All posts by Allison

Reviews/Recommendations

Breakthrough

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I have one final post to share about my Cost Rica trip – filled with wonderful pictures from my last few 5 days in the country. But I haven’t had a chance to work on it – and wanted to share why.

The last few weeks I’ve been working, nearly non-stop, on preparations for a “Breakthrough Telesummit” that Margie (my main Virtual Assistant/web design client) decided she wanted to put together.

The woman has a lot of vision – but, sadly for me, not much of a feel for what is involved and how long it reasonably takes to bring her vision to life 🙂

So I’ve taken what should be a 12 – 36 week job and pulled it off in just 4 weeks. The telesummit took place this weekend and was a smashing success. I’ve had the opportunity to listen to many of the 24 speakers and they are really INCREDIBLE.

This was a high caliber event – speakers like Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup For The Soul), Marci Shimoff (Happy For No Reason/Love For No Reason), Cheryl Richardson, T. Harv Eker, Tim Sales and more.

All for only $20.

Really, it’s an incredible bargain.

The calls were all recorded, and anyone who registers gets 60 days access to listen to them. Margie has decided to leave enrollment open for one more week (til Sunday, February 27th) – so I wanted to let you know about it.

If you are looking for a breakthrough in your business or in your life, I really recommend you invest the $20 and listen to these speakers. Even though it is billed for “network marketers” – it’s really for anyone wanting to make more of their life, business and relationships. Or to start a new business or create something new. Most of the speakers didn’t even talk about network marketing (though a few did).

Anyway – just wanted to share what I’ve been doing and invite you to take advantage of the offer.

Having heard nearly half of the speakers so far, I can say it’s well worth $20.

Check out the website (yes, I made it) for details on the speakers and their topics – and to register if you’d like.

OK.. back to work!

Costa Rica, Family/Friends, Photography, Travel

Arenal

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The next leg of my Costa Rican journey took us to Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna.

On the way, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that was frequented by some beautiful, colorful birds. I saw my first toucan in the wild – along with toucanets, pretty tanagers, woodpeckers, and this cool Montezuma Oropendola.

We were very fortunate to arrive at a scenic outlook when the volcano was visible – because the next two days (when we were staying right next to it) it was shrouded in clouds.

On the long drive around the lake to Arenal, we noticed a small, hand painted sign, nailed to a tree, advertising a “German Bakery.” And a few miles later, another one.

Mile after mile, no bakery, but more signs (this is one of the larger, later ones).

And the signs kept getting bigger and bigger . We alternated between feeling anticipation for potential strudel, and aggravation (“Where the hell is that bakery!!”)

Finally, after passing lots of other little restaurants, coffee shops, and road-side stands we pulled into the beautiful town of Arenal and saw this sign.

I dare you not to stop at the German Bakery after that drive. They sure know how to market! If we weren’t craving strudel an hour before, we certainly were now!

Here is what we ordered.

It was a bit overpriced, and the staff weren’t particularly friendly, but it was a charming place and our treats were pretty good, though the chocolate cake (the girls’ choice) was a bit dry… as are most cakes in Costa Rica. It was a nice break from traditional Costa Rican fare.

Arenal really is a lovely little town.

The drive between Arenal and La Fortuna was incredible. Spectacular. The most lush, green jungle I saw the entire trip.

And yet I have no photos because my battery died on this particular stretch of road 🙁    I made this sad discovery when I tried to photograph a magical bamboo grove.

I had used up the battery trying to capture images and video to figure out what the beautiful, colorful flowers were that covered the roadside.

There were just no good places to pull over…. so I got a lot of blurry photos and a video that made me nauseous.  But I was a woman obsessed and on a quest to find out…  

“What ARE THOSE FLOWERS!?”

When we finally DID get the chance to stop and see just what they were I was blown away. My mom will be so envious.

Impatiens!

Beautiful, colorful, glorious impatiens growing en masse, wild along the hillsides. I thought of my mom and her struggle to get impatiens to survive – let alone thrive – in her garden each summer and knew she’d just love to see them. So these photos are for you, mom.

Brandon booked us at beautiful Los Lagos Resortin La Fortuna, at the foot of Arenal, for two nights.

During the daylight hours we we explored the lovely grounds. We wandered the butterfly garden.

This orange butterfly really, really liked Jen. It followed and landed on her several times. Must be because she’s so sweet 🙂

We also visited the ant farm, frog farm and crocodile farm. Sadly, the frog farm was being renovated and no frogs were to be found.

I’m not sure why someone would want to farm crocodiles, but there they were.
Notice the impatiens behind him.

We took advantage of the free wifi in the large, lovely lobby during a major downpour. It was fun to see and hear the rain – it came and went so quickly.

We also explored La Fortuna a bit and visited a lovely gallery featuring original art by Costa Rican artists called Coco Loco.

Lots of beautiful artwork – I think the mixed media wall hangings/masks were our favorites.

But the real treat was the hot springs.

We swam both nights and had so much fun in the naturally heated pools – and the cooler pools along side them.

They are designed to look and feel like natural pools – maybe 12 or so of them – ranging from smaller, hot tub size to large swimming pools – some hot, some warm, some quite chilly – and with some of the smaller ones being covered or having private little nooks.

Would make for a great romantic getaway. There actually were several couples cuddled up in those nooks the first night – but the second night we practically had the whole place to ourselves.

It was magical.

The large, hot pool also had a big, very fun slide (yes I went on it once!) and a bar/restaurant you could swim right up to. We sat at the bar and enjoyed pi̱a coladas in pineapples, soaked, splashed and swam Рsurrounded by joyous frog song.

I actually saw three frogs – one right on the rock in front of me in one of the smaller pools. I love frogs.

On our way back to Grecia, we stopped in San Ramon for Jen’s ultrasound appointment (was very fun to be included in that). While there, we checked out the beautiful church in the center of town. Lots more pictures in the slide show below – or access them here.

Next up – Ashley, Justin and Kennedy arrive! So do you want to visit Costa Rica yet?

Costa Rica, Photography, Travel

Beaches, Rivers and Sunsets

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You’re probably getting tired of my Costa Rican adventure… but there’s still so much more to share!

I promise that one day soon I’ll return to mundane posts about politics, the weather or what’s happening in my garden (yes, there are things happening!)

But for now, I will continue to regale you with thrilling tales of my adventures in Costa Rica.

Lucky you. (At least you’re not being forced to watch vacation slides in my living room 🙂 )

So, here is my report on days 9 – 11

Day 9 we relaxed. And had the car serviced. And went to the farmers market. So much fresh fruit!

Day 10 – to the beach!

We invited the Bustillos family to join us for a day at the beach – and, in turn, they took us to a great ‘locals’ beach – Doña Ana.

We made camp under an almond tree and enjoyed watching the flock of frigate birds circling the cliffs.

We played in the water, built sand castles and turned Marie into a mermaid.

The wet sand was very black.

That evening, after dinner with the Bustillos, we ferried to the Nicoya Peninsula and Guanacaste.

The shoreline view and sunset were breathtaking…

I must say that the roads on the peninsula leave something to be desired…

We arrived after dark and made our way over very, very rocky roads to a cute little hotel Brandon had found on his iPhone.

We checked in, and went for a refreshing night swim – all alone in the beautiful pool.

Alone, that is, except for the swimming grasshopper.

After two rescues, only to have him jump back in the pool, we realized that he WANTED to swim. So we let him. He jumped in, swam around, crawled out, jumped in, swam around, then crawled out several times on his own. Once he’d had his fun for the night he hopped away into the bushes. It was pretty entertaining.

The girls enjoyed swimming the next morning after breakfast, and then we were off for a day filled with adventure…

…including several hours on painfully rocky dirt roads and 4 rivers that we had to drive through.

Don’t try this without a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Or GPS.

This is one of the smaller rivers we drove through…

The last river we came to – just as it was getting dark – looked way too wide and too deep, as the tide had recently come in. Brandon was tempted to drive through it anyway, but I insisted he go wade out in it to see how deep it was. He wasn’t thrilled about the idea – considering there could be crocodiles in the river. But he did – and it was above his knees, just a few feet out.

Needless to say, we backed up, turned around and found another way… still through a river, but not quite as deep (higher upstream). Even still, we barely made it through – the car almost got stuck about 10 feet from shore, and the car was a bit waterlogged the rest of the night. Whew!

But those rocky roads and rivers took us to some awesome places.

We passed through the artsy town of Montezuma… which reminded me a little bit of Hanalei on Kauai.

We met some interesting people.

There was a sign in front of a little shack house, out in the middle of nowhere, offering ice cream treats. We needed a break from the rocky roads so stopped and got some – and visited with home/ice cream shop owners/farmers. He is originally from Quebec, and moved to Costa Rica to live in Montezuma – back when the only way to reach it was on horseback. Before it was ruined for tourists, he says. 🙂

We visited some beautiful beaches. Saw little sandpipers running as fast as crabs along the sand.

Ate some good food.

And saw a glorious sunset.

Still, I was very, very happy once we arrived back on paved roads with bridges.

I took a lot more photos… you can view about 70 of them in the slideshow below, should you so desire – or here, if you can’t view the slideshow.

Lest you think that Costa Rica is pure perfection, here are a list of the things that I didn’t really love about it…

  • Not flushing toilet paper. Fortunately, we did at Brandon & Jennifer’s – but at most public places, you’re expected to wipe and toss in the garbage. I understand that’s the norm in most south American and even Asian countries. I don’t like it. It’s smelly (though, to be fair, most places garbage cans were not full – I expect they are emptied regularly).
  • The bugs. Butterflies and dragonflies were cool, but the mosquitos and other biting bugs gave me huge, itchy bumps – many of which ended up bleeding and are still healing.

  • Spiders. Lots and lots of spiders. Big ones. This was the biggest one I saw…. and it was in my bedroom…. at the foot of the bed.
  • Bad hair days. Nearly every day was a bad hair day – not sure if it was the heat (and it wasn’t all that hot) or humidity or what, but my hair was in a constant state of frizz.
  • Narrow roads with crazy, crazy drivers where cars always have the right of way. Very pedestrian un-friendly.

But these are small inconveniences when compared with the beauty, adventure and great food to be experienced. There is so much to love about Costa Rica – and I’d go back again in a heartbeat for a visit.

But not sure I’d want to live there… though I’m really, really missing the really cheap fresh fruit juices…. In fact, I could use a refreshing glass of guanabana right now.

Costa Rica, Family/Friends, Photography, Travel

Sarchi – Zarcero

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Day 8 of my Costa Rican adventure took us first to the mountain town of Sarchi – Costa Rica’s main “artisan” town.

Sarchi is famous for it’s colorfully painted oxcarts (once used to haul coffee beans – now more for decoration) and home to the “World’s Biggest Oxcart.”


From there, we headed to Zarcero.

I loved the bright green hills with the swirling mist of clouds dancing through the trees.

And the charming town park featuring funky topiary made a fabulous backdrop for photos. Of course we had a another bit of hug/photo drama 🙂

Also on display was the most elaborate of the hundreds of nativity scenes I’ve come across since here. Notice the woman doing laundry in the photos below…

On the way back to Grecia we stopped at a small butterfly house. Very cool.

I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story today… enjoy!

(View full screen by clicking on the icon in the lower right corner of the slideshow)

Costa Rica, Family/Friends, Photography, Travel

Colorful Costa Rica

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Day 5 of my trip to Costa Rica I worked a 10 hour day. Not much else to say there….

But on Day 6, we ventured out beyond Grecia and visited a bird zoo.

Saw many beautiful, colorful and cute birds.

And assorted other animals.

And a clump of really big bamboo. I love bamboo…

On the way back, the girls played at a park.

And we stopped by a streetside vendor to purchase fresh pineapple and watermelon – plus some tomatoes, cilantro and onions to make fresh pico de gallo.

Then on to Cafe Delicious in Grecia for a smoothie and the world’s best sweet roll. The sauce on that thing is AMAZING.

That night when I took a shower, about 1am, the power went out. Pitch black. Kind of scary. Especially since we have an unidentified creature tromping around in the jungle like garden outside my cabina late at night… it sounds big…

The power company had to come out and fix it the next day – which meant that….

On Day 7, Brandon and I had to go into town in the morning so I could do some work. I’d committed to a couple of hours work, but we had no internet access because the power was out. So back to Cafe Delicious for breakfast, a smoothie and another sweetroll (and work) 🙂

Fortunately the power was back on when we went back home.

While in town, we saw a man in a suit wearing these bright yellow shoes.

I love the purple wall behind him. Lots of colorful, brightly painted homes and walls here.

Brandon loves this road lined with palm trees.

That night I watched the girls so Brandon & Jennifer could go out on a date. We were silly and had lots of fun, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset together.

So that sums up my first week in Costa Rica. More to come!

Family/Friends, Photography

The Dreaded Hug

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Emily and Marie are so cute. They’re fun, happy and smart. But their personalities are very different.

Marie (5) is affectionate, creative, loves imagination games and wants to be just like her big sister. Emily (7) is more serious, likes solitary activities like drawing or reading, worries about what people think of her. She hates it when people ask if they are twins – because she wants to be seen as ‘older.’

Marie likes to smile pretty in her photos. Emily likes to pull silly faces. Both girls are excellent at turning on the drama when they are unhappy 🙂

I am taking a lot of photos. And anytime Marie sees me taking one of Emily, she wants to be in it (which irritates Emily to no end). And even worse, Marie wants to HUG her in all the photos.

Emily had been thwarting hugs all day, much to Marie’s chagrin, so we all asked Emily to please just pose for one photo while Marie hugged her.

ME: Emily, the sooner you smile the sooner Marie will stop hugging you…

ME: Come on – give us a real smile!

ME: Nice! OK – just a couple more shots….

Emily, looking at her mom: Are we done yet?
ME: Just one more shot…

Emily disengages from the hug…. and Marie is crestfallen.

Marie tried again a few days later with a similar result….

Costa Rica, Family/Friends, Travel

Authentic Costa Rica

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On Day 4 of my visit to Costa Rica, I enjoyed something most vacationers will never experience: The hospitality of a Costa Rican family in their own home.

But first, church.

I attended LDS church services for the first time in many, many years because Brandon wanted me to meet some of the wonderful friends they’ve made in Costa Rica. As a former mormon, I avoid these like the plague – but (other than the heat) this one wasn’t bad.

Every one was so very friendly, and everything was in Spanish (of which I understand very, very little) so I didn’t get irritated with whatever was being preached or testified about (it was a fast and testimony meeting).

It was fun to see that they had decorated their ‘chapel’ with a Christmas tree and garland. And I enjoyed singing the hymns – which is probably the ONLY thing I could ever say I miss about church.

Speaking of Christmas – there are nativity scenes EVERYWHERE. It’s mid-January now and no one seems in a hurry at all to remove their decorations. I’ve seen them on roofs, in parks, in hotels, restaurants – everywhere. I’m wishing now I’d started photographing them all – I could have a post devoted just to Costa Rican nativity scenes.

OK, now for the real fun.

After church we drove an hour to the beautiful area of Atenas, where the Bustillos family welcomed us into their home.

Each week, after church, the two families take turns hosting each other for lunch. This week was the Bustillos turn.

Along the way we saw this waterfall.

Brandon and Kincho are very similar – both in build and in their goofy personalities. They are two peas in a pod and have become dearest friends. Kincho said to me, “Brandon es mi hermano!” (Brandon is my brother).

Kincho proudly took us around the yard – showing us fruit trees, dogs and the absolutely HUGE leaf cutter ants marching in a row. They can devour a small tree within a day or so.

Kincho speaks about as much English as I do Spanish – but we’re able to communicate with gestures and expressions – and with the help of our bilingual counterparts. His wife, Maggie, and their darling girls Jimena and Sigrid both speak some English. And Brandon and family all speak Spanish.

I’d like to add here that Jimena is about the most photogenic person I’ve ever met. I have taken dozens of photos of her and she looks beautiful in every one of them!

Not a single bad photo in the bunch.

Anyway, the girls played on the computers and with the dogs while I took photos – and Brandon, Jennifer, Kincho and Maggie visited and prepared food in the kitchen. And no chauvinism in this house – Kincho jumps right in and helps with dishes and food preparation, child care and anything else that needs attending to.

Maggie is an excellent cook. Dinner was delicious – a traditional Costa Rican meal of arroz con pollo – (chicken with rice). Also a delicious salad of spinach, cucumber and the juice of lemon. So refreshing!

After dinner, we all hopped in Kincho’s Landrover so he could give us a tour of the area. Atenas is really beautiful.

Kincho taught us the local way of greeting each other – basically with a low voiced “hup” (rhymes with pup, cut off abruptly at the end) while raising a hand up. As we drove around town with the windows down, we took turns greeting people walking on the street to see if they’d respond in kind – and nearly every one of them did. A very friendly country.

We stopped and looked at land for sale.

We saw some cows (cattle are abundant in Costa Rica)

We picked and ate oranges right off the tree.

After our drive, we went back to Bustillos for grilled cheese sandwiches and cooled off with an ice cream treat. And stopped in Maggie’s parents home for a visit. They live on the same property – about 20 feet away. Very sweet family.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country. But it’s the people here that really shine.

P.S. It’s so hard to pick which photos to include in my blog, so I’m working on a slide show so you can see more of the scenery and people – so check back soon!

Costa Rica, Family/Friends, Photography, Reviews/Recommendations, Travel

Costa Rica – Day 3

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Costa Rica: Day 3

New year’s day was nice and relaxing. Friends of Brandon & Jennifer came by to visit and share what they’d learned about the process for gaining residency and the various hoop jumping necessary to prepare for the birth of the baby in June. The Engelhardts are really great people and we enjoyed some very interesting conversation. I’m glad I got to meet them.

I also took photos of them for their newborns birth announcement for their family in Holland.

And here are the lovely Pearce ladies in the garden.

We went out for an early dinner at a wonderful little open air restaurant just down the street – Monte Companas.

I experienced my first Costa Rican mixed fruit drink here – and it was delicious. This was peach, mango, papaya and starfruit. And I think it was only about $2.

I was lost looking at the menu (in Spanish), so just took Jen’s recommendation for a traditional Costa Rican meal – Arroz con pollo – rice with chicken. It was served with french fries (which seemed a bit odd) and steamed vegetables. It was very, very good – something I’d order again. I was so eager to eat it I forgot to snap a photo first. Sorry.

The food is only one of the great things about this restaurant. The staff is friendly, the atmosphere comfortable and inviting, and the prices very reasonable. They also have a playground for the girls (making it a great “date night” restaurant for Brandon & Jennifer), and an absolutely incredible view.

I give it 4 clams.

I’ll leave you with a couple of scenic photos I took on the way to dinner. You can click them to enlarge a bit. These were taken from the same place in the road – one shot to the southwest, the other to the southeast. Costa Rica is a beautiful country, isn’t it?

Costa Rica, Photography, Travel

Happy New Year!

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OK, I’m a little late – but hey, I’m in Costa Rica 🙂

Day 2… New Year’s Eve. We spent most the day at home relaxing. Except for Jen who cooked more authentic Costa Rican food for me to try. Here she is bringing me a plate of patacones – which are fried green plantains.

We dipped them in a black bean puree with Lizano sauce mixed in. Lizano is a staple condiment here – and I’m going to have to pick up a bottle to take home. Quite delicious.

We took some photos, read some books and blogs, meditated, listened to music, worked on Emily’s mermaid curtain craft.

My hair is a lions main needing to be tamed… the flat iron I brought is pretty much pointless though in this climate.

But do you like my new glasses?

Isn’t Brandon handsome?

I’m really liking his new beard.

We headed to town for a potential dinner out, but most everything was closed for the holiday.

The town was sure bustling, though. Looked like they had something big planned in the town center (park).

But we don’t really like crowds, so headed back home to enjoy the evening.

After a delicious burrito dinner, we gathered around on the floor to play our first game of Rory’s Story Cubes.

What a riot! I recommend this game for anyone who enjoys fun and creative play. Basic idea is you roll dice with pictures on them and make up stories based on what you roll. We were laughing ourselves silly, and only stopped because it was time for a movie… much to Marie’s chagrin, we opted for The Incredible Mr. Limpet. (She wanted to watch Robots)

Marie went to bed, but Emily wanted to stay up to watch the fireworks and ring in the new year with us. And ring it in we did. From the veranda, we have a panoramic view of a huge valley. It encompasses several cities – the largest of which is San Jose.

At midnight it began – and was an amazing spectacle. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many fireworks at one time in my entire life. Even though we were far away from the action, we were awed at the sheer number of sparkling explosions which lasted for a good 30+ minutes.

I shot some video and have edited it down to a little over a minute for you. Please note that this video is only of the San Jose portion (and only part of San Jose) – I didn’t have a wide enough angled lens to capture the entire valley. Enjoy!

How did you ring in the new year?

Costa Rica, Family/Friends, Travel

Hey, I’m in Costa Rica!

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Ahhhh, Costa Rica.

I left this scene on Wednesday morning.

After a very full day of travel involving 6 hour layovers, conversations with interesting strangers (now friends), and very little sleep, I arrived at 6:30am CT on Thursday to this:

I’m here for a three week visit with my son, Brandon, and his family who have lived here for a year. I’ll have to do a little work while here, but I plan on enjoying a lot of vacation and relaxation time. If you’d like to know how and why they moved to Costa Rica, visit his blog.

Ashley & family will be coming down for a week vacation and be here the last 4 days of mine. Really looking forward to having all of us together again – and in such a beautiful place.

Brandon met me at the airport and we made our way through the lovely countryside to their home in Grecia. They actually live about 15 minutes outside of town on the side of a volcano.  The drive was lovely. I’ve arrived about a month after the end of the rainy season so it’s still pretty green, but not too hot. Though we did enjoy a light rainfall while in town late afternoon.

Here are Brandon & Emily on their front porch.

Marie is looking so much like her mom. I love her sun-kissed freckles.

After taking a long tour of the beautiful gardens (photos later) we all enjoyed a traditional Costa Rican breakfast – gallo pinto with eggs, fruit and juice.

Can I mention here how delightful it is to have someone cooking for me? I’m going to eat more nutritiously in the next three weeks than I have in a long time, I’m sure. And it’s so delicious!

Thanks, Jen – you’re a fabulous cook!

After the opening of the Christmas gifts, I took a much needed 3 hour nap in the guest cottage. I drifted off to sleep to lovely birdsong.

Speaking of birds… Costa Rica is known as a bird watcher’s paradise. I’ve seen quite a few interesting varieties – but was especially thrilled to have seen the beautiful and exotic Blue Crowned Motmot – on my first day here! Isn’t he gorgeous?

We headed into town to do a little shopping, stopped for an ice cream cone, and were treated to this beautiful purple sky as we headed back to the car.

The drive back up the mountain was very foggy – we could hardly see the road. I love fog, but it was a tad scary…

Brandon was disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to see the city lights from the veranda. But an hour later, the fog had all lifted, and this was the view (one direction).

These are the lights of San Jose. Simply stunning.

All in all, a fabulous first day. I was exhausted again by 7:30pm. But after a good night’s sleep, and enjoying the company, hospitality, food and incredible view – I think I can say I’m really going to enjoy this vacation.

As my final treat for you today, here is a video I shot just before I started writing this. Same veranda from where I took the city nights photo.

I really should learn to not talk while I’m shooting video. Next video you can look forward to a musical background.