Our Honeymoon in Costa Rica

Hey all!  We are finally back at home from our trip to Costa Rica.  Well, we actually got back on Wednesday, but I've been busy since we've landed.  I had to work at the resort on Thursday and Friday, and yesterday was spent with family mostly. 

So, I'm just gonna dive right in and move onward with our trip!  {Warning: Picture overload in this post!}

Steve and I got to our first hotel in Costa Rica (Mountain Paradise Hotel) very late on Tuesday night.  It was a dark night when we got there, so we couldn't see anything outside.  But, from what we could see on the inside of our villa, we loved.

Total luxury!

Our bathroom was insane!

The next morning we woke up, walked outside, and we were greeted with this spectacular view.

See the Arenal Volcano in the back?

We were both totally amazed.  It was like Christmas!  I couldn't believe how beautiful it was and how lucky we were to be in such a gorgeous place. 

The sidewalk to our villa.

Our very own private pool in front of our villa.  We didn't use it because of the freezing cold water!

Steve going through our freebies from Costa Rica Vacations.

We headed out for a fantastic breakfast.  It was buffet, which I love, and it was all delish!  My favorite was the rice and bean mix (Gallo Pinto).  I pretty much lived on it for 7 days straight.

Where we ate breakfast at our first hotel.  See the Christmas decorations?!

We decided to head into La Fortuna, the small town close to our resort.  It was our first day and we wanted to explore!

La Fortuna- can you imagine having a volcano as the back drop to your hometown!?

Lunch in La Fortuna. I, of course, ate rice and beans.

After our trek through La Fortuna, we got ready for our first excursion--a hike around the Arenal Volcano followed by a soak in natural hot springs and ending with dinner at Tabacon. 

On our way to the volcano... with me in my pale, make-up free glory!

At the beginning of the hike.

Arenal is still considered active.  Nothing to see though but steam from the top.

At the highest point of our hike.  We really didn't get anywhere too close to the volcano (Steve was disappointed).

Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of the hot springs because it was completely dark outside, and it was packed with visitors, too.  Suffice it to say the hot springs were totally awesome and extremely relaxing.  We were a couple of prunes after soaking for 2 hours!  Dinner was also good, too.  We got to meet other vacationers and talk to them, which is always fun.

On day 2 of our honeymoon, we had another excursion planned--a Canopy Tour (aka zip lining).  We got up early in the morning and headed to our site.  It was drizzling, but the rain thankfully went away by the time we were ready to go.

How dorky is this shot?

View from one of the landings in a tree.

Looks like I just woke up... 'cause I pretty much just did.

The Tarzan Swing... Steve was forced to go first.  I almost didn't go after I heard him scream.  It was a 30 foot drop which turns into a giant swing.

Right before his leap.

He was probably screaming at this point.

I ended up going... twice.  I was terrified, but I am so glad I did it.  It was so much fun, and it didn't make me sick!

Holding on for dear life!

The canopy tour was awesome.  The Tarzan Swing totally made the excursion exciting.  Steve and I could have probably gone on it 50 more times. :) 

After our zip lining tour, we decided to take a dip in the resort's pool.  I loved this pool because it was nice and warm!

That's me, floating away.

Steve, being the restless man he is, wanted to go on a hike around the resort area.  I couldn't really argue with him, so I went along for the ride.  It ended up being pretty fun... hot, but fun!

Me talking to the cows... I was really missing animal contact!

View from top of the hill on our hike

Of course Steve manages to find a river.

This was our last day at our first resort, and we made the most of it.  The next morning we headed to a small airport for our second destination--the Tango Mar Resort in Tambor.

San Jose, Costa Rica

Steve watching the pilots closely.

Tortuga Island from the air!

It was a drama free trip.  We got to the resort late in the afternoon and we were once again impressed with our digs.

Oh So Fancy!

Our view from the bedroom.  Oceanfront!

Our villa at the Tango Mar.

We immediately changed into our bathing suits and headed to the pool.

The pool area... we sat in those lounge chairs most of the time.

The pool water was fresh from the spring!

Me floating, once again.

This leg of the trip was mostly centered around relaxation.  Steve was bored a lot of the time (big surprise!).

I ended up reading 3 books!  Loved it!!!  I read The Help, which I highly recommend.

Steve braving the rough Pacific... those wave were pretty brutal the first few days we were there.  He really enjoyed it!

There were some fun things around the resort.  There was a beautiful viewpoint at the top of a cliff you could easily walk to.

My favorite shot Steve took from the viewpoint.

Steve at sunset... isn't he so handsome!? :)

We weren't as picture happy at this point in our honeymoon because we were mostly just lounging around, relaxing.  Steve did golf one day while I got a massage.  We went on a snorkeling/hiking/boating excursion on our last full day in Tambor.  I'm really glad we did it, too.  We got to see some amazing wildlife.

The dock where we left for our water excursion.

A different tour... they picked up this sea turtle who was helplessly drifting about because he was covered in barnacles.  They were helping him out by scraping the barnacles off of him so he could swim again.

Tortuga Island, our destination!

The first part of our excursion was the nature hike.  We got to see White-Faced Monkeys and Howler Monkeys.

Iguana in a tree... or, as our tour guide called it, chicken in a tree.  Don't even ask.

Fruit bats... gross.

After our nature walk, we went snorkeling and then headed to Tortuga Island for lunch and lounging on the beach.  As I was eating my ham sandwich, this little beast came up to greet us. 

Matilda.  She's a wild boar.  Scared the sh*t out of me when she approached us out of no where.  But she was super friendly... and hungry!

I really took to Matilda.  She was so sweet!

Steve and I on the tour boat.  It was just us and our tour guides!

Steve caught a black tuna finish towards the end of our excursion.  He was so excited.  Don't worry... we threw the fish back in the water.

The next day, our final full day, we headed back to San Jose for our last hotel that was close to the international airport.  The day was interesting... we ended up missing our flight from Tambor to San Jose.  Thank God we met Everardo.  He's the owner of Carmonair Charters and he pretty much saved our asses from having to take a taxi or ferry from Tambor to San Jose.  We got a tour of Costa Rica Steve and I will never forget.  Thank you so much again, Everardo!

Steve with his idol, Everardo.

Now we are back at home and back to reality.  I'm missing the warm weather right now.  Looking back on it, it was the perfect honeymoon for me and Steve.  We just kept saying how lucky we were to go on such a great trip.

I am happy to be back at home with my dogs.  I really did miss them!

Pilot... my noodle!

I guess it's back to painting and work.  I'll be posting again soon!

Peacing out,
Nikki