Welcome to the jungle!

by Tamara

We had planned to head back to San Jose yesterday...but just couldn't leave the beach! We went for a walk and found this quaint true "Costa Rican style" hotel. The picture above is the view from my porch. There is no air conditioning but you don't need it. The place is cooled by the breeze from the ocean. There is also a hammock on the porch and screens along the front of the house instead of windows. At night, you hear ALL of the sounds of the jungle and the waves crashing on the beach. This place is not for the weak at heart. It definitely doesn't offer the plushness that La Mariposa offered. However, if you REALLY want to "feel" Costa Rican living, this is the place. The name of this "hotel" is Nature's Beachfront.

This is a picture of the front of the hotel:

A lady named Anna runs the place, and she will talk your ear off! I imagine that it could get quite lonely down here at the bottom of the mountain by yourself. When I say the bottom...it's a long steep walk! This is us walking down but you can bring a car (which we did once we checked out of La Mariposa).

The kids were VERY apprehensive about staying here but seemed to get into it once they climbed into the hammock! The hubby was "totally stoked"! He walked down the beach and rented a surfboard. We didn't see him much for the rest of the day!

By the way, I forgot to mention that there is a crocodile that lives in the little lagoon in front of our hotel. He hangs out and waits for small dogs to come for a swim. The kids have been freaking out about that! In the picture below, look over by the trees at the right. You can see his outline if you look closely. See how close to the people that he is!

This picture below is of Lexie on what is called a "Costa Rican seesaw". It's just a fallen palm tree but works great as a seesaw.

We were blessed to see one more Costa Rican sunset. This time we were on the beach. Each time, I am in awe of its beauty. Sadly, the hubby seems to be saying goodbye to his beloved mistress..."Until next time, mi amore!"

The sun is slowly setting on our vacation!

By Mo (the hubby)

Yesterday, we happened upon Costa Rica's version of a state park. We were a little disappointed in the exponential growth of the area around the national park. The cool thing was the quaintness of the state park. You won't read about this beach on any of the travel brochures or hear about it from your travel agent. At the beach, I went snorkeling...but let me explain. In order to get to the reef, I had to swim close to a mile. It was TOTALLY worth the swim!!! There is a gentleman there renting the snorkeling gear for $10. Also, you can rent a kayak for $20. It would probably be best to rent both. Then you can kayak out to the reef. Below is a picture of the beach:

After our beach excursion, we spent the rest of the day chillin' at the hotel. I sat out on our balcony smoking a Cuban cigar overlooking the blue Pacific waiting for the sun to set. I pondered the many changes in Costa Rica. I realized that time doesn't stop for me! Costa Rica is still a very beautiful country. The people enjoy life and blend in with the environment. What I mean by that is the Costa Rican people have the modern conveniences that we have but are not slaves to them. Case in point...as the sun was about to set yesterday, the town of Manuel Antonio was hustling and bustling. You could hear buses and cars and glasses clanging downstairs in the restaurant. When the sun was setting, everything seemed to come to a halt, and you could hear a pin drop! Everyone focused on the end of a beautiful day. In that moment in time, the world felt like it came together as one. A sunset still means something here. It sounds cheesy but that is the beauty that is...Costa Rica!!!

¡Pura Vida!

by Tamara (the mom)
**Warning- this is a long post**

Pura Vida translated in exact terms means "pure life". The slang for this term is "This is living"!

For those of you that know me, I am a bit high-strung (understatement). You also know that the pic above is my signature "I am completely relaxed" pic. Do you see the view that I have? How can you not be relaxed???

I feel that I haven't kept you in the loop on our whereabouts. Christmas and New Year's are a BIG deal here. Needless to say, the hotels were full and our "coming here without hotel reservations" kinda backfired. Luckily, when we stayed in Jaco, the staff at Morgan's Cove made accommodations that allowed us to stay from Wednesday until Sunday. In Jaco, we went spent New Year's Eve, went zip lining and horseback riding (well, kinda...mostly just visited the local hospitals).

We are now in Manuel Antonio. This is my ABSOLUTE favorite place in Costa Rica. It feels like Gilligan's Island to me. We went into Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio (or the national park). The park is the 2nd most visited national park in Costa Rica. You hike through the bottom of the rainforest that opens up to the most beautiful beaches.


When we were here 14 years ago, there were monkeys and iguanas EVERYWHERE. Due to the increase in tourism and development of the area, the monkeys and iguanas were absent. We had really built this up with the girls, and they were so excited! Needless to say, we were all pretty disappointed. Until...we saw this at the end!



There are very few things that I can be a snob about...BUT I absolutely LOVE 5 star hotels!!! As I was explaining to the hubby, you pay to get pampered by the staff and for the super duper comfy beds! With that being said, we are staying at the La Mariposa! (It means "the butterfly) We toured the hotel when we were here on our honeymoon. It has always been a dream of mine to stay here and...it has been worth the wait! The view is amazing! I give this place 5 Ludlam Smiles!
(This is our view! Pictures do not do it justice!)

(I woke up before everyone this morning to have my morning devotional and watch this!Isn't God amazing???)

How about having breakfast and coffee to this view:

We are definitely...¡Pura Vida!

by Lauren

This is me in one of the funniest chairs that I have ever seen...but it's SO cool! We are staying at a hotel that has a gorgeous view. The beds are so comfortable! I guess life doesn't get much better than this.

After the horseback riding incident, I haven't been able to swim. I have had to wear a plastic bag over my hand. Now, I have figured out how to keep my arm out of the water so I can still get into the swimming pool.

I have always liked horses...until now! When we first started out on the horses, I thought "This is going to be so fun!". Then something moved in the jungle and scared my horse. I wasn't holding on tight enough and flew off the horse. Somehow, I was able to land on my hands instead of my head. I immediately jumped up and said "Mama, I broke my arm!". Then it hit me that I was scared and in pain! Three hospitals later, I got to meet the coolest doctor! Now, I don't want a horse anymore!

by Lexie

Hi, people of the blog...it's me, Lexie, again! I am here to tell you about an amazing thing that happened yesterday. So, here it is...we saw MONKEYS! They were everywhere! It was like monkey here, monkey there! Everyone was feeding them bananas even when the signs said not to. I thought it was funny because everyone knows that monkeys like bananas. One was trying to drink out of a coconut but he dropped it. Another monkey stole it. I thought that was pretty mean! Now, about the above picture, these monkeys saw their reflection in the bus window. They were mad because they thought it was two other monkeys that might steal their food. Or...they might have thought that they were having a bad hair day!

This is a picture of me drinking the BEST LEMONADE IN THE WORLD!!! I meant, literally, I am not joking! This restaurant was built around a HUGE plane. It is a C-123 Cargo plane.

Shin splints, sunburns, and...the ER!

by Tamara
Well, today is January 1st...and it has been quite a beginning to the new year! When I went for my morning run, I got in about 1.5 miles and had to quit. I had the WORST shin splints of my life! I don't know if it was from running in the sand the other day or what's going on. What I do know is they hurt like crazy! (Guess that I am sidelined for a bit!) I had to walk back the ENTIRE way. During the walk back, it dawned on me that God knows what I need better than I do. By not running and worrying about my "time", I was able to slow down and "smell the roses". Instead of running on the beach, I had decided to run through town. Everything was just starting to wake up. Mostly, it was just the locals doing what locals do...grocery shopping, going to work, grabbing some breakfast, etc. I felt so privileged to be a part of it! Imagine, if I had have been running, I would have missed all of it, especially this sidewalk:

So, the girls got way too much sun today! (I promise that we coated them down with sunscreen NUMEROUS times, Judy!) Anywho, we needed to get out of the sun so we decided to go horseback riding. We were told by the guy at the front desk that the ride consisted of riding into the jungle where we could see monkeys and macaws, and possibly ending on the beach at sunset. Sounds perfect, right? Here are the girls at the beginning of the ride:

Well...about 30 seconds after this picture was taken, we started up the hill into the jungle. The guide sent the girls in front of us all. Some wildlife spooked their horses and BOTH of the girls' horses reared up. Lexie was able to hold on and, by doing so, caused her horse to stop. Lauren didn't have the same luck. She was thrown from her horse!

Now, all of you know that the Ludlams can't go on vacation without visiting the local ER! The only difference this time is that it wasn't Mo in the ER!!! Needlessly to say, 7 hours and THREE hospitals later, this is what she looked like:

Luckily, it was just a broken arm and LOTS of cuts and bruises! Lauren was such a trooper. She was in a lot of pain until the 1st hospital put a splint on her arm. Mostly, she was scared! I can't blame her. The poor baby was injured in a foreign country! By the way, that is her doctor that she is standing with (and he is THAT tall!). He was so cool that I think we ALL had a crush on him (even the hubby)! I mean he was just cool...drove in from the beach on his motorcycle just to set my girl's arm! Hmmm...a long haired doc with a motorcycle that lives on the beach in Costa Rica!!! Sounds like PERFECT son-in-law material...I really hope he has a son!!!

Ok, all joking aside! Many of you that REALLY know me understand my new obsession with pennies. Basically, I pick up EVERY penny that I find (even if it's tails up). Every time that I find a penny, I say a little pray. I feel that this is God's way of sending angels to remind me to count my blessings and pray for those in my life that are having difficulties. I am also becoming a little superstitious in feeling like they bring me good luck. The picture above is of Costa Rican coins. The small silver coins are 10 colones. I compare them to our pennies. I picked these two up on my run/walk this morning. At the time, I didn't feel very lucky. After the short horseback ride, I feel that we are the luckiest people alive! I felt God's arms of protection ALL around us. There are SOOOOOO many "what ifs" that have gone through our minds. My daughter (possibly even daughters) could have been seriously injured today. However, God protected us! Our trip is going to dramatically changed from here, and we will adjust! I'll take a broken arm any day over "what could have been"!!! Thank you, our wonderful Lord above!

¡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!

Sun, Surf, and Shopping

Yesterday, when the hubby got back from surfing, we decided to just hang out on the beach. While the kiddos and he were playing in the ocean, I decided to go for a run. The entire beach is about 1.5 miles long. That's it in the picture above. Running on the beach is much harder than I thought but how cool is it to say that I ran 3 miles on a beach in Costa Rica. I likey! Also, I rewarded myself with one of these afterward:

We went into town for lunch and a little bit of shopping. For those of you that don't like "Mexican style" food, there are franchise restaurants down here, like Subway and KFC. We ate a local restaurant. The food was really good. Here's a pic of the girls outside of the restaurant:

While we were eating, locals would walk into the restaurant off the streets selling stuff. The restaurant owners didn't say anything to them. In the states, they would be ran right out of the restaurant and the cops called! Anywho, this one guy was selling these really cool whistles. The girls both bought one. Here's a pic of the girls playing their whistles with the guy selling them (I was LOVING the Billy Ray Cyrus hair!!!):

Of course, after eating lunch, we needed a dessert. We had ice cream from a place called Pops. If you ever come to Jaco, you HAVE to have a milkshake from Pops! Braums and Baskin Robbins (even Reeves-Sain for all of you 'Boro folks) can't even compete with Pops!!!

The girls did a little more shopping. They found these cute little coconut monkey purses. They brought some of their Christmas money on the trip and it was burning a hole in their pockets. Here's a pic of their "finds" for the day:

The rest of the day was just a relaxing hang by the beach and pool day. We didn't do anything super exciting. However, this is what we saw at the end of the day:

A girl could get used to this very quickly!!!

(P.S. Hubby is surfing again this morning. Hopefully, he can blog something later.)

¡bienvenido a Costa Rica!

by Tamara (the mom)

This is a picture of us landing in Costa Rica (literally)! We're finally here!

Once we landed, we had to go through immigration. This was quite an experience for the kids. Of course, as luck would have it, the line was crazy long.

Then it was time to get the rental car. This is a picture outside the airport.

People literally show up everyday to help tourist "find their way" once they are outside of the airport. They work for tips..and that's their "job". We were talking to the guy that was helping us. He told us that he worked in Manhattan for 4 years but hated the American lifestyle. He said that we "lived to work" and that everything was just "go,go,go". Hmmm...I may have to agree with him.

Things have changed dramatically since the last time that we came. As we drove into Jaco, I was saddened to see high rise hotels and people EVERYWHERE!!! We drove around for 2 hours trying to find a hotel with vacancy. The girls and I walked up to the "recepcion" desk at one hotel, and the lady informed me that it was "an adult only" hotel. What does that mean? Then she handed me a brochure. Uhhh, yeah, "clothing optional"...NOT a place for kids! However, she WAS very helpful and called around to surrounding hotels to help us find a room. We finally found a room at a place called Morgan's Cove. It definitely has a Costa Rican flavor to it. The restaurant is outdoors under a tiled roof area that over looks the beach. VERY COOL! (For those of you that prefer "clothing optional", that place is called Copacobana. They were so helpful that they deserve a plug for their business!) Here is a picture of our hotel:


I truly cannot believe how "technologically dependent" that we have become! If you choose to come here and have to have cell phone service, be sure that your phone is a global one. Ours are not, so we have NO cell phones for 8 days! Most hotels have WiFi but that doesn't mean that you will be able to get access in your room. I am sitting in a common area outside the office right now. It's the only place that I have been able to get access. So, if you choose to come here, be ready to UNPLUG! I mean, really...why else do we get away on vacation anyway??? Gosh, we Americans are soooo spoiled! :o)


by Lauren
When we first got here, I wasn't very excited and it didn't look at all like my parents described it. It was scary but fun at the same time...until we had to get in the car! I was tired and stressed because we had to drive 2 hours AFTER flying all day. Then we finally got to Jaco. Then I was excited again UNTIL...we figured out that most of the hotels were full. We finally found a hotel and it is awesome. Oh, by the way...on the way to Jaco, we were crossing a bridge and saw all of these people looking over the side. Our GPS told us that there were crocodiles in the river. So we parked our car and walked over the bridge. This is what we saw:

HOW COOL IS THAT!!!

by Lexie
This morning when we woke up, we heard a noise outside our room. My dad, my sister, and I came out to see what was all the commotion. Then...we saw a beautiful Macaw bird. He was eating his snack. Then, when we were walking back to our room, we saw wild Macaws flying around the trees. They had pink heads and black bodies. I wondered why that one Macaw was in the cage and not free. So, we went into our room and got our mom to see the Macaw. When we walked back to the cage, there was a man feeding it. I thought he was messing with it and taking its food but he wasn't. He was feeding that poor little bird. I asked why he was in the cage and none of the other birds were. He said "This one is blind. This keeps him safe." I thought that was good. Here is a picture of me with the Macaw:

THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU SEE EVERYDAY!!!

The hubby went surfing at Hermosa Beach this morning so, needless to say, he won't be blogging just yet. However, if I know him, he will have LOTS to say when he returns!!!

Adios for now!