Below, I’ll be sharing some photos and videos highlighting our trip. But first I’d like to talk about what I learned from being without the Internet for almost a week. As much as I tout working only five hours per week (and I usually do), I have to admit that I do some work every day, and I use the Internet a LOT. In addition to being a fun vacation, this trip was also an experiment to see how my business would run without my daily interaction, and how I would handle being away from my business, personal email, online reading and research, and *gasp* Facebook!

It turns out that except for a few temptations the first day, where I resisted the urge to reach for my iPhone and check email, I didn’t miss these things at all! I was able to completely focus my attention on enjoying my time with family and friends, and the beautiful nature that surrounded us. I didn’t bring a book to read, and didn’t touch the iPad I brought, except to put it away in the safe.

Me drinking pipa juice

Before I left, I did let my teams know that I wouldn’t be available for about six days, and that they would be on their own for handling all problems. I also set up an auto responder on my personal email box letting people know not to expect a response right away. I unsubscribed from a number of newsletters and email notifications to keep the inbox volume down.

When I came back, I had 82 messages in my personal inbox and 84 messages in my business inbox. I was able to clear the personal inbox in 90 minutes and the business inbox in about 3 hours. It surprised me how many of the messages were unimportant in the context of a week, where I would have spent more time on them had I checked daily. And because I wasn’t readily available to my teams, they didn’t rely on me and came up with their own ways to solve problems. The result was that no major issues occurred, my businesses continued running smoothly and growing steadily, and my programmers even launched a couple new features while I was gone. I’m starting to think about maybe switching to checking email weekly instead of daily, at least for my business email. It’s less stressful overall. I’ll get more chances to test how this works in the weeks ahead as we travel to Hawaii and move to Malaysia.

Speaking of Malaysia, on the first day of our trip we ate lunch in Dominical, Costa Rica at the Coconut Spice restaurant which specializes in Thai and Malaysian food. I had the Penang Curry and was overcome by the explosion of delicious flavors, which got me even more excited to move to Penang next month. Only, once we’re there, the same dish will cost 10 times less! Oh, I’m so excited for more Malaysian food!

Penang Curry

On the way to Dominical, though, I did get pulled over for going 20km over the speed limit (about 10mph). I didn’t bribe my way out of this one so it’s costing me a whopping $350 for that ticket! Ouch! Not the best way to start a vacation. I’m not sure how locals making less than $1,000/month here can swallow that kind of ticket — it’s really expensive! But maybe that’s the point.

Speeding ticket

Anyway, after we made it to Dominical and had lunch, we stayed at Villas Rio Mar, where we enjoyed their swimming pools and lovely gardens, very clean cabins, and the delicious dinner and breakfast that were included in the price ($120 for all five us).

Kings and Pearces at Villas Rio Mar

The next day we got up early and drove another hour and a half to Sierpe, where we got on a small, crowded boat that would take us to Punta Marenco Lodge on the Osa Peninsula. However, about ten minutes out, the motor quit, and we had to wait about 30 minutes for a rescue boat. After switching boats, we enjoyed our ride through the river, until we came out into the ocean and started crashing against the oncoming waves. I got quite sea sick, and Emily and Marie were terrified when water started coming into the boat. Fortunately, we arrived safely, and I was able to recover without vomiting. But I’m looking forward to not being on a boat again for a long time, if ever.

Getting on the boat at Sierpe

The highlight of the trip was definitely our time at Punta Marenco! We hiked through Corcovado national park and saw all types of animals, including scarlet macaws, toucans, a white hawk, monkeys, basilisks, giant grasshoppers, poison dart frogs, hermit crabs, tapir footprints, and many more. We even saw a whale from the shore!

Large grasshopper

Being a rain forest, the trees were also incredible, and we learned a lot about the animals and foliage we encountered, from how strangler trees shoot down roots to kill other trees, to how leaf cutter ants don’t eat the leaves they cut, but use them to cultivate a giant underground mushroom inside their colony which they then eat.

Strangler and Ficus trees

We also had fun playing on the beach and in the waves, and hiking through the stunning landscapes. We even climbed a steep and wet trail to the top of a waterfall where we played in the refreshing water.

Many beautiful beaches in Osa

Despite it being the rainy season, we had near perfect weather every day of our trip — bright, sunny days with little or no rain in the afternoons — except for the last day, where it poured constantly. That was the day we were supposed to go snorkeling at a nearby island and hopefully see whales and dolphins. But we still had a great time sitting and talking in the lodge, listening to the rain, and relaxing. The kids played in the rain, did crafts, and made up games to play together. Our hosts were wonderful and made us feel like part of the family.

Kids playing in the rain

On the way home, we stopped in Manuel Antonio for lunch at Jefe’s Mexican restaurant, which was excellent. And then we came back home to reality, which I think doesn’t have to be quite so different from this vacation.

Here’s some of the video footage and other pictures from our trip.

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Pool at Hotel Bambito

After crossing the border from Costa Rica into Panama, we drove straight to Volcán, the town we enjoyed the most on our last visit to Panama, and also one of the closest to the Costa Rican border. We stayed the night in Hotel Bambito, the only place in town with a swimming pool. Our girls love to swim. Marie would do it all day if we let her. It was a really pretty indoor pool surrounded by glass windows so you still felt like you were outside. We were glad it was indoor because it was pretty cold outside – too cold for swimming anyway. They also had a hot tub, sauna, and ping pong table, all of which we enjoyed.

Meals with Friends

The next day, we met up with some friends for lunch and dinner. Both suggested the same restaurant, at Dos Rios hotel, so we ate there twice, and enjoyed the food both times. It was great to see our friends again, to catch up on what’s happened in the year and a half since we were last in Volcán.

Driving to Las Olas Resort

Jen at Las Olas

The next day, we thought we’d get a little closer to the border and go find a hotel by the beach somewhere. Our friends recommended Las Olas Resort, and gave us directions. But unfortunately, we missed the signs, and got very bad directions from several locals, which ended up taking us 1.5 hours in the wrong direction! We were all pretty frustrated at ourselves – well, Jen and I were. The girls somehow handled the extra 3 hours in the car with a very good attitude, just having fun playing together. When we got to the hotel, we found out it would be about $50 more per night than we thought because the prices on-line didn’t say it was an extra $20 per person for more than 2 in a room. I asked for a discount, it being the low season, but they wouldn’t budge. :(

Emily Learned to Swim!

Turtles at Las Olas

So, we went swimming that night, and also played a little at the beach and watched the sun set. The pools there were pretty shallow, which was great for the kids. In fact, because Emily could almost touch her toes in just about every part of the pool, she got brave enough to try swimming on her own from one end of the pool to the other, and did it! Our little girl has taught herself to swim! (Which is good because for some reason, she gets terrified whenever I try to teach her myself).

We had dinner at the resort and the girls enjoyed feeding the lettuce to the turtles in the pond and watching the parrots and macaws in the cage by the entrance.

Back to Costa Rica

The next day, we headed back to Costa Rica and immediately felt a little safer and noticed how much more green and dense the foliage was. We really like it here. :) We drove all the way to Dominical to find a hotel to stay at. Although we did stop at the beach just long enough for Marie to lose her shoe in the waves…

Pool at Hotel Ambiente

The hotel we planned on going to turned out to be be closed, so we drove around to several others, and ended up at one that was a little pricier than what we wanted (because we had to get 2 rooms instead of one, but they gave us a big discount). But it was so beautiful and we were ready to treat ourselves to a nice night after all that driving, so we took it. We stayed at Villa Ambiente, and it really was ambient (although we did have to drive through a river to get there). The architecture, furniture and decor were lovely, and the ocean view from the pool was spectacular!

We swam a little until it started to rain, then had dinner at a fun pizza restaurant in town, followed by some delicious ice cream at Ruby’s Homemade Ice Cream, owned by a sweet family from New York (Ruby is their baby). We enjoyed visiting with them, and they even showed Emily how to make waffle cones when she kept probing them for details.

To Buy a Hotel or Not to Buy

Courtyard at Villa Ambiente

Being a business man and having a mind that wants to know how things work, I enjoy talking to business owners to see how they run their operations. In addition to the ice cream shop owners, I also talked to the receptionist at Villa Ambiente (who was the only one there except the gardener) to see how things were run. I found out that it was owned by a man from Switzerland, and run by this woman and a gardener. The hotel is also for sale for 1.7 million dollars! Whew! Way out of my price range (for now), but it sure got me thinking about what it might be like to own a hotel, and how profitable a venture it might be.

In fact, I spent all week researching about buying commercial real estate in Costa Rica, how to run an effective hotel, and created a complex spreadsheet to help me analyze how profitable a hotel might be given many different variables. It’s been fun to learn about, even if I don’t end up purchasing a hotel. But I think it could certainly be a better place to diversify my savings than sticking money in stocks and mutual funds all in US dollars. At least with a hotel I’d have a little more control over the ROI. Something to think about.

Fresh Farming

Visiting the sheep

The next day we headed home, and on our way back stopped at a farm called Finca Ipe for some fresh cinnamon and honey. They even showed us the boxes where the bees make their honey and we got to stick our fingers in and taste the honey right out of the hive! Delicious! Fortunately, these were bees that didn’t sting. We got to see their other animals, too, like sheep, goats, rabbits, and chickens. The kids really loved it!

Overall, we had a great trip and it was fun to be together, see old friends, meet new people, and have new experiences together. For our next visa run, we are planning to visit our family back in Utah for a week or two, and then maybe take our kids to Disney World in Florida. We’ll probably be out of the country a bit longer for this next trip because September/October are the rainiest part of the rainy season here in Costa Rica, which I’ve heard are often just best to avoid altogether.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy the video and pictures below.

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Zip-Line Canopy Tour

Family Pre-Zipline

We ended our time in Dominical with a Canopy Tour (zip-line) at Hacienda Barú. They had 15 stations and we got to zip 8 times! It’s one of the more tame canopy tours, which was good for the girls, who were both brave enough to try it on their own (Marie went with Mom & Dad the first few times before she worked up the courage).

It was a blast! There’s nothing like soaring 150 feet above the rainforest floor. It’s beautiful and exhilarating! Our guide also spotted a large sloth in the trees, as well as demonstrated how soldier ants can work as temporary stitches for wounds. Interesting!

After that, we had lunch and then explored a little butterfly farm they had at Hacienda Barú. They even had our favorite – the blue morpho!

On to Manuel Antonio

Then we drove from Dominical to Manuel Antonio, about a 45-minute drive, through lovely groves of trees and what we think were pineapple farms. We drove all the way to Manuel Antonio Hotel, recommended to us by Denny. Unfortunately, they were all booked (it’s the weekend), but the receptionist found us a room at another nearby hotel, Verde Mar. They had one room available with a queen bed, and they brought in a roller bed for us. It was very tight quarters, but worked.

Our biggest complaint was that it was so hot! If only we had known there was an air conditioning unit in the bathroom, we would have had it on the whole time! Unfortunately, we didn’t discover that fact until the next morning after our showers and about an hour before we checked out. Oh well…

Into the Water

Manuel Antonio beach

After melting in our hotel after a long drive, the girls finally convinced us to go swimming. Once we got in the pool, we cooled right off and had a great time! Before too long, we decided to go explore the beach as well, which was right behind the hotel. Once we got in the water, we didn’t want to leave! The ocean water was so nice and warm, and the sand was so clean and nice – and just sand – no garbage, rocks, or even fish – all the way out into the waves! I maybe felt a twig or two the whole time we were there – oh and a nice leather hat someone must have just lost… I sent it back to shore. Hopefully the owner will find it.

We had fun for hours swimming in the ocean and riding the waves (as much as you can without a board). The sunset on the water was beautiful. You could see the colors reflecting on the surface and casting light onto the trees on the shore. Quite a sight! It was enhanced even more for me by the beauty of my wife standing in the middle of it.

I had our camera out for part of the time, but got tired of holding it and didn’t want to leave it on the shore, so I ran it back to our hotel so I could swim better. It’s supposed to be waterproof, but I thought it was best not to expose it to the elements unnecessarily. And I had a lot more fun once I put it away. But that also means you don’t get any sunset pictures. Sorry.

Monkeys!

After it started getting dark we headed back for dinner. But first, we had another quick dip in the pool. And while we were swimming, we heard some very loud noises. It sounded like a big guy with a loudspeaker was saying “WHOOOOO!” repeatedly.

In a few moments, we spotted some howler monkeys up in the trees! There were probably about a dozen of them, including some babies, and we got to watch them walk and jump from one tree to another. It was quite a treat! I went to grab my camera and caught a glimpse of the last one on video. I read that Howler monkeys are the loudest animal in the world, and I believe it after hearing them. For their small size, they can really bellow.

Dining on the Coast

Girls in Manuel Antonio Hotel

While swimming we also made some friends: Janet and her son Scott. We went to dinner with them that night and had a nice time.

The food here is very pricey though, no matter which restaurant you go to. Dominical and Manuel Antonio are very touristy towns – very fun, but hard to imagine living there. And everything seems at least twice as expensive as it is in Grecia. Cost is relative, though, so I’ll spell it out -  meals seems to start around USD $8-10 along the coast. (Of course, $30+/plate options exist.) Back in Grecia you can get a decent meal for $2-3/plate, and it’s hard to find anything over $12/plate. There are a couple very nice restaurants around that range, though.

Church in Quepos

Sunday we checked out of Verde Mar and went to church. We were given some very wrong directions by a hotel clerk, and ended up 20 minutes from where we needed to be. We drove back to the town and I stopped a man who looked like he might be going to church. He happened to be the Branch President, and he led us right there! It turns out we had just passed it without noticing – it was on quite a run-down little street.

We spent the afternoon relaxing in our hotel (Manuel Antonio Hotel), catching up on e-mail and blogs, and then had another expensive dinner that night (since that seems to be all there is). Tomorrow, we’re going horseback riding! Enjoy the video and pictures below.

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We were thinking of driving all the way from Grecia to Dominical in one day – about a 4-5 hour drive. However, because there are no street signs, we took a few wrong turns and we ended up only making it as far as Cartago before it got dark (about 1.5 hours from Grecia). But that’s okay.

B&B Grecia – Thanks Denny & Rachelle!

Rachelle and the girls

Before I get onto our journey I just want to say how much we enjoyed our time at B&B Grecia. Denny and Rachelle were awesome hosts! Denny was so helpful and informative to get us settled and help us know what to expect living here. And our girls absolutely adored Rachelle. They would talk her ear off as often as they could, showing her their computer games, telling them about their day. And Rachelle was so sweet to them. If anyone is looking for a good place to stay in Grecia, I highly recommend B&B Grecia. Breakfasts were good and it’s in a very convenient location, too.

The day before we left B&B Grecia, I also bought a GPS unit from Denny (Garmin Nuvi 260). It cost more than it would have in the US, but it has been absolutely essential! I can’t imagine getting around these streets without it. It also helped us find our hotels.

A Stop in Escazú

Mickey & Goofy at Escazu Mall

After we picked up our car around noon, we headed for Escazú Multiplaza, which is a giant mall, just like the ones in the U.S. We were searching for a certain type of shoe, called Keens, that are like sturdy, waterproof, close-toed sandals great for hiking, beaches, waterfalls, etc. Unfortunately, none of the stores there had our size. And they were twice as expensive as the store in Grecia. So we’ll go without them for now.

While in the mall, we were stopped by some journalists taking photos of this new rear projection touch-screen display, and they wanted our girls to model for it. Why not? We didn’t get any of the pictures (I forgot to take them myself), but it was a pretty cool technology. We also saw Mickey and Goofy at the mall doing a little magic show.

If I haven’t mentioned it here, everyone seems to adore our little girls. People are often touching their hair, and commenting, “Que linda!” either to our faces or to each other as we walk down the street. We really stand out here – but more so in the smaller towns. And when I hand shop keepers our credit card, which has a photo of our family on it, 90% of the time, they comment that it’s so cute, and excitedly show all the other workers there. I guess they don’t have photo credit cards here.

Escazú really seemed like a nice place. It appeared to be well kept up, very green, and had all the shopping and restaurants you’d expect for a medium-sized city. Everything is a bit more pricey there, though, and the people don’t seem as friendly as Grecia.

Cartago and the Irazú Volcano

From Las Brumas hotel in Cartago

After the GPS led us to a gas station, we continued on our journey through San José onto Cartago. We mainly stayed on the highway (except for another wrong turn – yes, I had a GPS, but sometimes those roads sneak up on you). I wasn’t too impressed with the journey to Cartago, or the city of Cartago itself. It was pretty dirty and very crowded.

We hadn’t planned on staying in Cartago, but it was already 4:30, and since it gets dark here around 6pm, we thought we should find a hotel and have some dinner while we still had daylight. The GPS led us to a couple hotels that looked like real dives in bad parts of town, so we went on the outskirts of the city a little, and found Las Brumas hotel, which had a vacancy with 3 beds, a restaurant, free wifi, and even included breakfast – for about $75/night. It also had nice views of the city.

Irazu Volcano

While staying there, we learned that the Irazú volcano was just 45 minutes away, so decided that we’d check it out in the morning before heading down to Dominical. It was a beautiful drive up to over 11,000 feet, and the volcano was breathtaking as well. We could see all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. You’re supposed to be able to see the Pacific ocean from there as well, but we didn’t go to the highest point (we were already getting lightheaded from the elevation and we were anxious to get to the beach).

We did stop at the Irazú museum, though, and learned about how volcanoes work, and watched a movie about Irazú’s eruption from 1963-1965. They had some fun little physics toys there as well, that the girls enjoyed playing with.

A Gorgeous Drive to Dominical

I love the jungle

After the volcano, we drove about 4 hours all the way to the Dominical, on the Pacific coast. It was a beautiful drive, where we passed giant canyons, misty rainforests, and jungles full of the sounds of birds and insects. We had lunch in a little buffet-type restaurant up in the misty mountains somewhere.

The only other major town we passed on the way to Dominical is San Isidro de General, about 45 minutes from the coast. We didn’t stop there, but it looked like a beautiful town, in a very green valley. We may check it out again some day.

Dominical

Jen spent some time the previous night looking for a couple hotels in Dominical to save us time going from one to the other on our GPS. We went straight to Costa Paraiso and fortunately, they had a vacancy. It’s a beautiful hotel right on the beach, with a lovely little swimming pool, which the girls were very anxious to try out. So, that’s the very first thing we did. :)

After swimming for a while, we took a walk on the beach. The water was SO warm – like a hot tub. And the views of the waves on the rocks, and the trees, with the sounds of the birds – it was just breathtaking. We feel like we’re in paradise! We’ll be staying here a couple nights and then head on to Manuel Antonio. Enjoy the video and pictures below.

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