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Mellisajoy Travel Journal

One Last Post from the Road

Hey all,
We have made it safely into San Jose...and I got to drive us all the way here! It was awesome! We took a little Susuki Jimmy 4x4 from the beach to the capitol of San Jose. Being the only one who could drive a stick-shift made me the perfect woman for the job!

The view along the way was gorgeous...lots of green, lush farm land for most of the trip. We got to see a lot of cows and even stopped the El Vaquero (The Cowboy) Restaurant and had some amazing steak! We also got to drive across the Puente de Amistad de Taiwan...which is the largest bridge in Costa Rica. I guess they have a good relationship with Taiwan!

All in all, it was a good trip. San Jose has been a lot more crazy...too much traffic and not enough road signs to know where you're going. But, we found our hotel without too much trouble.

Best Western needs a little work in Costa Rica, but more to come on that later. It's time to get our last Costa Rican goods and head to the airport. With another long day of travel ahead of us, I'm looking forward to getting back to Denver. My bed has never looked so good!

Hasta Luego...and as always...Pura Vida!
~Joy

Road Trips of all Road Trips...

San Jose, here we come! Never did they see such beautiful girls driving into their town (except for the last time I was there). I think they've been missing me ever since! ;-)

Packing is always a fun adventure...especially when you're adding to the load after a day of shopping in Tamarindo! But, I was able to get everything new in my pack...without having to leave all of my clothes behind.

We're saying goodbye and thanking all who made our trip a dream vacation.

Thanks for everything Costa Rica!

Pura Vida!

~Joy

Saying Goodbye

Tomorrow we will be leaving this wonderful piece of paradise...known as Flamingo Beach Resort. I will miss tremendously the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the beach. It's almost become the heartbeat of this place...just telling everyone to slow down and relax...

Today we are hoping to do a little shopping in Tamarindo, but we will try to enjoy our last final day in this area. From here, we will be traveling towards San Jose in the morning. And then...it's back to the States. It's going to be another long day of traveling--first we arrive in Houston, and then we go to Denver from there.

I feel so blessed to have been able to go on this little adventure, and there are memories that will stay with me forever!

Pura Vida!
~Joy

Canopy Tour Field Trip

Yesterday, we all took a field trip outside of our hotel to do a canopy tour. The day was a fun-filled day packed with several activities other than just the canopy tour.

We had to drive to another piece of property about 2 hours away called the Buena Vista Lodge. As you can guess, it had a great view...a cluster of volcanos to be exact. With the volcanos, we also saw the rainforest. It was fantastic. We also got to hear and see Howler Monkeys and Jesus Christ lizards. They're called that because they can walk on water!

The morning began early with the canopy tour--by far, my favorite part of the trip. We got to go on 10 zip-lines, 11 platforms ranging in height and length.

After the zip-lines, we went down a massive rainforest waterslide. It was so fun! I have to admit, Water World doesn't have a slide as cool as this one. You can watch the rainforest fly by as you shoot down this slide. It was totally awesome.

They fed us a traditional Costa Rican-style buffet (which consists of rice, beans, vegetables, and a meat dish) along with some American-style favorites like macaroni salad and such. The juice here is also very delicious...always fresh and never too tart!

The day continued with horseback riding down the Buena Vista trail. The horseback riding was fun despite my initial hesitation. I ended up being a natural! I guess it must be in my blood because of Grandpa!

The horses took us to the volcanic-warmed hot springs. We first took a long sit in a steam room, moved on to the warm clay rub-down, followed by a cold shower. Then, we got to relax in a variety of temperatured springs.

Along the way back, we even got to see tucans nesting. It was amazing! I also got to see a coati, which is a mammal similar to a racoon. I just spent the entire day soaking in the beautiful sounds, the lush, green forest, and the fact we were sitting on a volcano the whole time. It was glorious!

Today, after breakfast, we spent some time on the beach. Lisa helped me build a sandcastle and we all layed around in the water.

I think I'll be spending some more time along the pool...I need to relax a little more now that I just finished a wonderful massage.

Can everyone tell I don't want to leave any time soon??!!??

Pura vida friends....pura vida!

~Joy

Wow...I Never Knew...

I never knew massages could be sooo wonderful. We all signed up for 2 1/2 hours worth of relaxation from the spa today. Our rejuvinating massage included a citrus scrub, mud wrap, deep tissue massage, as well as various other little relaxation techniques...

It was AMAZING. I think we were all a little shocked afterwards, because we couldn't believe how tense we were. It was truly a blessing to realize how much I need to take care of myself better. This vacation has been so revealing!

Aside from the evening ending with a Orlando Magic loss, it was one of the best days I've ever had. We watched the sunset over the beach, we played in the pool a bit, and scheduled our canopy tour for tomorrow. The rain didn't get us down today (but that was because we could be inside), and I'm praying for no precipitation tomorrow!

I feel so blessed to be here, and I would recommend the Flamingo Beach Resort to all of my friends and families. If you need a place to find relaxation, sanctity, and overall Pura Vida...you gotta come here!

Baskin' in joy....

~Joy

A Wonderful Day!

Today was by far one of my favorites so far on this trip. Our morning started with a lovely view of the crashing waves right outside of our window! It was gorgeous!

We made our massage appointments for tomorrow, as well as checked out options for zip-lining, seeking adventure, and all the good stuff of the hotel.

I can honestly say, I think I was meant for beach living. As beautiful as Colorado may be, Costa Rica's got it beat!

I'm in love!....with Costa Rica, that is. Dad, don't worry, you won't have a son-in-law coming home with me. *smirk*

Now, if I could just stop the mosquitoes from biting, I'd be in heaven...or something close to it!

Friends, Pura Vida is the way to live!

Amazing Change in Scenery!

Well, after about 14 hours of travel today on buses, we made it to Flamingo Beach Resort. There were many sights along the way...so let me see if I can recap a few of them.

First off, we left very early-the bus took off at 6 am from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Surprisingly, we got a little traditional breakfast plate on the bus and traveled straight to the border of Nicaragua. It was a pretty easy transition at this crossing...aside from me trying to pay the immigration dude a lot of money without really realizing it. whoops!

Then, we continued traveling on to Costa Rica. Along the way, though, we saw a couple of volcanos, lots of cows, and palm trees of many varieties. It was beautiful!

The crossing into Costa Rica was a lot longer...and perhaps it felt that way due to the heat. But, it seemed like a long time to get everyone all settled with their papers, baggage, and the like. We were able to get off the bus in Liberia (which is in Costa Rica). From there, we got a little taxi which transported us to another local bus station which then took us to our resort.

The Flamingo Beach Resort welcomed us with open arms. We must have been a sight, because this funny lady from Seattle just stood at the desk saying, "Girls, what are you doing?!?" We were greeted so nicely...with a great little mango juice with delicious pineapple drapped on the top of the glass.

The pool at this place looks amazing, and the beach is seriously right outside of our room. It's sounds beautiful...it's too dark to actually see it, but the morning will be gorgeous I'm sure!

Well, it's time for some rest and relaxation!

Pura Vida friends!

~Joy

Honduran Soccer, Rain, and Angels & Demons

The fact that I don't know very much from soccer didn't stop me from enjoying a little country rivalry as we watched the US beat the Honduran team in a World Cup Qualifying match last night. The initial reaction of the Hondurans was amazing to hear...hollering and whooping don't even begin to describe their excitement when they scored a goal very early on in the game. However, that did not deter our USA team from coming back to score two additional "GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLssssss!!" It was fun to watch!

I saw of the largest amount of rain drop from the sky at once. I think all of the rainstorms I've ever seen in Colorado put together in my whole life were less than the amount of rain that fell in last night's storm. It was incredible...we even saw a bus get stuck because of the rain! It was insane!!

Today, we had another relaxing day...the official Girls Weekend cannot start too early in the mornings! ;-) We decided to make plans to enjoy some lunch, make hotel reservations for tomorrow, go shopping, and see a movie. I was amazed at how inexpensive it was to catch a flick. You can get into a movie for about $3. Popcorn, two sodas, and some candy was about $6 total. So, we pretty much got a whole evening of entertainment for less than $10--and it was nice! I am not sure I can go to a movie theatre in the US and feel okay about it. *sigh* Culture shock settling in... All in all, I enjoyed the movie and especially the company of the girls.

On another note, I forgot to mention our landing in Honduras was beautiful. We saw a rainbow as we landed. It was soooo beautiful.

I'm excited to see what the next leg of our trip holds in store for us! Costa Rica...here we come!

Songs on our soundtrack so far:
Shaggy's Beautiful Girls
Black Eyed Peas' Where is the Love
Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer
Titanic Love Theme My Heart Will Go On (Instrumental Version)
Journey's Don't Stop Believin'

Some Pics of Santa Lucia

Mel lounging in the hammock.

The girls just enjoying the view of the city!

The mountains of Santa Lucia!

Anna's neighbor with her dog...her name is Dona Lucila. I don't know what her dog's name is...sorry...

Lisa enjoying some orange pop out of a plastic bag. Sooooo good!

~Joy

Good Morning Santa Lucia

This morning while most everyone was sleeping, I went sat on the patio and looked down at the city of Santa Lucia and Tegucigalpa. Anna made us muffins with the crumbles on top, my favorite! We are planning on walking up the cobblestone road and exploring the small town of Santa Lucia. Having a blast and I can't stop smiling!

Cobblestone Road

Wow! As we are driving down the old cobblestone road at 5 miles an hour, I realize that today is a day that I will never forget. This is my real first journey out of the country, Mexico doesn't really count minus the cute little town we traveled to outside of Mazatlan, and I am at awe at the sights and people of Honduras. Anna has been wonderful and very patient with my millions of 7th grade type questions. I realized today that people are just people no matter where you are at in the world. People were out eating dinner, driving home from work, shopping at the mall and smiling at one another. I am very excited to continue on this amazing journey. Heart, Lisa

Moisture.

I'm exhausted this evening- as it's been a long day of travel and new experiences. One thing that always strikes me no matter where I go in the world, and this is probably the teacher in me, is how naughty children tend to follow me. Why is this? Can they sense that I just might scold them and they'll find the discipline they've been seeking their whole lives? Who knows. Anyway...there are many things that are conveyed no matter what language one speaks:
Smiles.
Screaming Children.
Panic.
There are many others, but these are just a few I experienced today. :)
It's very humid and cool this evening in our cute little cottage. It reminds me of a cool night on the lake in Wisconsin in August when the crickets are singing me to sleep.
I'm glad we're finally here! Tomorrow we're going to watch soccer...I shall be on my best behavior for the locals :)

~Mel

Santa Lucia, the Sweet, Sweet, Lovely Land

When we left Houston, the anticipation of traveling abroad grew! We were all ready to see Honduras and travel the short distance. We started to see and hear more and more Hondurans gathering near the gate, so we knew we were in the right place.

The plane ride was great and landing in the middle of the city was soooo different than landing in the prairie lands of Denver. It looked like we were going to land on top of buildings and or a highway, but we didn't! We made it safe and sound.

After having our body temperature measured (we think because of swine flu worries) we got through customs quickly. Anna found us right away, and we found out that a "famous" soccer coach was on our plane! Who knew! He even had media crew waiting to interview him as he exited customs.

Anna took us to the mall and we had a great little pedicure. We all needed that little relaxation after our traveling. The torrential downpour of rain kept us from leaving the mall right away. So we saw the majority of the mall and waited for it to lessen up.

Soon we learned that traffic is a pretty big problem...but we enjoyed the international feel. Anna on the other hand, says it wears off when you travel through it every day.

Then off to dinner at a local restaurant called The Patio. We ate delicious Honduran food (beans, good cheese, plantains, corn tortillas, and of course...shish chicken and beef).

Then we traveled up to Santa Lucia...which is by far been my favorite place to see (even though it was dark), but I'm anticipating a beautiful sunrise and view of Tegus!

~Joy

Honduras Here We Come!

Ready or not! I am very excited to see Anna's dwelling. I call it a dwelling because I'm not sure what it will look like. It definitely won't look like the row of cookie cutter suburia we're used to!
Rock on America, and thanks Mom for the ride to the airport, and for watching the Biko, and for life!
~Lisa

I can't find my belt. My makeup exploded and everything in my makeup bag was classic ivory this am. I'm feeling excited this morning to get our central american portion of our trip underway. Goodbye Texas:) ~mel

Good Morning Sunshine!

Houston's been pretty uneventful aside from Lisa's pretty shower cap
and shower singing. Grin! (Don't worry, she gave me permission to post
this lovely picture of her!)

Sam, our hotel shuttle driver, kept us entertained with the Black Eyed Peas song, "Where is the Love" and Shaggy's "Beautiful Girls" booming from his 15 passenger bus. Those songs will definitely be added to our soundtrack for the trip.

We are all excited to get to Honduras...some nerves, but mostly joy to be on vacation!

~Joy

Central America, Here We Come!

Packing for an adventure like this is always fun...it's difficult, but I'm up for the challenge. It's a delicate balance of keeping it light, remembering everything, expecting the unexpected, and still managing to get it all in one bag!

Our journey begins from Denver, CO where we will depart for Houston. After one night in the Lone Star State, we'll catch a plane to Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

We'll be staying in a small and quaint town by the name of Santa Lucia for an extended Girl's Only Weekend with my friend, Anna. The Girls Weekend will be filled with some baking, socializing, and of course....soccer! Not that soccer is normally categorized with a Girl's Weekend, but Anna will be sharing all of her regular Honduran activities with us.

From Tegus, our journey will continue with a pretty long bus ride to Costa Rica. We'll pass through Managua, Nicaragua before heading to the west coast of Costa Rica. The beaches in Costa Rica are pristine and gorgeous. Nothing like going to Flamingo Beach to maybe catch a glimpse of sea turtles, do some surfing, and zip-lining.

Lots of pictures and stories of three city girls traveling to Central America to come!

~Joy