Pictures from Costa Rica

September & October 2007

It's an adventure to get here (one must travel up a steep narrow, curving road with deep trenches on either side and large potholes caused by heavy construction vehicles that are working on a development nearby). But once you arrive, it is clear that the trip is worth it.

View from the "Glass House" villa where Molly, Nina, and I stayed for our first 10 days in Costa Rica.

View of the "Glass House" from the gardens below.

The balcony of the "Glass House" provided us with many happy hours. Molly & Nina enjoyed many warm evenings there sipping wine and sharing stories. We all loved watching the huge clouds roll in to engulf the villa as well as the soothing sound of the rain which fell nightly varying from a light sprinkle to a torrential downpour. The crystal clear mornings dawned between 4:30 and 5:00 AM. This was the time I could be found on the balcony, doing my morning yoga practice, meditating, writing, or attempting to capture the beauty of this place with watercolors.

The next five days were spent in the "Stone House", a considerable bargain compared to the "Glass House". One major drawback of this villa was the fact that it had a large cement lined pool attached where many forms of wildlife gathered. This made the night hours full of interesting sounds of animals splashing in the pool or scurrying across the roof. One very early morning we had the unique opportunity of listening to the sounds of a large snake slowly devouring a small mammal inside the ceiling directly above the bed

On Monday, October 8th, Molly and I traveled to see our friends Tricia & Paul in Cahuita. (pics. coming soon)

Our Hostess, Ingrid, had become fond of us and so upon our return from Cahuita, offered us this lovely "Studio" villa for the same cost as the "Stone House". The rainy season had officially arrived now and most of the days during our fourth week in Costa Rica were gray and drizzly by noon or so. We visited the city park one day but spent most of our time in the "Studio" resting and recuperating, and taking advantage of the Cable movie selections and homemade catered meals.

The deck of the "Studio". We enjoyed one evening meal out here our first night. The rainy season put a dampener on our outside dining thereafter.

The lobby of the main house where our German hosts, Ingrid & Frederick live with their daughter, Mona. Ingrid is available daily between 5;00 AM AND 11 PM to serve her guests whether it be calling in a prescription, helping to coordinate the details of a tour, or leaving the gate open so that they can go out to the clubs in Escazu and stay and dance to the wonderful salsa music as late as they please. Fred is the resident chef and a friendly taxi service for shopping trips.

The dining room of the main house. Here we shared a special meal for all the guests to celebrate Molly's birthday, the amazing stem cell treatment that John and I had just received, and to say goodbye to the departing guests.

This was the landmark that we used when hailing a taxi. Once here, we informed the driver that we were really going another 500 meters up the mountain. To enter Villa La Mas requires the driver to make a sharp 45% turn into the drive while at the same time accelerating to be able to make it up the steep hill that leads to the main parking area. One Cab's engine could not make the ascent and an unfortunate delivery boy from the pizza shop flipped his motorcycle one particularly wet evening. He was embarrassed, but unhurt.

Costa Rica is truly rich in colorful flora, exotic fauna, and beautiful, friendly people!!

Te gusta Pura Vida in Costa Rica !