costa rica, una vez más.

Matt's parents blessed their kids with a family vacation to Costa Rica during Christmas.  So parents + all Matt's siblings + spouses (woo hoo) headed to Tamarindo, Costa Rica for a week.  Spent a lot of time on the beach and did some sightseeing.  Tamarindo is a little surf town, so I decided to give surfing a try.  Matt and his brother had surfed before, plus their cousin who was traveling through the country had been learning how to surf, so I had plenty of help.  I'm proud to say I caught a couple of baby waves the first time I tried (see photo below).  The second time was not as successful with me bailing every time.  So I lasted an hour and quit.  But, surfing wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.  On the other hand, snorkeling was, only because it never fails that at some point, I get stung by jellyfish.  I did so well for the whole time until I started swimming back to the sailboat when - sting...not once, but twice - on my face.  Needless to say, there was panicking, a lot of flailing, and pain.  Overall, great trip, good time with the family/in-laws, and Costa Rica was a nice getaway for us, yet again.  So here are some photos (I realize I've yet to post photos of our first trip to Costa Rica)...

Playa Tamarindo.

Do I look pro or what.  (photo by Jessica Morgun)

This area of Costa Rica is one of the world's few remaining sites where the Giant Leatherback Turtle comes and lays her eggs.  It was egg laying season so some of us did a tour to see turtles nesting which lasted from 8pm-12am.  We saw nothing that night.  Thanks for nothing, Nature.

Howler monkey hanging out on a powerline.  Matt had a little conversation with him, but it still didn't seem impressed with us gawking.

Rice and beans.  Can't beat the local typical dish.  Seriously, so good.

My only regret was missing out on "Fantastic World", an amusement park made up of inflatable structures (think bouncy castle), so we could do this...

and this...

Next time.  Stay tuned for Monkey Park, catamaran sailing, and river boat tour photos.