Barrys Aventuras de Costa Rica: June 2015

So we didn't have internet for over 2 months - which is why this blog is so late. These are events from May, and hopefully I'll get around to June soon enough.

Right after Rah Rah and Nana left, Grandpa and Jan Jan came to visit us. We had a great time while they were here, although it was still REALLY HOT in May - it had not yet started raining and people have started to worry about drought here on the Guanacaste Peninsula. Apparently April has been the hottest on record - even locals were melting (so poor Rah Rah was here in the WORST month possible - sorry dad!!).

We took a trip to Arenal to get up out of the heat - it was cool and lovely! We saw toucans every morning from our porch, and it rained!! Beautiful cool refreshing rain! I loved the view of Lake Arenal from our hotel - it was quiet and peaceful and full of birds every morning. I could've stayed there for weeks. Volcan Arenal was shrouded in clouds until the last day, when we were able to actually see the whole cone-shaped mountain. The volcano spends most of the time shrouded in clouds, so we felt very lucky.

We also went to an animal wildlife rescue near Arenal where the kids were able to feed the monkeys, macaws, and parrots. We learned a lot there, and would like to pass on that you should NEVER EVER buy exotic pets from PetSmart, or any pet store. Chances are that the beautiful parrot you bought was smuggled out of Costa Rica, and that the birds' family probably died in transport and the one you have is the only one that made it alive. Please don't buy exotic birds, or any exotic animal at all - including fish. It is very bad for wild animals to be trapped and caged.

We also took Grandpa and Jan Jan to the Rio Tempesque in Palo Verde National Park. We took a boat tour where we saw beautiful birds and lots and lots of crocodiles. We were even "lucky" and saw an ENORMOUS crocodile eating another crocodile. This is apparently unusual to see...yikes.

Amara has also been asking for months to go on a horseback riding tour, so we all went along with her - I hadn't been on a horse in about 20 years but it went well. It was Jan Jan's first time on a horse, and she did great!! Everyone had a blast!