a few of my fav snaps from the honeymoon (and the last honeymoon post-promise)

(third of many, many flights this month)

(one of j's first meals in costa rica. this was not an accident. he wanted a whole deep fried fish)

(chilling at a roadside cheese farm)

(driving. lots of driving)

(our fav beach in nosara)

(the roads were pretty bad. we had to drive through little streams all the time)

(official beer of the honeymoon)

(tamarindo was touristy, but beautiful)

(more driving. love him)

ok, this is going to be the last honeymoon post. i really loved costa rica so much. i would highly recommend it for a honeymoon. it was the best trip i have ever taken, maybe partly because of my new status as a wife. loving that. 

hotel review: tamarindo diria resort, tamarindo, costa rica

so after nosara we decided to drive to tamarindo. i was interested in tamarindo mostly because tripadvisor was highly recommending it, and the beaches were apparently unreal. we booked an oceanview room at the diria resort right on the main strip. 

(our room-bright and clean)

(our balcony with a sweet view) 

(this is something i have always wanted to do!)

(technology)

price: i think $275 a night for the oceanview

bathroom: tiny and shabby

pool: there was a huge pool with a swim up bar, then another smaller pool basically in the lobby. they were nice, though mostly full of families

breakfast: included. it was a buffet, but nothing fancy. i sort of felt like i was at one of those all inclusive resorts in cuba, but not a great one.

location: right on the main strip of restaurants, trashy tourist shops, smoothie bars. maybe some people would like this, like if you don't have a vehicle. but it does make the resort seem super touristy and dirty. this resort was directly on the beach though, which was a plus. but when the waves were good for surfing, there were a million beginner surfers out there. the beach was super crowded. i would have been loving it on a spring break trip in university. the beach chairs were $15 to rent a pair for the day. we did this. 

notes: if you walk the two steps to the beach from the resort, you can walk along the beach, and there are tons of little bars where you can have a beer with your feet in the sand. that was cool. we walked down for mojitos and coconut cream pie at nogui's sunset bar because everyone on tripadvisor recommended it. it was perfect. the drinks were super strong, and the pie was full of actual pieces of coconut meat. also, j rented a surfboard a lot while we were there. it was i think $10 to rent the board. sweet deal. 

things to do in monteverde, costa rica

(on a guided nighttime hike)

(cool butterfly)

(this tree strangled a tree that was inside it. true)

(beers at belmar)

(just a little something on the side of the road)

things to do in monteverde (aka, the most magical place):

-guided night walk to see nighttime creatures. $20 each i think. we saw a sloth, a tarantula, a bunch of cool insects

-guided morning hike through the cloud forest. $55 each. we saw all these cool birds. and spider monkeys, snakes, insects. one of the best 4 hours we spent. we feel like we know roberto, our tour guide. we practically miss him. 

-bungee jumping. $60. i did not do this, but j did. it looked absolutely crazy!! you can also do ziplining, or walk on suspension bridges. 

-eat at the treehouse restaurant. there is a giant tree in it, which is cool. we ate here, and it was normal pricing and good food. 

-other things which we did not do since we were loving chilling in our suite: visit the cheese/ice cream factory. visit the coffee/chocolate factory.

notes on monteverde: most of the schools were started by quakers from alabama, who are pretty passive and calm people that fit right in with the costa ricans. when a kid starts to go to school, they have meditation for ten minutes every day. by the time you get to high school, you are doing over an hour of silence a day at school. there are no janitors in schools. the kids have chores, and clean the school themselves. pretty cool

and don't worry, i'll probably be done writing about the honeymoon soon. 

hotel review: belmar hotel, monteverde, costa rica

so i think the way to my heart is with a welcome tropical juice drink. and with a tray of fruit in the room when we get back from supper. belmar hotel up in the mountains in monteverde was lux. 

price: it doesn't even matter, since this place was the best place we have ever stayed. but it was around $350 a night i think
bathroom: so good i took a picture. the shower was huge and the shampoos and conditioners all had smells like mango dream cream, banana flowers, etc. fluffy robes and slippers, of course
pool: none, but there was a big hot tub outside for everyone to use
breakfast: included. buffet, with omelets, homemade granola, pancakes, etc. and fresh juice. and the amazing costa rican coffee
location: up in the cloud forest. the roads to this hotel were terrible, and the temperature is way cooler than along the coast where we were before

notes:
it may be clear that j and i fell in love with this place. this is the one place that i can see us returning to on our 5 year anniversary. maybe sooner. the staff were all super friendly and helpful. and there was a free coffee service, so anytime you felt like having coffee, you called the restaurant, and they delivered it to you all fancy-like. also, the towns of monteverde and santa elena were so lovely. there were so many little coffee shops and bakeries, and there were tons of students reading and chatting all over the place. and it felt really clean, maybe because of the colder, rainier weather.

things to do in nosara, costa rica

1. search for howler monkeys at one of the area's many reserves
2. surf or chill at playa guiones
3. hang out at your hotel's pool
4. take a guided tour at night to see the sea turtles doing their thing (no flash photos allowed)
5. have lunch or drinks at casa tucan restaurant (we ate there at least 3 times) at the beach.
6. have smoothies at robin's cafe or harmony hotel juice bar
7. yoga
8. surf 'til you are sore
also, the zip-lining seemed popular

hotel review: giardino tropicale, nosara, costa rica

we ended up staying in nosara for another night at a hotel closer to the beach and downtown, giardino tropicale. 

price: average for the area. around $85 per night
bathroom: well, there is a sign on the wall that says to put paper in the garbage can, not the toilet. i think this is really normal for costa rica. also, this hotel is really eco-friendly, so maybe that's part of it
pool: awesome. when we were lounging in the pool, the owner came over to chat with us. i asked her if we could bring a beer to the pool, and she went and got us two imperials in beer cozies. so beer+pool=amazing afternoon
breakfast: not included, but i think it was $7 of something, and looked really good. coffee is free.
location: awesome. you can walk to the main strip with all the ice cream shops and smoothie bars. and really close to the beach

notes: this room felt a little like the beach cottage j's family has. it was nice, but everything seemed aged. i liked that. the owner was really nice. she has this old dog named after her that follows her around. the whole scene was very welcoming. this hotel is maybe not fancy honeymoon appropriate, but definitely beach-vacation-worthy. for a fancier hotel in nosara, the harmony hotel looked the part.

hotel review: costa rica yoga spa, nosara, costa rica

we travelled from la fortuna to nosara on the coast of costa rica. the drive was long, and the last hour or two were the worst roads i have ever experienced. we stayed at the costa rica yoga spa. it gets really good reviews on tripadvisor.

(enjoying the small pool overlooking the mountain) 

(yoga hut) 

(our room)

price: we ended up paying close to $400 per night. this includes all your meals. still, that is pretty steep for the area

bathroom: new and beautiful

pool: small but the view was amazing

breakfast: included, along with lunch and supper. breakfast was really good. lots of fruit, fresh juice, pancakes, etc. served at 8:30 am

location: ok, it is up in the mountains. people usually go to nosara to surf, but this hotel is at least a ten minute drive to the beach. and the roads are soo bad. the view is awesome, but j and i are pretty much all about the beach.

notes: 

cons: the other thing we weren't really into was the meal situation. meals are served at specific times. we never made the trek back to the hotel for the lunch, so we lost out on that. and supper was served at 6:30, which meant we couldn't chill and have a beer at the beach in the early evening. we had to go back for supper, since the meals are included in the price of the room. 

also, there was yoga, but only once a day at 5 pm. that was totally fine for j and i, but if you are going for the yoga, maybe you would want more yoga.

pros: the howler monkeys. they came so close to the breakfast table (which is outside), and there were at least ten of them, including babies. it was an amazing experience. 

and the dude who owns the yoga spa was really cool about preparing us water to take to the beach, renting us towels and boards, etc. 

i think this place would be perfect for a big group of people, but maybe not so ideal for a honeymoon

hotel review: tabacon resort, la fortuna, costa rica

we stayed at the tabacon resort for a few nights. this place is based around the thermal springs that are heated by the volcano nearby. there's nothing like jumping into a pool and realizing it is steaming hot. it was really cool. 

(welcome fruit) 

(lovely room) 

(sweet chocolate covered strawberries) 

(pool area)

price: pretty insane for us, but it was the splurge of our honeymoon. around $500 per night (though some of the rooms were way more)

bathroom: huge lovely tub with jets, fluffy robes and slippers, perfect basically

breakfast: none included (of course. we did get the breakfast once. it was around $50 for two, and perfect)

location: perfect view of the arenal volcano and 2 minute walk to hot springs fed from the volcano

parking: as soon as we arrived, they took our keys and drove our vehicle to our room, then took us in a golf cart later. this felt so fancy

notes: this place was super lux by our standards. on arrival we got one of those fancy welcome drinks. there was a fruit tray waiting in our room. one night we got back from supper and there were those fancy strawberries waiting for us, and our bed sheets had been turned down (maybe this is normal for rich people?). for a honeymoon, i think this place is perfect. we felt so special because all the staff made a big deal out of it being our honeymoon. perfect is pretty much the word i want to use to describe this place. 

also, the actual thermal springs were really cool. more on that later

let's start at the start

(j planning the trip at breakfast on day 1) 

(chilling poolside on day 1)

i think a honeymoon straight after the wedding is a really good thing. our wedding was amazing and intense, and it was incredible to hop a plane soon after. we stayed at adventure inn in san jose the first night. the best thing about this hotel is they pick you up at the airport. our flight ended up being a few hours late, but still there was a guy waiting for us with our names on a sign. the second best thing about this place was the free/included breakfast. i had pancakes, j had a typical costa rican breakfast (rice, plantains, beans, eggs). everyone was super friendly, and it was i think around $130, which seemed decent to me. and the coffee. the coffee in costa rica is soo good. 

what you can expect

it feels so good to be back home and married. i have so much to share about our costa rican road trip honeymoon. i have hotel reviews (some soo good, some sooo bad), i have things to do, i have random pics from the road. i have advice and recommendations. be ready

Surf tips, continued

So I had another surf lesson, and learned a little more:

1. If you have the choice between an instructor who is a white guy that says he can teach you "all you need to know" on a yoga mat miles from the ocean, or a tico named Juan who owns his own surf shop at the beach, go with option number two.
2. when Juan yells at you because he "always" tells you to have your feet in the centre of the board, don't be offended, he's trying to help.
3. When Juan yells "do you know the meaning of the word only? Yes. Ok, then only!!" when referring to the fact that you should only pop up if you are for sure going to catch the wave, again, don't be offended.
4. When you are begging for the lesson to be over after an hour and A half in the water, be ready, because Juan might not be ready to quit.
5. When the lesson is finally over, and Juan says "the first time you caught a wave and got up, your hair was still dry. That was cool", take that as an amazing compliment I caught some waves.it was amazing.

Things you may not know about sea turtles

As told to us by the sixteen year old tour guide at ostienal beach. The tour we took was at like 10 pm, and was one of the most awesome things we have ever seen. We actually got to watch Laura the sea turtle lay her eggs. Laura always comes back to the same place, and is known for high production

1. Sea turtles can lay up to 80 eggs in one sitting
2. Only maybe ten percent make it
3. The eggs look like soft, slimy golf balls
4. Some people love the taste of the eggs, but it's illegal to take the eggs and eat them
5. The sea turtle cries the whole time she's making the egg nest to keep the sand out of her eyes
6. It takes maybe an hour or two for the turtle to come up the beach, make her nest, lay the eggs, then return to the ocean
7. Sea turtles can live to be like 100 years old, but only lay eggs while they are young
8. They never see their babies. So the turtles are born knowing how to make the nests and lay the eggs 9. The female turtles have visible scars from the claws of the males grabbing them during intercourse 10. The turtles come back to this same beach every year.
11. In September when the babies hatch, there's like half a million turtles on the beach. The locals worry about the windows and doors of their houses getting smashed in( this seemed crazy to me, maybe that's not what he was saying)
12. K, so there are actually turtle police here, and they guard the nests against hungry dogs and people who want a taste of the eggs.

Surfing tips

Tips for beginner surfers based on my first surfing day in nosara, costa rica:

1. wear sunscreen. Even if it looks like there is no sun
2. Wear a t shirt. I never thought of this, and now have crazy board burns all over my stomach
3. Get the hugest, longest board you can find. Just easier that way.
4. Take lots of breaks. Maybe go get a beer after a while. I promise, you will be frustrated.
5. Also, my surf instructor told me to use the mantra "i am a pro surfer". This did not work for me, but give it a try if you like. He also said to be one with the board, and to stand "through" the board instead of on top of it. So you can give that a try too.
 6. Always keep that board behind you if you aren't on it. That thing can and will smack you in the face. I know this from experience
7. Don't underestimate how fun it is to just lay on your board and chill.
We are having the best time in this little surf and yoga town. I feel like the ocean beat me up, but I am going back for more today. wish me luck!!