Costa Rica Day Two

After one day in San Jose, we headed to the airport for a short flight to Quepos.

It turned out to be National Aviation Day in Costa Rica, and the little airport had been commandeered by an airshow -- we were actually on the plane and ready to go when we all had to get out and walk back to the waiting room. The airshow wasn't quite finished with buzzing the tower.


We were an hour late when we finally took off, but we were on our way.


And happy to be in the air!


The clouds made looking at the gorgeous landscape a little tough, but the view was wonderful.


Heading back down from the clouds, we were treated to a view of the beautiful bay and Manuel Antonio National Park. The river was the one went rafting on -- a great day but no photos. Sigh.


And the first sunset by the sea!

It's a source of protein...

We tried teaching Milo how to feed the dog and he ate it himself. Great. Now, when I tell him that dog food is yucky, do you think he's going to believe me?

Really, he put the kibble in his mouth, sucked on it, and wouldn't give it up. So much for that experiment.

Costa Rica Day One

Okay, I should try to do some justice to the beautiful nation of Costa Rica, which is a totally different place than Puerto Rico -- a fact that our Seattle cab driver didn't quite get.


Okay, hit the road, Jack, and it's three hours from Vancouver to Sea-Tac. Avoiding I-5 during rush hour is a good idea... by taking the other route around Lake Washington, we saved some time, and it rejoins I-5 right by the airport.


Let's just skip over the redeye from Seattle to Miami (super crowded, Milo fidgeted on our laps all night) and the shorter, roomier Miami to San Jose (he fell asleep before takeoff and slept the whole way on his own seat) and get to the good part: Welcome to San Jose, capital of Costa Rica!

While Mom and Dad were schlepping luggage up to the rooms, Poppa and Gramma were putting Milo in the pool. With his pants on. With beer present. Welcome to your vacation!


Then, it's comfy time in the hammock. They both had a short nap here, in the comfiest hammock we'd have the whole trip.


Time to go to dinner. A short walk down the hill, past the Denny's, and we get our first Costa Rican food.


Of course, on the way, we get the first bit of rainforest nature: leaf-cutter ants. Many, many, ants in a long long road. Actually, two lanes, northbound and southbound, that split and rejoined on either side of the sidewalk.


Pretty cool! And they live down a storm drain. It rained overnight, and they were out again the next day, back to work. (They look really cute when they're carrying tiny yellow flowers too.)



End of Day One. Sleep at last!

What Milo Learned

We're back.

After 12 glorious days in beautiful Costa Rica (and part of one night in a Seattle hotel) we're finally home in Vancouver and glad to see the snow all gone.

Top 10 Words Milo learned to say in Costa Rica:

Apple
Gecko (if only we had geckos in Canada)
Water
Happy ("Happy happy happy happy happy!")
Statue
No (but he uses it sarcastically!)
White
Cookie (And he hasn't seen Sesame Street yet)
Poppa
Up (also means "down")

And he'll "oo-oo-oo ee-ee-ee" like a monkey on command too.

Pics soon -- too tired after drving back from Seattle to do anything last night and I suspect it'll take iPhoto a while to download 800 pics from my two memory cards.

Let it snow!

Snowstorm in November? In Vancouver? It might as well be snowing in Florida... which, in fact, it did earlier this year. Methinks Al Gore might be on to something with this whole climate change idea.

But in Vancouver our foot of snow is losing its battle with the Wet Coast Express. We live in a rainforest, not a snowforest. The snow was lovely, but Vancouver's three snow removal machines weren't up to the task and the snow made biking difficult.

Even today, the snow and ice on the sidestreets make my bike ride more exciting than usual today, or that could have been the three idiots who ran stop signs in futile attempts to kill me.

Note to self: Invent cyclist clothing fitted with sharp spiky bits and little jars of acetone so that when cars hit you, it REALLY wrecks their paint job. The best defense is a good offense.

Anyway, while the snow was dry, fluffy, and beautiful, Milo was out in it. Bundled so tight he could barely move.


And he ate his first snow.


Later on, he threw snow in the air and got his first sled ride, courtesy of a neighbourhood boy named Arjun, whose silly faces cracked Milo up as well. Thanks Arjun!