picture diaries! (Puerto Viejo->Mastatal->Manuel Antonio)

Hi all!
We hope you had a great thanksgiving.  Once again, we wish we could give you each a warm hug, and eat a big slice of turkey or pie with you.   But, since we can't, we want to share a more visual documentation of what we've been up to.  (We realize we haven't been able to share any pictures in the last few times we've posted, due to poor internet connections.)  Enjoy these photos of the places we've been writing about, and maybe you'll feel like you're right here with us.  But believe us when we say it, you're in our hearts and on our minds each step of the way. We left Mastatal today to continue on our journey. We woke up this morning at 4:30am to catch three buses and are now in Manuel Antonio which is on the Pacific side. It is wonderful here and we will soon have stories to share.

Our room at Hotel Puerto Viejo (the one we disliked...a lot). It felt like we were sleeping in an abandoned ship.

Regardless of shady sleeping situations, there was still plenty to admire in Puerto Viejo.  Tash enjoying the evening view.

We spotted some Red Legged Honey Creepers creepin' on some bananas!!  Cool colors guys.

On our way to Mastatal! Over the hills and far, far, away. Thank goodness for the excellent public transportation system in Costa Rica. 

Geanie's Place. Our home in Mastatal. Check the bamboo ceiling! (No it didn't leak...that much.)

The long dining table at Mastatal. We filled it up almost every meal!!

The side of the main house at Mastatal. After meals we would digest in these hammocks before getting to work. Or we would fall asleep in them after a hard days labor. OR we would just not work and hide in them.

The garden at the main house. In permaculture terms (forgive me we're still novices) this is called Zone 1.  It's the closest garden to the house, where it has all the edible greens, herbs and spices we'd collect to make salads.  There is also a nursery in the background, where plenty of other magic was happening.

An example of some of the artistic touches found around the ranch.  We left feeling quite inspired about natural building (using bamboo, cob, etc.) and how aesthetically pleasing it can be.

A TOUCAN! (We also saw parrots!)

The biggest moth we have ever seen. It actually had red eyes too! (We also saw a giant cockroach...Tawsh is still having nightmares).

We hiked down to the river and found this beautiful tree. Look at those roots!

Nice form Grant!! Imagine this...and a big squeal. I gave it a 10.

Another stressful experience at the ranch. We had to walk allllll the way to the river, hauling tons of beer (OUR POOR BACKS!) and when we got there, there was this perfect little place to sit in the beautiful blue water. UGH.

An upstream view of the river. "Ever notice that you think differently when you look upstream compared to when you look downstream?" - Grant getting deep at the river.

Rain fall dance party.  Our river beer drinking escapades got shut down early when the rain stormed in.  How rude!  Here we are walking back in our bathing suits.

Tawsh was the only one smart enough to remember a rain coat.  We all knew it was going to rain (big gray clouds overhead), but we must have been distracted by the prospect of beer drinking by the river. 

Grant loved hiking back in his board shorts while it was raining. IM SO EXCITEDDDD!!!!!!!

Oh what's this? Oh, that. Thats JUST a HUGE PIECE OF CHOCOLATE! no big deal.

We went up the road to a cocoa farm, where we learned how to make chocolate (from fruit to fermentation, from cocoa bean to chocolate truffle).  Here's Tawsh pressing out some deeelicious chocolate. We have never eaten so much chocolate in our lives as when we went on this tour.

Cute factor 10. These were 2 of the cats at Mastatal just napping on eachother.

Our Thanksgiving dinner. We killed 2 chickens the day before and made arroz con pollo. We then shaped it into a turkey. We also had manicotti with homemade goat's cheese, mash potatoes and gravy and three delicious desserts.

And the cute award goes to!!! KITTENZZZZZZZZ!!!

Early morning bus stop shot.  We thought we missed our bus, but luckily we didn't. 

At least we could gaze upon a scenic view while we waited.  We've been on Scarlet Macaw watch for the last few days, and it continued here.   We'll let you know when we're successful.

WE MADE IT!!! Manuel Antonio, you handsome stud, you. 

We got coffee in a restaurant which had a great balcony. This town is pretty touristy but we have high hopes for the national park tomorrow.

The view from our hostel, Vista Serena. Right before this a toucan flew up onto a tree below and made some calls out to his friends. Notice Grant's socks in the picture.

Time for bed. More where this came from soon!

Much Love,

Grantasaurous and Tash-rex