Manic Monday

Today we went hat shopping.  My baby needed something to cover his very sensitive head, so we hit the town and got him a hat.  Our options were limited because he didn't want something that said Costa Rica on it.  He finally settled on this bucket hat with the drawstring in the front.  Not something I ever thought he would choose in a million years, but I'm loving it.

He's posing with his new girlfriend (she must be new here, that porcelain skin won't last a day).  I also found a hat that fit me perfectly:

I miss my long hair!  Although cutting it was probably the best decision I could have made.  Short hair makes life SO much easier!  I barely even shampoo anymore!  At the cash register, they had this old money on display:

Okay, they're not really that old, most of the bills were from the 80's, but I thought they we're pretty cool.

After hat shopping, we stopped and got smoothies at:

I snapped a picture of the English menu:

I got the Extasis and Aaron got the Locura Tropical.

Perfect for a stroll on a hot day.  I plan on having one every chance I get.  This is what Costa Rica does best.

After our day on the town, we had an afternoon in the pool with the neighbors.  They are from Georgia (the state not the country) and are so super nice and have lived in Jaco for almost a year, so they're really great for getting advice on where to go and what to see.  It was great to pick their brains for awhile.  They went to the national park we're going to and found this amazing shell:

Weirdest and coolest shell I've ever seen!  It kind of grosses me out, but I'm fascinated.

While we were outside, I decided to snap some shots of the trees on the property.  First up, the mango tree, which no longer produces mangoes (the landlord said it got over-trimmed):

Next up, a close up of the starfruit tree:

Next, the lemon tree (currently no lemons):

Banana tree:

Orange tree:

Believe it or not, these are the oranges.  These aren't super ripe, but the outside stays green even though the inside is orange.  Once they ripen, I'll cut one open.
Here's the palm with the coconuts again:

There are also beautiful flowering plants.  These are my favorite:

There are also orange ones:

So many beautiful plants and trees right in our own backyard (literally).  

Now we're packing for tomorrow.  Here's the plan: 

Tomorrow we wake up early and take a bus to Manuel Antonio National Park.  We spend the day there and then later take another bus to Uvita where we will hopefully stay at a hostel called Flutterby House.  It's tree houses!!!

 Here the map of Uvita and the red flag is the hostel.

This hostel is supposed to be great.  The property is filled with gardens and they compost, use solar panels and funnel the shower water into the garden.  They're really resourceful and doing great things and I really hope we get a tree house (you can't make reservations unless it's more than 3 days in advance...oops!).  

On Wednesday, we plan to go to Marino Ballena National Park (if we have time).  It's the whale-tail formation on the map.  It's supposed to have amazing marine life for snorkeling and it's known best for being the mating spot for all the humpback whales in the area.  Then we take another bus to get to Sierpe and then a boat to Drake Bay.  We'll stay the night in Drake Bay (not sure where yet) and on Thursday we will be going on a tour to Corcovado National Park.  It's in Southern Costa Rica, which is a lot less developed than where we are now.  You have to take a boat to get to Drake Bay and another to get to Corcovado, so it's a pretty remote location.  We'll spend the day and then head back to Drake Bay for another night.  Then Friday, we take a bus all the way back to Jaco.  It's going to be a long and exhausting trip, but hopefully it'll be worth it.  Here's a map in case you're interested:

On this map you can see Jaco, Manuel Antonio and down at the bottom, Corcovado.  As you can see, it's quite a far distance from where we're starting to where we're hoping to end up.  We're basically traveling the length of half the country.  

As of now, I don't have room for my laptop in my backpack, but I'll try to post what I can from my phone.  Wish us luck!