Keeping on, keeping on...

Well, here we are coming upon 1 month here in country...here's just a few things we have discovered:

1. mosquitoes work 24/7 and they seem to be working overtime with myself & mark...i think we have been bitten in every possible spot imaginable...even on the pinky knuckle - and it itches like you can't even imagine...i'm tempted to get a permanent marker and connect the dots with all the bites mark has (what a sight that would be for our blog pic)...OFF Bug Spray is a necessity and i think we'll be going through about a can a week at the rate we're going...Deet is our friend.

2. it's pointless to try and keep the geckos out of our house, as soon as we get rid of one, another one arrives...so we are just learning to get along with our new housemates...they are albino colored too, somewhat transparent looking...harmless little creatures (i think).

3. stay on the trails/paths and do not stray into the forest while wearing shorts...i made the mistake of going into the brush area & picking a flower for one of our honeymoon couples (to decorate their room) and i walked right into the path of some type of costa rican poison oak...it burned my legs like crazy and there were some small welts that appeared not too long after i noticed that i had walked where i shouldn't have...all better now, but a bit of a scare initially.

4. fireflies in costa rica don't glow from their tail, but from their eyes...cicadas sing in harmony for way too many hours during the day/night...and they are mutant (huge) looking.

5. there is SO much beauty in nature with animals & species in their natural environment...it's easy to get mesmerized by the beauty of watching a hummingbird flutter and zoom beside you, so close that you can hear the sound of it's wings fluttering...and if you're really lucky you can even feel it's wings as it brushes up against you while it moves past you...

6. simplicity in life is a blessing...life in costa rica is not about living extravagantly and beyond one's means...it's not about what you have and having more than others...i'm finding that living in costa rica is about living off of the land...it's about appreciating the beauty of ALL that is around in this country...there is beauty in just stepping outside in the morning & listening to the sounds of nature waking up...

7. every day is a new day, and can be very diff from the previous day(s)...