Honeymoon Photo Shoot

The Mister and I are getting ready to head to The Great State Of to enjoy a Passover celebration with the family.  Since this will ensure that I won't be blogging for several days (as if I blog everyday... ha!), I thought I'd leave you all with some pretty, pretty pictures from our honeymoon photo shoot in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.  These are just a few of my faves...!

Day 14: The End

What an amazing day!  We had an early morning photo shoot with our new friend, Toh, and had a blast playing on the beach.  We then did absolutely nothing for the next four hours.  It.Was.Glorious.  The beach is beautiful, the drinks (pina coladas) are cold, life is good.  Travis even got himself a little massaje on the beach.  Pura Vida! 

Our nearly 5-hour drive from la playa to San Jose began at 2:15pm and wasn't as bad as we were expecting.  We're now back at El Rodeo, our same hotel where we stayed during our first night in Costa Rica.  We're drinking the 2nd - and last - bottle of vino that we bought in Nica. and eating chips and salsa that is way too caliente for our gringo mouths.  I thought I'd be ready to go home at this point but I'm not exactly ready to leave this beautiful country.  I am, however, ready for some puggle love!!

Coming next: Outcome of The Epic Photo Shoot.

Day 3: Canal Tour Through The Jungle

Things we learned after Night One in Tortuguero:
 - There are no sheets on the bed.  Just a big blanket in the closet.  Why?  Because we're in the jungle.
 - There is no A/C.  See above (we're in the jungle).
 - There is no glass on the windows.  Just screens and shutters.  Because... we're in the jungle.
 - There is one TV in the whole complex.  At the bar, of course.
 - There are no phones in the rooms but they'll still give you a wake-up call... by knocking on your door.  That's how things roll in the jungle.
 - Wuggle is still hanging out in our shower.  Which means I still haven't showered.  But who cares?  We're in the f'ing jungle, yo.

We went on two canal tours today; one before breakfast and one after.  The first trip was rather uneventful but a few spider monkeys put on a little show.  The second tour was incredible!  We saw several caimans, which are basically mini-crocodiles, turtles, birds, iguanas, river otters, spider monkeys and howler monkeys, and -the best- a Jesus Christ lizard. They call them that because they can walk on water, which we openly laughed at when we heard.  But then we saw it.  The little guy just scampered across on two legs.  It was awesome.  The canals were beautiful, the water was dark, the wildlife was incredible and the whole experience was breathtaking. 

Spider Monkey

 Jesus Christ lizard

 Boa.

 A baby caiman.

 The mama caiman... watching us closely.

 This guy was pissed.

 Can you see his white face?!

After lunch and a stop at the pool, we went into the town of Tortuguero.  It was a very small Main "Street" (no cars) with several little stores and restaurants.  One convenience store was selling gluten-free pasta AND hamantaschens!  Whaaaaat?!  We walked back down the beach to get back to the lodge with our new friend, Sari, from New Jersey.  I tried to keep the little stray dog that followed us back but Travis wasn't having it.  Sad.  Had some live music at the bar before dinner (Harry Belafonte, anyone?) and now we're enjoying our last night in Tortuguero before our new adventure tomorrow.  Oh, and I took a shower.  Wuggle has moved on.  Perhaps when the poor soul unclogged the toilet he was scared away.

Travis' new friend in town.

 We bought a coco loco from this guy with the machete.

Our friends!  They escorted us down the beach.  I wanted to keep the little one.

Day 2: Feliz Navidad!

Our tour guide, Mario, and driver, Julio, picked us up at 5:45am.  We made the rounds to 2-3 more hotels in downtown San Jose to pick up more Laguna Lodge (Tortuguero) visitors.  We drove through Braulio Carrillo National Park, made a pit stop at Selva Tropical for breakfast and a butterfly pavilion tour, got a "natural massage" on the gravel roads and finally arrived at the boat dock to complete the journey through the canals. 

Our Turismo van

 I love this butterfly - doesn't it look like a fish?!

 This plant is called Hot Lips.  Seriously.

 Our first wildlife sighting!  Funny story about this sloth... it was still there two days later when we returned from Tortuguero. 

Side note: Do you know C.R.'s #1 export?  Not bananas (#2 - and we passed the Chiquita plantation!).  Not coffee, flowers or fruit (all good guesses).  Microchips.  From Intel.  Whoa.

The canal ride took almost an hour but was a very cool experience.  Laguna Lodge, and a few other hotel-types, are along a long, narrow strip of land with canals on one side and the Caribbean Ocean on the other.  The lodge is relaxing and peaceful.  The restaurant serves all our meals in an outdoor covered hut.  Every room has two rocking chairs on a covered porch to observe the surroundings.  And!  I got to pull the "honeymoon" card for the first time.  Thanks, but no thanks, for room 32 with three twin beds.  Free upgrade?  Yes, please. 

Laguna Lodge, Tortuguero, CR

We slathered up with sunscreen at the pool and laid out for approximately five minutes before it very suddenly began raining.  Hard.  We sprinted back to our room and sat on the porch watching the rain and two iguanas flirt until it was time for a "hike" with Mario.  We took a nice little walk down the beach and turned around when we stumbled upon an airstrip that was right next to the beach.  It was crazy.  After a few photo ops, the torrential downpour began again.  Out came our super cool matching bright blue ponchos and we hustled down the runway to get back to the lodge.  We have since discovered a gecko (nicknamed "Wuggle" after our beloved son) in our bathroom so I'm trying to avoid showering until our next destination.  That means going Saturday night through Tuesday afternoon without a shower.  Katie would be proud.  Travis has also clogged the toilet and apparently the front desk staff has limited hours... it stinks... this is an adventure... wish me luck.

The happy groom on the Caribbean Ocean.

 Our brief pool outing.

 See the female iguana?

Here comes the studly male!

Don't make me chase you up that tree, woman!

 You never know when you'll need a pay phone.

Just a few bats.  No big deal.

 One of my favorite photos from the trip. 

The random airstrip. 

Happy Honeymooners! 

Wuggle!