Refugio Paraiso Santa Teresa

... the tuna salad. don't be fooled.
b. Tres! cafe: owned by 2 germans who love fresh raw food. i didn't ever think i'd ever like "raw" food but Jan's raw 'onion bread' that accompanied the 'lovely green salad' was the best and weirdest thing ever. his veggie frittata was by far the best breakfast i've ever had. and in the low season, they host a saturday night dinner (reservations in advance) that is 4 courses, has some kind of theme ...

... the new year holiday -- we had to zig-zag down the beach to avoid all the football games (where two pieces of driftwood marked the goals). We walked all the way to the end of the peninsula, enjoying the sunset over Nicoya bay It was a lovely walk -- bought some coffee and hot sauce, too. Showered, then went upstairs to enjoy a margarita and the reggae band. No one ate anything at dinner -- we were all too tired -- and our wait staff got mad at us.

... motors and buses stuck in the mudd. anyways we made 'er. its was epic! but so glad to be here and out of the city. its sooo peaceful here! so the adventure beings. chillin here in the rain until we decide to go up to nicaragua and then onto honduras. peace.

... salads for lunch. My rice consumption has drastically dropped from heaping platefuls to only a few spoonfuls. I've started walking up the mountain in the mornings before the rains begin. And, I've started doing dance aerobics. Yes, that's right, dance aerobics. Tico style. Which is way more fun, and probably way weirder than dance aerobics in the States. At least I assume so, never having actually done dance aerobics before. But there's a first for everything, right? So ...

... but what I would call mini-lakes, I think I need to get some boots. The Ticas think that Iīve suddenly gone soft in the head. It all started after I wrote my last entry and just got so sick of mudsplattered pants. My kids have been wearing these big black rainboots all year, and they seem so practical and not that ugly at all. So I casually mentioned to my family that I was going to buy myself a pair of these boots when I next went to Cartago. They laughed ...

... fourth graders walked in. Why is it that my fourth grade class always ends up discussing my personal life more than their new English vocab? A dog! Can I hold it? Whose is it? Um, I guess mine. Whatīs its name? Ummmmm. Then Kervin, upon closer examination, squinched up his face in disgust as he noted the gum stuck to the dog's butt. I guess she had sat on it somewhere. Chiclet! Her name is Chiclet! Now get me some scissors so that I can cut this out ...

... in the States and encouraging Grandma to go to the candy shop. And this is the music I found myself trying to dance to with my boss in front of all my students' parents. Yeah, awkward. After a few minutes of obligatory, painful dancing, I motioned for us to head back to the refreshments area. Mario looked as relieved as I felt. But when I came back, I noticed that a crowd of guys had gathered outside of the sliding doors of the salon, watching me. I ...

... great! We started out with pre-dinner cookies and a bottle of wine, then had a very girlie time getting ready. Dinner was at Cafe Moro, where the food was fabulous, the wine delicious, and the cheesecake (my second birthday cake!) was melt in your mouth. After dinner we made our way to Castro's, my favorite place to dance in San Jose. But we were early, so we had drinks in the karaoke bar upstairs where Erin serenaded us with a lovely ...

... from the beach in Playa Carmen which is halfway between Mal Pais and Santa Teresa. This is certainly another piece of paradise despite it being gringo ville. Itīs great how weīve managed to stay off the beaten track for the most part running into very few "white folk". Costa Rica is a bit different. Way more touristy. We like Nicaragua better. However that being said, we are enjoying our last few days here in paradise. We rented a surfboard for 24 ...