Feliz Ano a Todos!

Hey Friends,

Costa Rica's famous Red Eye Frog

We don’t seem to be doing our job in keeping you updated, so sorry for that. But we are here to inform you as always. Merry Christmas and a happy 2011 to all! We hope that this new year brings you love, joy, and peace. Thank you for being a part of our lives. 

We had another visitor this holiday season, for the week of New Years. Ty’s Mom came on the 28th of December and left yesterday, the 2nd day of 2011. It was wonderful to have some more company, as both times we have been very active and efficient with time. Despite some spotty weather, we managed to explore new territory in the area, while revisiting some of our favorites.  New experiences for us here in Puerto Viejo included a visit to the Jaguar Rescue Center (which houses, rehabilitates, and releases abandoned and injured wild animals back into their natural habitat), a Canopy zipline tour through the forest just north of town, becoming acquainted with hotel Banana Azul (where mama Long stayed), and attending Sunday church (which we did previously do on the Eve of Christmas). Edna and Spence, our landlords, if you will, run the Baptist church in town and present a delightful and passionate service, despite the small population of the congregation, between 5-10 on a typical Sunday.

Cute three-toed sloth at the Rescue Center

Canopy Tour - great fun

Some things have to be done again and again though, since they are fundamental to understanding our experience here. Going to the beach, for example, and visiting the National Park in Cahuita are basically unavoidable. We’ve also really enjoyed the quality and diversity of the food here in Puerto Viejo, and it’s been great to share those foods and flavors with our Moms. We’ve also been able to try some delicious new restaurants, thanks to our Moms J.

Cahuita National Park

The high season began with a bang this week, transforming sleepy Puerto Viejo into a busy town, complete with traffic. Thankfully, this also means that work is finally picking up. We managed to spend more time than expected with Ty’s Mom, but still had a couple crazy shifts at work this weekend for New Years. In other news, as a Christmas gift from Ty’s parents, he got his very own surfboard this week! This addition should bring new fun and activity to our lives here on the beach and in the water. We’d also like to thank Ty’s Mom for helping restock us with some wines and goodies (both from here and her own kitchen back home – mmm Snickerdoodles and Rice Krispy Treats), after quickly devouring most of what Ju’s Mom brought just 3 weeks earlier.

A mother sloth carries her baby at Ty's place of work.

To close out this post, let’s discuss a couple New Years resolutions: 1) To be more deliberate and disciplined in practicing and utilizing Spanish; 2) To be more patient with others, including each other, and to be more grateful for what we have, most importantly friends and family like you; 3) To live life to the fullest and continue to be open to new experiences.   What are some of your resolutions for 2011?

Thanks a bunch to all of you for reading. Happy New Year, we love and miss you dearly. Hasta la proxima,

Ty and Ju