¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

by Mo (the hubby)
It's hard to put yesterday into words. Watching my girls zipline through the jungle and hearing their joyous screams warmed my heart. We had a scary-ass tractor ride up this crumbly old dirt road to get to the first zip line. (I only use those words for you to impress upon you the fear that I had!) The ride to the top was scarier that any of the zip lines! When we got to the top, the ride was worth it though. The picture above is what we saw when we got to the top...AMAZING!!! If you come to Costa Rica, you should definitely take a zip line tour. The one we took was called Vista Los Suenos Canopy Tour. Their website is www.canopyvistalossuenos.com. It costs $65 a person. The guides are very informative and helpful. The tour is very well organized.

Now to surfing...Costa Rica has changed A LOT over the last 25 years. I guess that I was pretty ignorant to think that time would stand still here just for me. With that being said, the power of the ocean is still everything that I remembered. I had to figure out the tides and the best time to surf. The first day all of my expectations were met and I caught a couple of really good waves. Day two, the surf was a little bigger, the tide was not right, and there was a breeze. I got pounded a couple of times. I am NOT 20 anymore!!! But...it hurts so good! Today, I know when mid-tide is, I will be back out in about an hour. I am thinking...today is the day!!!

We began the New Year with a bang (literally). After a beautiful day on the beach and zip lining through the rainforest canopy, we ended the year with a huge beach party. We, as a family, had talked about making it until midnight. I had explained to the girls that the people here love to dance and party. I knew that making it until midnight would be a big treat for them. However, after the sun, the beach, the zip lining, etc., etc.,we were all exhausted! Once we had dinner, we came back to rest before the big party. The girls fell asleep. The party was in the courtyard of the hotel right outside of our door. The wife and I went out to watch the party. People were dancing, there was live music, bonfires on the beach, and fireworks going off EVERYWHERE! We couldn't let the girls miss this possible once-in-a-lifetime experience. We woke them, they saw it, and went back to bed. They were NOT happy with us! My hope is that they remember this night as something that they will cherish.
(See how happy they were!)


For me, kissing my beautiful bride on the beach under the stars and fireworks with salsa music playing in the background is a New Year's Eve that I will remember...always!