Disfrutalo Ranchos y Villas Santa Teresa

... but we fortified ourselves on arrival with a lovely lunch at what would become our favourite restaurant. We all instantly felt that this town was a bit more 'us' - lots of little cafes and surf shops. After a THOROUGH reccy of all the town's hostels (we were determined not to do a repeat performance of Montezumo) we plumped for Don Jon's with his many dogs and laid back charm.

The two days we spent in Santa Teresa were to be dedicated to improving our surfing ...

... translation: potatoes). we tried the mahi-mahi sushi because it was all they had, and i'm pretty sure we've never had raw mahi-mahi before, but it was not bad. not sure i'd have it again though. i'll stick to the thai filet.
d. El Pupo: translation the octopus. now what do they serve here? pizza, of course. it is the best pizza in town and reminds me of italian-american pizza . . . ya know, what we think of as italian style pizza ...

... site and are doing travel planning, of the two bird tours I did herr, I'd much more strongly recommend Jorge Serrano at Paraiso de Quetzales (Phone in Costa Rica: 2-200-0241). He owns his cabins, too, similar to where I stayed and he knows his birds. The family is also delightful, and reviews of the food there excellent.

... 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.

... 30am. Paul is excited about getting to check out the surf - although the tropical rain persists! At least you can still surf! There is a nice young German couple, a Japanese guy and two nice Norwegian girls here to! It is good because the Norwegian girls and just starting off at the same time as me - so at least i have someone to potter with in the white water.... Later in the week, Tillman, a hillarious young German judge arrived back at the camp - he had ...

... 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 ...

... counting the redhead and a couple little blondes who happened upon some major recessive genes in their families). But when I came into school the first day with my new due, there was a collective gasp. I almost stopped the national anthem mid-note. All that day I got the, "Teacher, you cut your hair." Nothing else. They were too in shock that someone under the age of 40 had cut her hair so short. As in the States, it seems that all the women over ...

... so relaxed despite several people being intoxicated, everyone got along, everyone was having a really good time. There was a huge bandstand ring set up in the middle of town in the Parque Central (every Latin American town has one) and there was a bull chase going on. I donīt know what else to call it? Theyīd let loose a bull and then a bunch of cowboys would run around in the ring trying to torment it. We didnīt watch it, only for a second...kind of ...