Playa Flamingo

So, these pictures are all out of order, but it was 2 days and we basically did the same thing both days, SO! 

I'm leaving them as is.

The last 2 days, we stayed in Playa Flamingo, at the Casa de Serinadad, and let me tell you, it was INSANE-O-TOWN!

Insane in an awesome, wonderful, beautiful, breathtaking way.

We found this place online (airbnb.com) and the pics, honestly, looked too good to be true, but when we arrived, it was everything and MORE! 

Oh me oh my. It was breathtaking, and that's now my happy place, laying in hammocks next to Scott napping. Bliss!

The people who owned the place we stayed at, were a couple from Georgia, and the sweetest (greeting us with banana bread!). Their place was insanely beautiful with an infinity pool, saunas, hammocks over a wading pool, and the most coo-coo awesome view!!

The first day, we got in around noon and spent the day lounging to our hearts content.

If you walk down, the back of the house down this big hill, FULL of crabs. Literally everywhere I looked, crabs big and small (which, let's be honest, at first terrified me). At the bottom of this long walk, there's a private little rocky beach! So picturesque.

Our last day there, we took the double sea kayak, that the owners let us use (for free!) and kayaked out to an island not far from us. Oh, no big deal that we were there all alone on this white sandy beach!! It was BLISS! Seriously. It was magical in every sense of the word! Sorry to say, no pictures were taken on said kayaking trip. We were to scared to get our phones wet/have them fall into the ocean abyss and be lost forever.

re-hydrating

How could I not do this?

the man who stole my heart forever and always.

our view from where we stayed

right here is the little rocky beach with all the crabs

 So, after the kayaking trip, we went to the beach down the road.

We swam and swam, and braved the waves, and warm bath-like water.

Scott laid like this for a good, few minutes, and when I came to snap a picture, he had literal mounds of sand building up in his ears. I love my goofy manboy.

Sauna every night makes for a good night's sleep.

the best napping there is!

constantly throwing things into the ocean to see how long it will take for them to come back to shore (manboy again)

It was an incredible trip!! We feel so blessed to have had to chance to see a different culture and experience the beauty and wonder of Costa Rica!!

Arenal

We started our 4th day off by driving into the jungle. 

There were signs for this place called Toad Hall for LITERALLY at least 30 miles of winding Costa Rican roads. With that kind of advertising, I couldn't say no (and one of their homemade signs said this place was in Frommers. Double bonus).

We stopped at Toad Hall and ate a yummy lunch and smoothie with parrots and toucans. 

We then drove even more into the jungle to our next place we were staying.

obligatory cow shot. look how cute they are though!

So we got to the Bio Thermales hot spring where were staying. How cute is this place right?
WELL. Let me tell you a little story about this yellow casita.
The employee gives us the key and is showing us around the room/kitchen and I see a few ants but in my head I'm like "Ashley, we're in the JUNGLE. It's okay to have a few creepy crawlers running around". Putting my brave face on, I don't say anything and just smile and nod and get excited to stay in this place.
Next thing I know, we're unloading our luggage and ants in the grass start crawling all over my feet. I calmly (as calmly as I do anything) start brushing them off when they start BITING ME!!!!!! Umm excuse me what?! Yes. Biting me. I start screaming for Scott to help me and I am just up in arms over this jungle "paradise". 
The story goes on.
We get into our place and I think I'm safe, when we go into the bathroom and there are ants literally covering a whole door frame. EVERYWHERE I tell you. I'm really trying to keep my cool for the sake of our perfect trip, but I'm slowly losing it.
We decide that we are okay and I start unpacking our things while Scott looks around. 
Cockroach. That's what he found next.
Obviously, that was the last straw and I had had it. We marched right up to those employees and told them what for.
They said they were Army Ants and that they come once a year and that we are just the unlucky ones who met them.
Of course.

SO! They moved us to this place:

Now, I don't know if I was just an odd kid, or if other people had this fantasy, but I always thought it would be so much fun to sleep in a bed with a mosquito net above it.

Well let me tell you, it's not all it's cracked up to be.

The bugs were KILLER. The jungle and me? We're not the best of friends.

All in all, it was a cool place to stay. Would I stay there again? No way.

The next day, we hiked, hiked, hiked.

We first ate lunch with a nice view of Arenal Volcano.

 Then, explored the jungle on our way to the base of the volcano. 

It was so much fun!!! We was the most gigantic 400 year old trees, lemurs, pecarries, lizards, butterflies, birds. It was awesome.

  

We made it to the top of the hike and it was breathtaking!! 

We sat and enjoyed nature and all God has made for a good 30 minutes with no one else interrupting us. It was perfect.

After a half hour, the thunder started roaring and the rain fell like I've never experienced. We were soaked in a matter of seconds and still had the whole hike to trek back. 

It was all swampy and wonderful though and the wildlife was in full force on our way back to the car.

The next day, we went Ziplining!! It was so so sooo much fun!! We had the time of our lives!

The zipline tour ended up being not booked at all so Scott and me got a private tour, just the two of us! FATE! It was also our anniversary that day.

The tour was 25 cables through a jungle canopy over 11 waterfalls. It was BEAUTIFUL!

furry little caterpillar

cutest legs and feet

 Halfway through the tour, our guides let us stop at this waterfall and natural pool to swim. 

It was the most wonderful!!! Scott and I swimming in this crystal clear water, sitting under the waterfall, soaking in nature. It was seriously amazing.

We finished off the zip lining tour in style, crossing bridges, repelling, and they even let us go on one of the cables together!! (they said they never do that, but they liked us extra I think?)

At the end of the tour, they had this most delicious meal waiting for us. 

It was authentic Costa Rican food and was easily the best meal we ate there the whole trip. YUM!

Our view during lunch

Tamarindo

So let's begin by saying... BEST. TRIP. EVER!

Seriously.

We celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary in style by vacationing in Costa Rica for a week. It was perfection. It started with us flying to Costa Rica and getting in about noon. We rented a car so we could have free reign of the country and do whatever we wanted. Of course we started off buying delicious fruit (rambutans, avocados, mandarin oranges etc) at a stand on the side of the road (such a tourist picture. We know, and don't care).

We drove about an hour from the airport in Liberia, to the city we were staying in, Tamarindo, and got to see some of the beautiful country-side. This included tons of cows, which for some reason I got so excited every time we saw them, that I HAD to snap pictures.

We got to the Casa Boaz where we were staying and settled in. Our hosts were beyond nice and let us have free reign of the pool, their surfboards and bikes. Seriously awesome. If you're wondering how we scored such an awesome place, check out airbnb.com. It did us well.

We promptly took the bikes and rode around on the beach, usually every morning and then when wanting to get around the city.

Our first night, we ate at a cute restaurant literally right on the beach. Ate delicious food, and of course ordered some fruit smoothies. Delicious!

After eating, we got caught in a serious downpour and rode our bikes home in the rain. Upon arrival soaking wet, we took a dip in the pool.

We of course took full advantage of the hammocks everywhere, soaking in the easy life.

Our second day, was an all-out beach day. We got our tans started, scouted out seashells, and got as sandy as possible.

On our way home, we scouted out a hammock shop and bought ourselves a gray, bright fuchsia and white striped hammock. We love it!

That night, as luck would have it, we met up with an old friend from BYU-I, Spencer, and had dinner. It was so funny seeing someone we knew in Costa Rica. We loved catching up.

The next day, we drove over to Spencer's place, Playa Grande, and tried our hand at surfing. Let's say, Scott got up and surfed some waves, while I treated the surfboard as a boogie board, riding the waves to the shore on my stomach like nobody's biznazz. Side note: how cute is the surfer boy in this picture?

Our last night in Tamarindo, we did one of my favotire things the whole trip. A catamaran tour. It was AWESOME! Can you say all you can drink virgin pina coladas? I was in heaven. Wind whipping me around, beautiful water, killer sunset, friends, and delicious beverages? So good.

We sailed out about an hour, to a little island and they dropped us off and let us snorkel. All in all, we saw a sting ray, eel, octopus, and lots of beautifully neon fish.

We saw huge whales (3-4 of them!) and probably 8-10 dolphins swimming. The dolphins came literally right in front of the boat and they were so close I could have touched them. It was bliss!!