Costa Rica - Playas del Coco

Hola a todos or as we Canadians say, "Hello everyone!"  This past week is a week where we are feeling like we were finally faced with the rainy season!  We chose to travel to Costa Rica in their low season which is known also as green season or the dreaded rainy season because that is when we could afford to.  To be honest though, I think we chose the best time to come!!  Flights here and our accommodations were cheaper in September/October, where as in Dec - April they are quite expensive. We have noticed that prices within in the country for food and tours are pretty much the same regardless of the time you travel. We have loved this low, rainy, green season for its beauty and how quiet places are.  Wherever we go it seems like we have it to ourselves or we share with locals which we love! Flowers are in bloom, plants and trees are all vibrate shades of green and the country side seems to glow, so beautiful!!

With all of the beauty comes the rain, and does it rain when the skies open up!! In this area of CR the weather pattern is more sporadic and hard to predict.  When we were in Manuel Antonio the days were easy to figure out, the rain showed up later in the afternoon and continued into the evening but we would wake up to sun. We would usually hear thunder for about 30 min to an hour before the rain started as well so we knew it was coming and we could get where we needed to in time.  Here in Coco, no warning and it will rain anytime of the day and hard.  This week it did anyway!! We were pretty much housebound for about 3 days this week because of the rain.  The skies would clear for a bit so we would try to head out and it would start up again.  No such thing as a light drizzle! By Wednesday night we had enough  and treated ourselves to all you can eat pizza and a movie at a local restaurant/bar called Coconuts. Made it there and back dry!! YAH!!

With being housebound we were able to get a ton of school work done and it felt awesome to power through the units!  Have to say, Doug and I are pretty impressed with our 3 students!! They have been working so hard and getting so much done.  We typically start school right after we eat breakfast, so at the table by 7:30/8:00 and we work for about 30 min and then take a 10 min body break.  Actually, I need to back our day up because Adison and Rhett complete a Spanish lesson on Duolingo first thing in the morning before we even have breakfast.  Nate isn't doing the program yet, a bit tricky for him and I struggle with it too. I can do the program my problem is I can't seem to remember it!!  If I read Spanish I can figure things out but listening to it goes in one ear and out the other.  Doug calls me a "reluctant learner!" Haha  I just might be! ;)

Prior to us leaving on this trip Doug had to write up an Education Plan for each child and submit it to our school division.  Being a teacher Doug felt additional pressure to write up a comprehensive, cross curricular, well thought out plan for each child.  He was praised for his thorough plans and effort as she stated never has she ever received such detailed plans before.  We follow along with the curriculum for each student using a combination of workbooks we purchased from Scholastic and other educational outlets, Doug's own classroom resources and resources he was able to obtain from his colleagues (thank you so much Andrea and Kandace).  We have also been using IXL which is an online math program that the kids home school uses. The kids also have an endless supply of educational books and novels to read using Epic (Nate's favorite) and Hoopla which is affiliated with our home public library. We are also able to download novels for Rhett and Adison onto their iPads using iBooks so they can do the same novel studies we would if we were back home.  With all of the resources out there our school days are stress free and we are loving it!! Time management is important so we utilize the rainy days and work hard when we are limited to our activities outside and in the community. Yet, when we leave the house, school is still all around us, we are learning all the time!  This adventure is a continuous science and social studies lesson.  #StarStudents

Thursday is the day we dedicated for bus research and the farmer's market.  Caught the bus here in Coco and rode the 50 min into Liberia where the big bus depots are as well as the market.  We are only in Costa Rica for another 5 days because next Friday we are making our way to Nicuragua and are attempting to cross the border on our own.  We have been quoted $200 US to have a private driver take us up to the border and help us across by filling out the paper work.  We don't believe we need to do that and spend all that money when we can bus on our own for less than $20.  We had talked to so many people and researched about the border crossing and it doesn't seem like a difficult process.  We have the time to do it and it is a safe border, so we are going to do it!  Wish us luck!!

Spent the rest of the morning at the amazing market, sooooo much goodness all in one spot! The vendors are all so nice and very interested in the kids.  I don't think they get a lot of blonde hair, blue eyed, mohawked customers!! lol The kids are little rockstars around the market!

Friday was a nice day so we decided to taxi our way to a nearby beach called Playa Panama which is in Snake Bay about a 20 min drive north of Coco. The sand is slate gray, the water is a beautiful blue and the beach is lined with many trees, shrubs and a grass area to play on.  We are all on a snorkelling kick so we were all pretty excited to try out a new spot.   We had heard this beach was a good spot because the currents are not strong and the riptide is usually low. We were either there at the wrong time or we were told wrong but all we saw and felt were rocks.  The possibility to snorkel was out the window and after a bit of swimming and beach time we were ready to move on.  Our kids are turning into beach snobs, haha!

There were no taxis around to drive us so Doug found us a ride with a local tour guide who was selling tours and he had a jeep that we all could fit into (kinda.)  He drove us to Playa Hermosa,  which is a popular beachfront resort town , it is between Coco and Playa Panama. 

Super cute place that spreads along the ocean, there are lots of little restaurants and hotels to see and most of them have access to the water. We made our way to a Canadian owned restaurant and hotel called El Velero where after meeting the owner earlier on he invited us to use his pool, showers and facilities if we stopped in for a beer. Great place on the ocean where we could sit in some shade, have a drink and watch the kids play in the ocean. 

 While sitting on the beach in Hermosa we met and made plans with a guy who sells snorkelling tours. He was going to pick us up Saturday morning in Coco to take us out to this island to snorkel for 2 hours. Not sure if it was a mix up because of the language barrier, or else he couldn't find a captain to take us out for the cheap price he quoted us, but  we got stood up! lol  Oh well, we were snorkel/beach ready so we went back to Playa Ocotal.  We had been trying to go back there all week to snorkel but the rain had kept us away.  Spent another day discovering the underwater life and all of the beautiful fish. We wish that we had an underwater camera so we could share it all with you!! So amazing!  We tried the other side of the beach this time and it was better than where we were the other day. Tide was low all day so we were able to climb on the rocks and discover some of the caves and cool things amongst the rocks. If we weren't in the water or on the sandy beach we were climbing the rocks.  This beach is going to be a hard one to top, one of our Costa Rican favorites!!

It's hard to believe we are counting down the days until we leave this area and make our way to our new home in Nicaragua. Our time here has gone by very quickly!! I am hoping the rain settles down this week so we can check off a few more places on our to go list. The kids have worked hard this week in their academics and we are proud of their progress. Secretly, I think they are too!! We weren't sure how this year would go with us teaching our own kids, but so far so good!! I really like working with them and I definitely think this one on one time is good for all of us.  I can truly say we  know their strengths and weaknesses in their studies and we can spend our time wisely because of it.  All is calm on the education front!! :)  The rainy days have been good for us academically and we are thankful for the beauty it has brought to this country.  We are all happy and our hearts are full!!
 

PURA VIDA!!!!!