Our Christmas Adventure in Costa Rica, Part I

Justin and I decided that this Christmas we wanted to get away together. We decided to go to Costa Rica for a whole week! It was a wonderful trip, full of lots of adventure. Costa Rica is not as much a place to go "see" things but rather a place do go and "do." And that's what we did. But to kick off our vacation we started with a little time to unwind and relax. We went to a beach town called Quepos and stayed in the nicest resort I've ever stayed in. It was awesome! Our room was surrounded by rain forest, but at the same time it backed up to the beach. I kept telling Justin I felt like I was in "Lost." Jungle, Beach, I kept waiting for the polar bears and loud monster noises. If any of you are thinking about going to Costa Rica, I would highly recommend this hotel. Arenas Del Mar. I don't know what that stands for but surely something like "piece of paradise" I would think. It just opened in October and everyone was super friendly. It's on the side of a huge hill leading down to the ocean, so they take you everywhere in little golf carts. Here's a view from the top of the hill going down to our room.

Our room and view from...Our back porch

We had a jacuzzi on our balcony!! The best part was you could hear the ocean rolling in and out each night and morning.

One of the pools on by the main deck

And it backs up to two different beaches. Here's the one closest to our room...One afternoon we went to Manuel Antonio National Park to trek through the rain forest a little. We mostly just saw cute little monkeys.

This little guy was chowing down on a coconut. Too cute.

They had the coolest trees, like something out of a book. At the end of the hiking, led to a beautiful beach. Lots of sun and calm waters. This is what I had been looking forward to for months. Can I go back?!?

Always wanted a good beach foot pic. It's amazing how many we took to try and get one! We tried this on our spring break trip unsuccessfully. Sadly I had not painted my toenails but this one will do. I think it helps to have the ocean in the background. Anyone who has tried this and gotten frustrated with sandy toes knows just what I'm talking about. :)

Beach and sun during winter. Justin and I decided we could live with that. Snowbirds I think they call it. Here's to sunny winters spent lying on the beach! On our way back to our hotel, we stopped a couple of times at different beaches...Our little photo shoot (this was all in attempt of getting ONE good pic mind you)And then a night out on the town. One night we decided to go out to get dinner. We went to this cool restaurant made inside a huge airplane. Ever heard of Iran-Contra? I hadn't, but Justin knew about it. Some scandal back in the 80's involving the CIA, anyway, this plane came from that event. They hollowed out the cockpit to make a bar and the wings went up to the second floor of the restaurant.So that about sums up our time in Quepos....we are so thankful for a restful, low-key time together. Little did we know we were going to need it with all the excitement and adventures we would have on the rest of our trip!