parents following behind.  Nervous and a bit carsick when we started out as the roads were narrow, curvy and rutted and if anyone has ever ridden with Tami, YIKES!  luckily, after the first hour, our journey stayed on paved roads for (mostly) the rest of the way.  Alas, we made it and are headed out to explore the volcano and surrounding rainforest.  

Photos & Videos

Comments

Laurie
2012-01-09

So glad to hear you're having fun! Congrats to Tami and Dean! I'm so jealous of your adventures! Can't wait to see your pics! BTW-does Zeus get 2 cups or 4 cups (two of the scoops)? He's not starving, but TJ and I both thought different things! He's doing well--it's been so nice, we kicked the ball around the yard for a long time today!

See you soon! Enjoy the sun!!

Jessica
2012-01-09

Sounds SUPER fun, although Michael would have had to entertain me 'back at the ranch' since I am not sure this old bird could 'zip-line' and survive to tell about it!

You are missing some outstanding weather, but nothing compared to the utopia you describe!
Glad you are having fun.
Na-Mast.

Pam Aul
2012-01-09

Sounds so wonderful. Glad you arrived safely and are enjoying your time there. Love to hear from you.

Lisa
2012-01-09

Sounds like a wonderful time! Congrats to Tami and Dean!!! A picture perfect wedding that I'm sure pictures will never do justice.
Love hearing about your adventures! I'm sure everyone back in the states wish we were tagging along in your luggage.
Have a great time and can't wait to see pictures!

2025-02-11

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