Well, I seem to have jinxed myself and the entire area of Playa del Coco. I went to bed last night thinking about how lucky we were that we haven’t had an all out rainy day … And now, as I sit here drinking my Costa Rican coffee, my belly full of platano maduro, I have nothing to distract me from writing. We’re rained in.

(Side Note: you were right Alberto, platano is nothing like banana, and I love them. I still don’t believe you about camping, though.)

As you could tell from my last post, my mom came to visit. It was meant to be a surprise for Noah and his birthday, but I have to say – it was a gift for me as well. You know when you’re sick or just tired or just need to relax and Mom just makes everything all better? Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m sick or tired or need to relax – let’s be honest, I’ve been living in Paradise for the last 2 months. BUT, it’s nice just to have “mom” around. It was like having a little house elf (for those keeping up with the Harry Potter theme). My morning coffee was made, dishes were washed, the garbage taken out, my kid fed, towels folded magically… She flitted about straightening, organizing, and helping. And as a girl who came from a family that was always around, helping, visiting, taking care of one another, being in Costa Rica without that support wasn’t terrible, but noticeably lacking.  I guess what I’m trying to say is: Thanks, mom. We loved having you. And Ken and I both recognize how truly lucky we are to have our families so close, so loving, and so helpful. Even if most of them only care about us because of Noah – we reap the benefits 😛

To wrap up mom’s trip, after snorkeling we spent a lot of time relaxing around the condo. We went to the pool, found the new “fancy” pool, and ventured into town occasionally.

While we were ramping up for MY birthday on September 15th, the rest of the country was getting ready for their Independence Day (also September 15th). The night of the 14th we took the golf cart into town to watch the Parade of Lanterns, celebrating a Guatemalan woman named María Dolores Bedoya. She rode through Guatemala the night of September 14th 1821, imploring the people to meet in the town square to rally for independence. The people gathered throughout the night, lanterns in hand, awaiting the legislators decision – finally granting Independence from Spain. It is for this reason, every year on the 14th people all over Central America participate in the Parade of Lanterns. The next day, on the 15th, there are huge parades and general celebrations of Independence.

For us, we were celebrating my freedom! Or rather, my birthday. I awoke to birthday cards, a spa gift certificate from my mom, and a delicious fruit platter with pineapple, mango, and dragon fruit. We ventured into town for lunch and patronized the local souvenir shops. Afterward, we went swimming again, came home to relax, and prepare for dinner.

We ate at Soda Mediterranean (one of the first places we ate when we arrived in Playa del Coco). Noah spent most of his time hunting lizards while we waited for the food to be ready. We enjoyed coconut curry mussels, “Italian” Ceviche (made with parsley rather than cilantro, which was delicious!), and for an entree I had homemade lobster ravioli. Ken and Noah picked their fish from a platter holding 5 or 6 freshly caught fish, and then they picked how they wanted it prepared. My son and husband (mostly my son), devoured the freshly caught, picked, and cooked Red Snapper.

After dinner we came back to the condo to sing and cut my Passion Fruit cake. I told Ken I wanted something with local flavor. It was amazing.

Once Noah went to bed, Ken and I enjoyed our one night “out on the town.” We decided to check out the various bars in the town and wanted to have a drink or two. However, at our first stop, Coconutz Sports Bar, we bumped into a Canadian couple, Lisa and Sean, on their honeymoon who were staying at our condo complex. I had seen them the week prior and in passing around the complex, so Ken and I said “hi” as we sat down. Conversation flowed freely, as did the drinks, and eventually they discovered Ken and I were celebrating my birthday. This resulted in more drinks (in fact a shot named a “Burt Reynolds” which is quite yummy).

Ken and I finally moved on, much later than we intended. We checked out the casino (very small), another bar (very loud), and the beach area (nice, but low key). We made our way back to Zi Lounge, a place we’ve visited for meals occasionally, and we ordered another round. No more than 20 min later our Canadian friends popped in on the other side of the bar. We waved them over, and proceeded to have more fun, drinks, and conversation. Our night ended around 1:30am and for Ken and I, who haven’t had a night out in ages, this was exhausting. For the Canadians it was insanity – their flight was that day around 11am. We parted ways, but vowed to keep in touch.

Saturday found Ken and I rising slowly. But Ken took me out for breakfast at a local place I had been wanting to try: Kaldi. Here I had eggs benedict, while Ken ordered a BALT (BLT with Avocado). A BLT is my meal of choice after a night of drinks and friends, so I appreciated his choice and helped myself to a couple bites.

Back at the condo, grandma and Noah got ready for the pool, and we spent the rest of the time relaxing and being lazy. For lunch we tried a new place called Johann’s, where Noah had sushi, and then we walked along the beach until I found a vendor selling Chuchill’s – a crazy sweet/shaved ice/condensed milk dessert.

I’d been looking all over for these since I first saw them online as a “Costa Rican” dessert. It’s not healthy, it’s not a dessert you look at and think “wow, that looks yummy”. It’s more like: “How the heck can they put all that in a cup on top of shaved ice? What the heck does it taste like??” And I’m happy to report: it is sugary, cold, and the perfect treat for a girl who loved snow-cones growing up. It’s essentially a snow-cone on steroids.

That night we ate dinner at Zi Lounge. The food is good, the drinks are large, but what makes this place worth it is the occasional live music they have. And it’s not even that the music is great. What is great is my child. He eats, he dances, he hums, and in general has a blast. It’s the best to just watch him.

(Please note, this is a 50 second video of my son eating with his mouth open and dancing. Watch at your own risk. I think it’s cute, but he also is my son… so I realize some of you might not find this adorable.)

On Sunday we picked up a rental car and went into Liberia for mom to explore some of the stores there. But, since it was Sunday most were closed and everyone was at the humongous church found in the center of the city. For dinner we went to Tierra Mar (again), and enjoyed another amazing meal. Noah, still amp-ed from his Red Snapper meal from Friday, picked the Red Snapper special on the menu. His meal was ordered, cooked, and  presented to him in a matter of minutes. He proceeded to inhale the fish (entire fish minus the head), shrimp, clams, and mussels. When my dish came – the other special a fish soup in a creamy white wine broth – Noah asked for and ate numerous tentacles from my octopus. For people who don’t like sea food this might all sound gross, heck for people who DO like sea food this might sound gross. But I love that my kid eats anything and loves almost everything.

At the end of dinner Ken noticed something moving near the table nearby. After watching it, he eventually asked our waiter what kind of spider this critter was. Turns out it was a tarantula. And our waiter picked it up to bring it over. Mom freaked out, Ken laughed in excitement, and Noah couldn’t contain his excitement. We snapped some pictures and watched the waiter bring it outside. Of course not before he thrust it in the face of his co-worker to freak him out a bit.

On Monday mom flew back home. Noah asked her to stay for the rest of the time, my mom asked Noah to come home with her – both of them want the other around. It was sweet. But this goodbye was relatively easy because we know our time here is short. In fact, shorter than planned. Ken has to travel to Barcelona for work, so we have to fly back to NJ on October 12th, rather than the 18th. So, knowing we’ll be home before she knows it, mom boarded her plane and we waved “goodbye”.

We were able to keep our rental car for a couple extra days, so on Tuesday we drove to Playa Hermosa, only 10 min away but over some very steep mountains (not reachable via golf-cart). The beach was nice, the water was calm, and the sun was shining (but not too much, which is a good thing). I was enjoying myself until I stepped on a small sting-ray. I didn’t get hurt, but it reminded my why I’m not a fan of the ocean. Too many critters!!! We enjoyed our morning out and came back to the condo for lunch.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday found us again in our usual routine. Noah and I are back at “school”, Ken is back to work, and I’m cooking up a storm. It was nice to celebrate and explore, but also nice to get back to “life” here in Costa Rica. Back to our walks to the beach, swimming in the pool, and enjoying nature around us.

On Saturday we went to Diamante Adventure Park – known for their intense zip-lines. However, we enjoyed their Animal Sanctuary rather than the death-defying zip-lines. We walked around, snapped some beautiful shots of the animals cared for in their facilities, and ate lunch from the top of a mountain, looking down on the beach and ocean. We were lucky to catch a glimpse of the jaguars playing and the sloths being fed. Their butterfly room was breathtaking. I attempted to take some pictures, but the darn big, beautiful, blue ones wouldn’t stay still!! We also went into the toucan room and were able to get up close and personal with them. This place is definitely worth the visit, even if you don’t do the zip-lining.

For dinner we enjoyed Italian fare at La Dolce Vita, and while waiting for our entree’s Noah was monitoring a bat that had flown into a tree nearby (Lucky you, mom! You left before the bats started hanging around the place!).

Ken and I are in the middle of discussions for our next trips – our original plan was to visit Puerto Rico but because of everything going on, Ken and I are concerned about traveling there with Noah. We also have to decide where we want to visit next from January – March. Originally we were thinking Ecuador, but we’ve enjoyed Costa Rica so much and haven’t even seen all there is to see. We’ve got some decisions to make… and only 2.5 more weeks here. Wish us luck as we make these hard choices (please note the sarcasm – these are the best hard choices to make).

Until next time!