For Taylor: Tuanis!

So, it's been a while, huh?

Life here hasn't changed much since we last blogged.  We have been busy with work (or rather Ju has, returning to Sugar mama status) and enjoying our time on the eastern coast of Costa Rica.  There has been one new development, and that is that the sun has finally decided to show its face for days at a time!!! This is incredibly exciting since we moved close to the equator so we could enjoy endless hours on the beach.



Red-Eye Frog on our porch!



This past week, we had the privilege to host Brandon and Taylor here in Puerto Viejo! When they first arrived, we spent the weekend showing them around town and taking them to some of our favorite places.  Ty also taught them the basics of surfing, which seemed to be a goal of theirs while here.  We were impressed with their progress in the short time we were here and they really took advantage of the free rentals that come with staying here at Cafe Rico.

Cafe Rico, by the way, is probably one of our favorite places in town.  Roger, the owner, is a very friendly British ex-pat, who has been living here for around 10 years.  It has been fun to learn more about him as we've spent more time here.  We found Cafe Rico when we were looking for a place to use the internet and grab a tea/coffee.  Not only do they serve the best coffee in town, but they also serve some delicious breakfast and lunch items.  The cafe is tucked in off the road, surrounded by books that are available for purchase or exchange at a low price.  There are two cabinas for rent.  The price is a little steeper than average but the amenities more than make up for the price.  If you take full advantage of these amenities, which include free bike, surfboard, kayak and snorkel rentals, laundry, coffee, and internet, you are pretty much getting the room for free! Brandon and Taylor did this very well and enjoyed the convenient location in town and near to us.

After spending the weekend with us, they headed to Bocas del Toro, Panama, for a quick few days.  We felt as though this would maximize the variety of experience while minimizing the travel time, seeing that it takes less time to get to Bocas then to go to San Jose from here.  Hey, hitting two countries in one week and on a budget, not too shabby, huh?  They returned here in time for Ty's birthday last Thursday, which was great to spend with friends.  Since Ju was working, they ate at her restaurant.  Luckily (for us), business was slower than usual and the 4 of us got to eat together.

The rest of their visit was packed with the Jaguar Rescue Center, snorkeling, a bike ride to Punta Uva, and lots of surfing.  Their last night in town, we shared a delicious and expensive bottle of Malbec (Ben Marco), courtesy of Brandon and Taylor.  They also brought us a box of goodies which included an aerator, to make our usual cheap supply of wine a little classier.  The aerator, however, also works great on those expensive bottles :)  Thank you Brandon and Taylor for a wonderful visit and our box of goodies.  It was such a treat to have friends come down for a visit and a wonderful birthday present for Tyler.

We will try to be better at posting regularly.  Our life has become pretty "routine" to us and as a result, sometimes it feels like we don't have anything new and exciting to write about.  We do have some ideas for upcoming posts, but we'd also really like to know what you would like to hear about.  Leave us comments and we will do our best to fill you in on those particular aspects of our life.  It feels good to get a little encouragement from a lot of you about the blog, so thank you for emails and messages.

Keep checking back for news about puppies, surfing, and a some of the hottest spots in Puerto Viejo :)

Love you and miss you,

Ty and Ju