Letting It All Hang Out

You would think that an almost physician would not find anatomical body parts funny anymore and this is generally true.  But I still can't stop laughing at this picture that we took in Costa Rica.   

Please, Mr. Howler Monkey. Put those things away!  Have some decency!

A Random Act of Kindness

During the first night of our honeymoon, we experienced a wonderful act of unprovoked kindness.

It was nearly 4 pm when we got to the hotel.  We enjoyed our delicious complimentary drinks (fresh fruit blended with vodka) and quickly changed into our bathing suits to hit the pool.  Now if you've ever seen my husband with his shirt off, you would know that not only is he a outstanding male specimen, but he also has several tattoos that reflect his military career.  This, combined with his short haircut, make it pretty obvious that he's a veteran.  Even though we didn't really socialize with any of the fellow guests at the pool that night, some of them took notice of this fact.

We enjoyed our short pool adventure and left to get ready for dinner.  When we returned for our first surprise 4 course meal, we were told by the staff that the gentleman in Villa 4 was paying for our dinner.

Wait, what?

This was quite unexpected since the only words exchanged with this man had been "The pool is chilly but you get used to it."  In fact, the staff had to describe him to us because we weren't even clear who he was in the first place.  He apparently had realized that my husband was in the military and wanted to thank him for his service.

We were definitely taken aback by this wonderful gesture and weren't even sure how to respond to it.  A simple thank you was all that we could do, but I think I'll have to figure out a way to pay it forward.

Another random honeymoon picture. Just because. 

Hey Hey We're The Monkeys!

Please excuse my short period of absence.  Hubby and I were out hob-nobbing with the jungle creatures.

After 3 months of marriage, we got to take our belated honeymoon to Costa Rica and it was amaaaazing.  We flew into San Jose, stayed a night, and then rented our 4x4 for the 4 hour trek to Uvita.  We passed through beautiful mountainsides, traveled over crocodile laden rivers, and finally approached our destination.

We were warned by our hotel that the road was bad and we needed to rent a 4x4 or we wouldn't make it.  Well, they certainly weren't kidding.  As we drove up the bumpy and rocky road I questioned whether we were going to survive the climb up the mountain.  Just when the nausea started to set in, the white walls of Oxygen Jungle Villas were before us and all of my hesitation melted away.

This small boutique hotel consists of 12 glass-walled villas for a total of 24 maximum guests.  The owners, Edwin and Floortje, live right there so they are always available for help, advice, or just a friendly conversation.  The service was wonderful, food was delicious, and the hotel was beautiful.  One of the best parts was the surprise 4 course dinner every night - there were many times that I watched my husband physically use his fingers to lick the plate clean.

Even though our hotel was awesome, we spent the majority of our time exploring the area.  We took day trips to Manuel Antonio National Park and Corcovado National Park (described by National Geographic as "the most biologically intense place on Earth").  Our goal was to see wildlife and boy did we ever:

Humpback Whales

Crocs!

Howler Monkeys like to wake you up at 5 AM screaming

White-Faced Monkeys

White-Nosed Coatie

A sloth napping.  My kinda people.

Iguana

Macaws mate for life. How romantic :)

Brazilian Wandering Spider: After I was told this was the deadliest spider in the world, I got a little nervous getting up to go to the bathroom at night.

We also went on a canopy zip line adventure and an ATV ride through the countryside.  These were both incredibly fun and certainly helped prove my case to Hubby that I'm a true badass. I even went first on the zip line and I only screamed slightly like a baby on the Tarzan swing.  I drove the ATV straight into a rocky river with water up to my calves and I managed to dislodge myself from quite the precarious position (nevermind that I may have permanent nerve damage in my hand). 

It was a honeymoon to remember forever and I'm pretty sad to be back.  As I sit here now surrounded by snow and ice, the memory of this will keep me going:

 *All images are personal photographs taken on our brand new Nikon 3100 :)*