January 20, 2016 - January 26, 2016 - 18 months and 1 week

At the hostel in San Gerardo de Rivas, they had a stone bathtub room, with candles and hot water and pretty homemade soaps.  I suppose it was supposed to be romantic, but we thought it was just good family fun!

In the town of Zarcero, with a church park full of topiary bushes carved into crazy figures and tunnels, it was playtime paradise!

Also in Zarcero, Kadin found his own walking stick and was so excited.  He also really liked watching the students practice their marching drum skills and tried to join them several times.

Just a cute shot of him chillin' on the steps of the Zarcero church.

At the hostel pool in Fortuna, sportin' the shades.

Hummingbird Nest!!! 

I got Kadin a little brown dress to wear for better ventilation in the hot weather and easier diaper changes on the trail.  To me, it's no different than a little girl in cargo pants, practical for the situation (and cute too, I think!)

The beautiful cloud forest at 7000', about half way up the Chirripó trail (we didn't hike to the summit, just around the foothills).

January 13, 2016 - January 19, 2016 - 18 months

Every kid loves to chase the poor gulls!

Can you see the sloth?!

Mapache (Raccoon) in Manuel Antonio National Park.

Kadin at the beach in Manuel Antonio National Park.

In Sierpe, waiting to catch the boat to Drake Bay, we treated ourselves to a Pipa, or coconut water drink.  Yum!

On the boat...

Kadin had a little puppy friend at our hotel in Drake Bay.  Adorable!

Selfie!

Scarlet Macaw

So much fun playing in the waves in Drake Bay!  One of my favorite beaches.

Damn, he's fast!

Our horseback riding guide - Kadin loved being carried by him!

The ride led us to a gorgeous waterfall and beautiful cool swimming hole.  The water felt great!!

Our little observer, always checking things out...

Caballo!  Kadin giggled with joy during the ride!

Escaping the heat up at San Gerardo de Rivas, a cloud forest at around 1340m or 4500' elevation.

Waterfall on the hike up to a developed hotspring spot.

Super fun hotsprings pool with rocks and fountains and lots of families.

Making friends...

January 6, 2016 - January 12, 2016 - 17 months and 4 weeks

It's so hard to just pick a few photos when you have 300 of them to choose from!!  I did my best…

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We left Monte Verde and headed to "Grampa Ninja's", a B&B, in the small town of Barrance, just outside of Punta Arenas.  Fun spot with rolling farmland hills and pretty cliffs by the beach.  Kadin really liked the pool and the cows.

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We also went to one of my favorite beaches, Playa Doña Ana, where Kadin had his first encounter with the ocean and crashing waves.  Huge smiles and laughs as I held him up in the waves, letting the foaming swell slosh him around.

The Pizote, also known as a Coati - they were at the entrance to the beach.

 As we left the beach, we saw a bunch of Capuchin Monkeys (Mono Carablanca) playing in a wooded grove.  They were about 6 feet from me.  I had to keep Kadin a safer distance away or he would have run off to join them!

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Next, we traveled down the coast to see the crocodiles at the Tarcoles River and then to visit the Carara National Park.  While we were hiking, we had a torrential downpour that lasted about 20 minutes – it was super refreshing considering how overheated we had been earlier that morning!

How many crocodiles do you see??

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We packed up and continued traveling south, to the town of Quepos.  

I taught Kadin how to "toast" with the Spanish phrase, "chin chin".  He loves it!

December 30, 2015 - January 5, 2016 - 17 months and 3 weeks

Costa Rica!!  Our first week, arriving in Liberia and traveling to and around Monte Verde, the cloud forest.

First, the long, long flight (5 1/2 hours to LAX, another 5 1/2 hours to CR).  Kadin did great, I was exhausted. 

Then, two buses to get us up to Monte Verde.  Only minor glitches, but we had a great time waiting at the bus stop restaurant!

Sadly, these two were the only Tapirs we saw on our trip.

 Yay!  Finally out hiking in the cloud forest.  Kadin was so excited about everything he saw — leaves, bugs, birds, ants, etc.

 He was even excited to see other hikers!  Everyone was so friendly, he began running up to people, especially men who liked or had kids, and holding out his arms, asking to be picked up.   These two were from Spain.

This hike had some awesome suspension bridges.  My favorite spanned a huge green gorge and the clouds slowly descended upon us as we approached it.

Kadin got all excited and started pointing at the ground.  I went over to see what he found and it was a beautiful walking stick insect!  My little naturalist!

Hiking was always putting Kadin to sleep, to the point where we decided to take a photo during his naps to be able to show him what he missed!

Many of the places we stayed had resident dogs, and this 10 month old golden retriever loved Kadin.  Kadin liked him too, although he was a bit too rambunctious and mouthy for him.

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And now for a few beautiful nature shots… 

This is a venomous Side-striped Palm Pit Viper (Bothriechis lateralis)

And, a friendly Costa Rican Orange-kneed Tarantula.

Tons of hummingbirds at a coffee shop near the entrance of Monte Verde National Park. 

This is a Green-crowned Brilliant (Heliodoxa jacula)

This one is a Magenta-Throated Woodstar (Calliphlox Bryantae).

and this is a female Purple-throated Mountain-gem (Lampornis calolaema).