September update from Costa Rica

Well, August and so far September have been very busy and very exciting at the same time. Roxana and I have visited some areas of the country we've never seen before, enjoy so much of our time together with our families, and celebrated the recent festivities of Costa Rica 187th Independence Anniversary (Central America and Mexico as well).

At the Central Pacific region we visited the Marine National Park called Ballena, which means Whale. Yes, we went in a tour for about 5 hours into the ocean looking for whales. It was an unbelievable experience, while at the ocean we suddenly saw a mammal about 3 times larger than our boat just feet away from us. It did not jump in from of us (thankfully) but it did it on the distance... amazing!!! According to our guide, there were probably 5 of them around. We also saw dolphins close to a little Island we visited. Pictures don't do justice to the feeling, it definitively was a lifetime experience. The Park has beautiful beaches, the one in the picture below is a Cabo, where a little sand strip has beach front in both sides.





Along with my parents, Roxana and I also took a trip to 2 volcanoes (Miravalles and Rincon de la Vieja) and two beaches in the North Pacific Region of the country, and about 4 hours from our little town of Atenas. My dad was telling us it was a dream for him to stand up on the top of a volcano crater, and I was just hopping this was not going to erupt any time soon.


There we enjoyed good food and beer while visiting a little resort with hot springs pools. My mom was the leader in our hikes, and Roxana and I just enjoy their company, which by the way was the first time, since I left home, that I shared 4 days in a row with them. Yes, it was a good time and hope to do it again soon. After visiting these volcanic area, we moved for 2 additional nights to the beach. Me and my dad took a dip while all enjoyed the beautiful sunsets of the Pacific.


In another trip, just 2 weeks ago, we went from the Pacific to the Caribbean coast in the Province of Limon. Here we visited Cahuita National Park, a park that has a vibrant tropical rain forest with monkeys, sloths, reefs, and warm crystal clear waters. The town of Cahuita is still cut in the past, with a calypso and regae tunes coming out of ranch style bars and restaurants. This town is receives a considerable high influx of adventurous tourists, one might classify more as hippies.



Finally, just last weekend on Sept 14 and 15 we celebrated the Independence. On the night of the 14th home made lanterns created by school kids and their parents iluminated the night where the torch of liberty arrives from Guatemala, former Capital of the region during the times of the Spanish conquista. At 6pm in every town of the country the national anthom is sang in front of the torch. On the 15th everybody enjoy the parades of Independance, celebrated also at every Municipality in the country. Here are some pictures in the town of Atenas.