{"id":2411,"date":"2011-09-26T23:53:20","date_gmt":"2011-09-27T06:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/?p=2411"},"modified":"2012-03-05T17:20:05","modified_gmt":"2012-03-06T00:20:05","slug":"costa-rica-revisited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/costa-rica-revisited\/","title":{"rendered":"Costa Rica Revisited"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>So, as you may recall, I returned for another visit to Costa Rica again in June – this time to meet my newest granddaughter, Aysia Mae<\/em>, born just a week before I arrived. <\/p>\n

Isn’t she beautiful?<\/p>\n

And doesn’t her family all look so happy<\/em> to have her in their lives? <\/p>\n

I love this family photo… and not just because everyone is color coordinated (yes, I brought clothes for them with me to make sure they would be \ud83d\ude42 )<\/em> but because they look so content and happy… happier and more peaceful <\/em>than I’ve ever seen them before. It warms my heart.<\/p>\n

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Brandon and family had moved from Grecia to Escazu, on the hills outside of San Jose. We spent most of our time just relaxing and enjoying each others’ company, rather than fitting in a lot of touring. But we still kept pretty busy. <\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>We ate at some REALLY great restaurants (our meal at Taj Mahal Indian restaurant<\/a> is a standout for me), visited the farmers market, saw “Tangled” (in Spanish), and attended two kids’ birthday parties and a playgroup, where I met more of the wonderful friends Brandon & Jen have made in Costa Rica. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We also spent three days in the jungly Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Even more great food to be found there. It was beautiful but very, very hot<\/em>. And humid.<\/p>\n

I carried my camera and 3 lenses with me EVERYWHERE because there was so much flora and fauna to be photographed…. <\/p>\n

Like the troop of howler monkeys that climbed and leaped through the bamboo trees around the house. (See video below) <\/em>I saw more blue morpho butterflies than I could count. Not to mention the bug photos<\/a> I previously posted. <\/p>\n

We visited some of the most beautiful beaches<\/em> I’ve ever seen… <\/p>\n

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…and of course I wanted to be ready to snap a photo of my darling granddaughters at any given moment \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n

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Although it was a pain in the butt (or the arm, actually)<\/em> carting my camera around was a good thing considering the house we were renting was broken into while we were at dinner one night. Upon returning, we discovered thieves had taken<\/a> 2 Macbooks, 3 iPads, a camera, 3 backpacks and assorted other items. I was spared because my laptop was hidden in very obscure place – and I never let my camera equipment\/ipad out of my sight. I felt really lucky. <\/em> <\/p>\n

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Ironically, I returned home to discover that, while away, I had been robbed <\/em>of over $3600 in jewelry, over $3500 in cash and assorted other small items. Sadly, it was by someone I know and I am very disappointed that my trust has been betrayed. (About $500 in cash has been returned so far)<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Fortunately, my son recovered one of his laptops<\/a> a few weeks later because he had installed the free Prey Project software. Yeah, Prey! <\/em> (Yes, I have it on both my computers!)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I know you’re probably tired of bug photos<\/em> – but I want to share one more. I saved a pretty blue damselfly<\/em> from drowning by fishing him out of the swimming pool, then held it on my finger and my skirt for about half an hour til it’s wings dried enough to open and close. Once he could hold himself upright, I set him on a begonia petal – where he kindly posed for me for another 20 minutes before flying away. <\/p>\n

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Kind of cute, don’t you think?<\/p>\n

I’m still sorting through the hundreds of photos I took and will let you know when I’ve got more ready for viewing. I figured if I waited til I got them ready to be posted, it could be months before I posted anything. But I’ll get to them. In the meantime, enjoy these few and this brief video that will give you an insight into the wonderful sights and sounds of Costa Rica<\/em>!<\/p>\n