It has been a while since the last time I have written on the blog, so there are quite a few things to cover. First and foremost we had a great trip home to see all of our friends in California, and when we were there Dana and I got engaged! We are really excited about moving forward with our relationship and hopefully getting married next September, back home in Tahoe.
Shortly after we returned to Costa Rica my parents came for a visit, which was jam packed with restaurants and fun activities. The first day they were here we went to a Zoo that had most species any tourist visiting CR would want to see, followed by picking up Dana after school and driving out to the Caribbean. We drove about three and a half hours south all the way to Puerto Viejo which is an awesome beach town just north of the Panamanian border. We stayed at a cool little resort and enjoyed great food, rode cruiser bikes, and attempted to swim in the ocean; until the lifeguard came down the beach and said no more swimming. The rip current was too strong, not to mention ten foot swells coming in, due to a hurricane. Puerto Viejo is one of my favorite areas I have been to so far in CR, with the Caribbean vibe, Rastas everywhere and beautiful underdeveloped beaches. It really makes you feel like you are in a place that is still very special. We also had one of the best meals I have ever had in my life at an Italian restaurant, La Pecora Nera, where everything was so fresh and the service was incredible. When we returned from the beach we had some nice dinners with the cousins and just enjoyed some time to show my parents what we’re up to down here. 
Not long after they were off we had our second set of visitors, our buddies Mike Hoopengartener and Kevin Embertson from Truckee. I picked them up from the central square in downtown Heredia and we started having an awesome week. We did all sorts of activities including going to the Central market, for shopping and some lunch, hiked to a Tapir reserve and to see two different waterfalls, went out to the beach on the Pacific for the day, and best of all going to see the sunrise over Poas Volcano. My uncle was helping a film crew experience many great things CR has to offer for a PBS TV show “The Quest for Pura Vida” and the last day of filming was at the volcano for sunrise. The volcano is a huge crater about 1.2 miles in circumference, but most visitors only see it covered in clouds because the park doesn’t open until 8:00 a.m. They wanted to film the crater at sunrise, for the best footage and clarity, we got picked up in a bus at 3:15 a.m. and reached the crater at 5:00 am and watched the volcano slowly illuminate with light. We stayed until maybe 6:30 witnessing two small eruptions and then went down the mountain for an amazing freshly prepared, traditional breakfast. After that, we sent them on their way, with our friend Travis, for a day of whitewater rafting with his company on the Rio Sarapaqui. It was really fun to have visitors, and to provide a place where they can feel totally comfortable in such a different culture, and a small reprieve from traveling. It is also very rewarding to show friends from home our life down here and have them so excited to see what has now come fairly accustomed to us; it reminds us of how special the opportunity we have right now really is.We are looking forward to having quite a few more visitors in the coming months, starting with Todd (Dana’s brother) this Friday. We are planning to head south with him and see a bit of Panama, but most of our time will be spent in Bocas Del Toro. Bocas is an archipelago of islands that are reached by water taxi only. These islands are well known for their crystal clear waters, Caribbean vibes and open ocean surf breaks. I’m looking forward to really traveling in the next couple months, as Dana has vacation for almost five weeks, followed by three of my good friends coming down in early February! We’re planning an epic surf trip that we will surf the majority of the breaks on the Pacific Ocean. We also have Dana’s parents coming for two weeks in January, so it will be fun to show them all over the country, probably splitting the time between the Central Valley where we live and various beaches throughout the Pacific.
Recently I have been working hard on building a new entertainment center for my uncle in the woodworking shop I work at. Though I am looking forward to getting back to carving bowls and trying to do some salad utensils and table legs in the near future. It is really nice to have the freedom to do what I want everyday so I am trying to embrace it as much as possible, and really experience everything that presents itself. One of my favorite parts of being here is being able to create friendships with my cousins down here. It has been great for us to get to know them as adults and friends rather than just seeing them at some family event once in a blue moon. Steve and Anne (my pseudo aunt and uncle) are incredibly inspiring people to be around, they truly believe in what they do and are so dedicated to the arts and culture it is really nice to constantly be surrounded by such intellect.
I am really missing the snow. It has been an incredible start to the season in Tahoe and even wearing shorts and a t-shirt everyday couldn’t ever replace my love for the snow. I hope everyone back home is loving the snow and skiing as much as possible, because I know I would be. We are looking forward to being home next year for our wedding and the snow! We’ll keep you posted on all of our journeys. Enjoy shoveling, and Pura Vida!
