Puentes Colgantes del Arenal (Arenal Hanging Bridges)

We finally took a day to ourselves, and we found that it was well worth the drive from Tree Houses Hotel to Arenal's Hanging Bridges: about 40 minutes away...what a beautiful sight to see from high above the tall trees...the trail led us through about 2 miles of the rainforest...there were a total of six hanging brides and several smaller bridges throughout the trail...the hanging bridges varied in length from 160 ft to 326 ft long...definitely not for someone who has a fear of heights...there were a couple times along the bridges where I walked as fast as I could to get across because being up so high and the motion and swaying from walking across the bridge was making me very scared and nervous...but, it was definitely an experience not to be missed ...to just be up so high and to hear and see nature with an aerial view was just amazing... if you want to check out more on the bridges, just click on the link: http://www.hangingbridges.com

After our walk, we treated ourselves to this place called The Springs, just outside the town of Fortuna...the owners here hooked us up to VIP passes for the year, which gives us free access to The Springs & discount on the amenities ...here there are several hot springs, which vary in temperature & size...there is one hot spring that has a swim up pool bar and has THE BEST view of the volcano (see pic)... it's about 3.5 kilometers off the main road from La Fortuna and it's 3.4 kilometers of very, very bumpy roads, mostly gravel and potholes. . . hopefully in the future they can get it paved in some parts. . .

Here's the link to the springs: http://www.thespringscostarica.com

Bejuca

I never thought Mark & I would be parents, and here we are...showing off a pic of our newly adopted costa rican baby girl - Bejuca...she is on loan to us while we're staying here...she's a little over 2 yrs old; mix of black lab & rotweiller...she loves her daily walks, and so do i b/c i get added exercise in also...mark is practicing his spanish on her...i'm not sure if she understands him or not, but either way she rarely does what he asks her to do (i think some of me is rubbing off on her)...there is something in her nature about not listening to the male species (she's a smart one)...the local men that come by the hotel are sometimes afraid to get out of their cars when they see her and first words out of their mouth is does she bite? i tell them "oh no, she's friendly, don't worry, she only bites men"...

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)...

Out-of-Country Adventure

If given the opportunity to manage a tree house hotel in Costa Rica, what would you do? Would you put everything on hold and leave home behind? We decided to, and now we're here in the rain forest of Costa Rica - for a year, managing a Tree House Hotel, located in the jungles of Costa Rica. On property, there are three tree houses, loads of hummingbirds, some monkeys, sloths, iguanas, geckos, frogs and various other critters that wander through.

We are living amongst the rainforest and beauty of Costa Rica in a small town called Javillos just about 30 minutes away from one of the country's active volcanoes - Arenal Volcano...

If you want to check out our hotel - where you can see some pics & get info on the surrounding area, just go to www.treehouseshotelcostarica.com.

We are working on getting more settled in, adjusting to major career change and becoming familiar with our new way of living...through our blog site we hope to share with you some of our day to day adventures, out-of-country happenings, thoughts & misc...