Our fourth morning waking up in Central America and I'm still getting up at 4:45. Granted when you are sleeping in the forest you kind of have no choice but to wake up when the animals do. I was reminded how peaceful it is to sleep next to rushing water. (We have two favorites back in the US if anyone is ever looking. One in each of our "home" states - one in NC and one in Utah)

Our son slept until almost 5:30 so we are slowly increasing his time. His behavior is directly tied to his sleep. He needs 12 hours a day. Not easy while in such a fun country.

The night before I had told the ladies cooking dinner that the kids would like to milk the cows in the morning. It involved some hand gestures and me making up some words but I thought she said Alejandro would be there for breakfast at 6 or 6:30 and she would tell him. We should be down at 7. I was completely confident in my translation of the conversation so Josh went down at 6:30 just to make sure. Yep.

At 7 we met our old friend Alejandro down by the kitchen. Josh had told him the kids wanted to ride horses that morning too. Complimentary of the lodge. The other couple staying that night joined along with us for the cows. When I came down I found the ladies were already spoiling the kids with "kiddie coffee" aka hot chocolate. They lived drinking out of their own mugs.

We followed Alejandro through a quick pasture and arrived at the cow barn. One cow was already eating and tied up, we saw calfs roaming around and one in particular was crying very loudly. Now that we were cow experts I guessed due was a couple days old. We found out eight. Everyone helped milk a few cows and waited while the babies were brought up to nurse from their moms. One calf who didn't have a mom (didn't get the story) was given her own bucket straight from another mom. It was pretty cool to see the inside workings of a dairy farm from that perspective. West have to find a dairy farm back home for the kids.

Breakfast was ready by the time we got back. Like dinner it was a typical meal. Fried plantains, bread, eggs, fresh cheese and mango juice.

After breakfast the horses were brought down for us. I remembered the ride and knew the kids couldn't do it on their own. There were some steep parts and you never knew if a horse would run. I was fine riding with a kid but Josh is barely comfortable riding alone. Alejandro seemed to understand what I was saying and said he would take our daughter.

Since we were riding Western we put pillows on the horses with the kids on top of them. I got my bigger son and Alejandro grabbed our daughter. I'm pretty sure she thought the entire ride was the coolest thing ever. She had a grin plastered on her face the entire time while she bobbed up and down and I didn't hear a peep out of her.

Have you ever seen two people riding on a horse together and wondered why it was always bareback? I will tell you why. Two people don't fit on a saddle. Or at least not me and my ginormous five year old. The whole second half of the tide he was saying "My penis! My penis! My penis!" or "Mommy stop the horse thsy thing (the horn) is up my butt." Thank goodness no one could hear or understand us. Every so often Alejandro would look at us, shake his head and motion us through getting him repositioned. Considering our horse liked to make his own path and trot at will, while my son had no concept of leaning backwards on forwards on steep hills, I was quite proud I kept everyone on the horse and with the others.

The ride was great. We didn't see any parrot babies like last time but we did see Blue Jean Frogs, Birds of Montezuma and Howler Monkeys. The most amusing part was probably when we got to the gate by the cow barn and all of sudden Alejandro tossed Rory to Josh, said "Just a minute. Cows in garden" and took off like someone out of a Wild West movie. My son was screaming "it's a real cowboy!" Soon the trip to the candy store was over for the cows and they were back I'm their pasture while we were on our way again.

The garden for the property is quite impressive and the word garden doesn't do it justice. It's a full farm. Every fruit and vegetable they grow and in large quantities. All their rice, beans, etc. I think the property is almost completely self sustaining with a few exceptions.

We finished our over an hour long rude that took us all over the 175 acre property and the kids were hooked on horseback riding. My son is determined to learn to ride by himself.

They were wiped out so we luckily got then both to take a nap before lunch. The first real naps we had gotten. I was worried we would miss lunch bit then I realized we were the only guests. Everyone woke up a little after noon and stumbled down to the main lodge still half asleep.

I got down slightly before the rest of the family and one of the ladies looked at me quickly, thought to herself and then said (in Spanish) "you speak a little Spanish, right?" Sure. Next thing I know she has picked up a phone, is telling someone there is a girl who can speak and hands me the phone. I spent the next ten minutes translating a conversation for a family back in the US trying to make a reservation for the next week. I answered all sorts of questions about which cabin they should get, why they really needed to change their car reservation to a 4x4 and most importantly why coming to La Carolina is worth the hassle. I then gave her the home number for the owners in Charleston. I think.

After lunch we loaded up the kids and headed down the road a km to another property the family owns with a lake. The directions took us through someone's yard and with a dog chasing us we arrived at a small lake with a covered wooden boat tied up. Despite now owning our kayak, boating is not our strong suit. We successfully got everyone in without any catastrophes. The sky was becoming dark so we limited our boat outing to less than half an hour. Paddling a wooden car takes a lot of work anyways. The kids insisted on paddling which again was a success since we didn't lose any paddles or teeth.

Before leaving we drove up the hill further to a lookout shelter and benches. There wasn't anything to do so I just snapped a pic and noticed it was about to pour.

On the way home Josh asked if I could go to the store for him and get a few beers and chips. He couldn't communicate with them. His description of Churillo didn't do it justice. All of things for sale were in one of three places 1. A garage I couldn't see 2. A cooler container they was so foggy I couldn't see in or 3. Behind a counter. I walked into this "store" and two men followed me. I told them I wanted 4 beers and then one literally jumped over the counter and returned with part of a six-pack ripped off still in the plastic wrapping. I don't have a clue how much anything was. They didn't even tell me. I just held out my colones. Of course it started monsooning during my 2 minute exchange and my lovely husband decide to take photos.

The kids were excited to take their afternoon dip in the "hot pool" whole it rained. I guess that was becoming their thing. We ended the afternoon with some games and full on tantrums before heading to dinner.

My dinnertime the kids had seen Alejandro around several times now. They called him A Lasagna (not being mean or funny) until they were able to ask him his name themselves. They never forgot, our son became obsessed with him and whenever he saw him was right there to tag along. Before dinner it was 20 questions and mommy was the translator, my daughter invited him to eat dinner with us and I'm pretty sure there worlds were made. My son exclaimed that he now wants to be a cowboy when he grows up. Which our daughter responded that she could be a cowgirl.

Of all three mornings in Arenal this one was the most beautiful. The sky was absolutely crystal clear and not only could we see the volcano top but we could see all the details on the sides themselves. We took our time enjoying the views before packing up and heading to check out. You know it must be Costa Rica when you can say you had 9 hrs of sleep enjoying a beautiful sunrise, leisurely packed and checked out all before 6:45. The early sunsets and sunrises take a bit of adjustment but are great for young families who are pretty much on that schedule anyway.

We paid our final bill (although this is more of a higher end rustic option it is quite the value based on US terms) and got our son's hat back from the owner. Huge kudos to him for calling the farm and retrieving the beloved Jackson Hat that had been left in their truck. They didn't have to do that.

We went over to the barn and each kid milked the cow again. This was turning out to be a new favorite activity. The chickens were even louder than the other day and I noticed quite a few eggs laying in the nests. My son was motioned into the pen and helped collect the morning eggs.

A few notes about the animals and barn. We aren't necessarily country folks but have visited quite a few farms all around. This barn had to be the cleanest one wed ever seen. I'd venture to say these animals get excellent care. They looked extremely healthy, clean and happy.

After the barn we headed to breakfast for the last time. Today was a typical breakfast. Even that was delicious. The French pressed coffee was brought straight to the table today (I had to talk him into getting coffee on day 2 and he had thanked me repeatedly) and the rice and beans had some sort of special umph, The breakfast waitress whom I can't for the life of me remember her name seemed truly sad to see us go. She couldn't understand a word from the kids and would kiss them instead. I would translate and when we went to leave she walked out front and waved us off.

LAST THOUGHTS ON LEAVES AND LIZARDS
This trip to Arenal was night and day compared to the last one when we stayed at Arenal Paraiso right in the thick of things. Many things played into that but we loved Leaves and Lizards.

The service by the restaurant staff and Hazel (before she left) was great. They were patient with our kids and brought our daughter her special big chair every night. We were quite nervous because we were always there with just one other couple. Not ideal when you have two energetic preschoolers.

Halfway through our trip the owner, or the man I presumed was the owner, arrived. He never introduced himself. He was pleasant but Josh and I didn't get the warm feeling do many people had mentioned in reviews. He would ask the other couple about their day but never asked us. It was a tad odd but we figured that perhaps our kids were annoying?

If we were to come back we would take advantage more of the grounds and resort itself. They have horseback riding to their own private waterfall. We weren't sure if our kids were too young. Since no one mentioned it we didn't sign up. They also have hiking trails and a morning hike with Oscar three days a week. Again no one talked to us about them so we figured they might be too much for us. Perhaps asking those questions ahead of time via email when English is easier would be good.

We stayed in the Toucan cabin which was actually our second choice. I had originally requested the Hobbit cabin based on reviews. Although, I didn't go into the Hobbit house, I went down to it to see the location and view. I'm glad we ended up in the cabin we did. The Toucan is more remote and has an unmatched view of the volcano. It is a bit of a walk to the front and restaurant which means we chose to drive when it rained hard. The Hobbit was right under/next to the restaurant. With our noisy kids it was best not to be so close to others I'm guessing. It looked like they had a good view and the house inside the hill was cool but I liked our location in the jungle.

HANGING BRIDGES
When we were planning our time in the Arenal area one of the things we had asked the resort to book was a guide for the Hanging Bridges. For some reason that was the one thing they didn't. It was fine, we decided to do it on our own without a guide.

By the time we finished breakfast and got to Hanging Bridges (45 min drive) it. Was almost 9. They open at 7:30. If this was a major item on our list or we had a guide is want to be here at 7:30 when it was cooler and less people. Our kids are noisy so at times I felt like we had to quiet them for others spotting animals.

The park is basically a well maintained hiking trail through high rain forest right by the tip of Lake Arenal. It uses a series of different types of bridges. Some long and high hanging bridges to make the loop. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with mobility issues. I thought it was great for families and kids between 4-10. There were a few bridges that freaked me out and made me cling on to the kids for dear life. I envisioned a small child tripping and sliding through the narrow opening at the bottom. Are those normal thoughts of parents?

The kids would have been happy it were just about the bridges. We had a map and they treated it like a treasure hunt to find the next one. We were however in the midst of a heavily populated ecosystem. As we were hiking tips from the refuge were ringing in my ear "if you see 10 wild boat you are ok. Once you see 20, climb a tree. There are herds of boar by the Hanging Bridges." Or "Don't worry if you get bit by a venomous snake. We have the antidote to all but one. What is important to make sure you know what snake it is."

I read in one of the tips that going to do the bridges without a guide was like walking with your eyes shut. I would agree. What we did see it was because we kept stumbling across other groups and a female guide who had a super crazy binocular scope. Yesterday our kids were being horrible with a capital H (we had to stop the car on the side of the road to remove one after blood was drawn in the back seat - don't let our cute pics fool you). I don't know that our 3 and 5 year old would have tolerated much longer than what we did. Maybe it would have engaged them more?

We ended up seeing a Blue Jeans frog right by the trail, a huge frog that jumped in front of me and almost tripped me, a yellow and blue parrot (I didn't really see it but nodded my head with the rest of the group) a viper snake which thankfully was a good distance away, a howler monkey and a sloth eating up in a tree. Thank you to that kind guide who insisted we look at him through the binoculars. If I had seen her in the parking lot I would have tipped her but my child was already melting down by then. For $46 total it was a great morning. Children under 12 are free, great views, good workout, family friendly.

ON TO LA CAROLINA LODGE
We had planned to hit the free hot springs across from Tabacon after the Hanging Bridges to make up for the night before. It was clear our children were in no condition to be in public so we decided to drive and find lunch along the way. Using the same handy map from L&L and combining it with the directions from La Carolina Lodge we made our way out if town and towards the paved road. We somehow missed both restaurants and soon found ourselves on gravel/rock roads again. It was only 1.5 hr drive from there so we figured we would just stop when we got to a little town.

Lesson: when you are hungry, stop when you see food.

We came up on Katira, the town we planned to have lunch in. As we entered the town we suddenly got into the middle of a traffic jam. Odd. We noticed an abundance of men riding horseback in the streets. That wasn't odd but what was was the fact that all the horses were decorated. Within minutes we were snack in the middle of the town's annual festival. My biggest regret this trip is not somehow forcing my kids to behave long enough so that we could have gone and participated. Those people probably would have thought we were crazy but so what. I'm sure there was food, and a good horse show, there. The kids rides looked shady. As we drove through town we saw every local person from miles walking that way and every restaurant subsequently closed.

Next town - 5 km. We got to the next "town" and discovered it was one store that had a sign with the name of our lodge pointing down a gravel road. Uh oh. We got to the final town square and realized it was only houses. No lunch for us.

These roads to the lodge are obviously rarely travelled by visitors. It's 20 km drive down a road needing 4x4 to get there. The local frames stop and stare at us as we drive by. The cows aren't even behind fences in many circumstances. A couple times Josh was worried one would ram the car. The land around La Carolina is lush farm land with small rivers. As we got close it started coming back to me.

We pulled into the lodge's road and I could feel my body start to relax. In the last 10 years we have stayed in many places around the world. This is the only one I have returned to. I was worried that the improvements to the property over the last 6 years would ruin everything that was special about it. We got out of the car and as a group of women started shooting Spanish my way at a rate I couldn't possibly comprehend. I knew it would be the same oasis.

I think everyone has their own definition of a happy place. My physical place is very clearly along a bubbling stream or noisy river. Here I get that combined with the best service I received in any establishment (will politely provide anything needed but stay out of our hair), top notch home cooked meals and the opportunity to meet like-minded people.

Before leaving for the trip a co-worker inquired about where we were going. I joked that I would have no service here (we have no phone or wi-fi at all) along with the fact that it is candlelight only at night. He responded that his wife would never allow those kind of vacations.i didn't say it but I remember thinking that so many people miss out on really living if they can't appreciate this.

Back to our arrival. We showed the kids the river and then went up to the cabin. It was perfect. Almost like a treehouse set up on the banks of the river. It is simple and rustic with all the details you need. The high front porch overlooks the horse barn and wood chopping area. The horses were just coming in so the kids planted themselves on the stairs to gaze. The back porch was furnished with a huge hammock beside the rushing river and the rest of the patio was filled with a large wooden table and stools. There were two bedrooms inside and each of the kids got their own bed. The shower was huge and fed by a gravity rain water cistern system.

The entire cabin was filled with massive windows that opened up for breezes and access to the river sounds along with candles that would be lit every night while we were at dinner.

As I was studying our home for the next 3 nights I was jolted back to reality by the strong thunder and the realization that there were about 30 stone stairs to climb with all our suitcases. We made it just in time.

While Josh and our son ventured into the nearby "town" to get beer, my daughter and I decided to test the hot tub. There was a steady rain but the hot portion was under a roof. Now this is no normal hot yin and one thing that made me fall in love with La Carolina so much. The attention to detail and ability to use nature intelligently. is remarkable. The water is fed from the river. Wood is burned in a fireplace adjacent to it and the container dividing the water and fire then heats. That in turn warms the water. The result is a warm water oasis against the small rapids of the river right behind you. They've also created a small cold water pool and an area to get into the river a little further down.

We must have spent an hour in there with our daughter practicing ballerina moves and pretending she was a mermaid. Once the boys returned the kids took turns holding their breath under water which was a first.

Josh shared with me that his trip to town had resulted in him buying 4 of the 6 beers the store had. He tried to ask about wine but that got him nowhere. Not knowing how to keep our beers cold he bought those and returned.

We still had time to kill before dinner so the four of us played a few riveting rounds of Memory and Go Fish. It was amazing to see the vast difference in behavior after we separated the kids for a short time. Josh and I noted how crazy it is that we have to travel this far to learn simple parenting lessons.

Waiting until 6:30 for dinner felt like an eternity. By 6 we figured we would head down and sit by the fireplace and wait. When we got there we saw another family with the same idea. Turned out they were from Boone and staying in a house down the street but came here to eat. Small world. They had just finished a two week stay in Samara (our next stop). They gave us a few recommendations (there kids were about the same age and a little younger).

Thankfully they told us dinner was ready early and we sat down to the most relaxing meal of the trip. The tables here are hightop and the kids are out in chairs with railings all around them, they can't get out. The kids were starving do they ate everything. The meat was almost like barbecue ribs without the bones, Our daughter demanded about seven helpings. Our son even exclaimed that the salad was delicious. Something about home cooked food that had been fully cultivated on the land you are staying. Almost all of their food is grown or raised organically. It was delicious.

We scarfed down our desserts and asked the kids if they wanted to sit by the fire for a few minutes. Our daughter put her head in her hands and mumbled "no, I just want to go to bed".

We've started a new habit (on this trip) of telling stories. Rightly or wrongly we purposely brought no books or kids toys. A set of cards and their phones for the significant travel times. (I even regret that one) It has caused us as a family to be more creative. One of those is more storytelling. Everyone partakes and I love it.

This day was going to be about favorites. Although Josh and I had been to Arenal before (La Fortuna) we had planned almost all new experiences for our trip here this time. Today would be the exception. We filled today with a few favorites from our first trip and added some new favorites.

Today I did better and slept until 5. The night had been filled with more hard storms and as I woke I saw the storm had passed. Our cabin had a full wall of glass facing the volcano. Until now we had only seen glimpse of it. I had seen a peek of the top for about a minute and never the full thing. Even when it was sunny there seems to always be a layer of clouds up top. To get a clear view of the volcano AND the eruption is special. Our first trip we got it the full time and we had no clue how rare that was. As the sun rose the clouds lifted and I got to watch from the comfort of my bed as the rest of the family kept sleeping. It was quite the unveil.

As we got ready for the day, my son asked "is that the volcano?". He was the only one who had noticed that it had completely been exposed. Minutes later we were treated to an eruption before the clouds swallowed up the view again.

Breakfast was just as good as yesterday. The kids were excited that the tortillas were replaced with French toast. We gobbled it down before getting directions to our morning destination Proyecto Asis.

When I was planning this trip I read about Proyecto Asis several places. People seemed to rave about it. They are an animal refuge that you can tour. For those really interested you can spend a half day there and volunteer with them too. It sounded like people really enjoyed the volunteering and it was a worthwhile organization.

We got there 2 minutes late and they were starting so we hustled. Our resort had been dead on with directions and times this whole trip. I had read that a lot of people have gotten lost here but we had no problems with our map.

Our group was us another family with two I kids a few years older and a couple in their twenties. We were a "small" group. We met our guide Carlos and were reminded not to hug any animals.

The next two hours were filled with up close and personal meetings and stories about Costa Rica's most abundant animals - boar, monkeys, ocelot, parrots , toucans, boa constrictors and macaws. It was fascinating to learn that most parrots were sold to Mexico illegally from Central America so they could be sold "legally" to the rest of the World. The birds want to exist in pairs which is another reason they don't make good pets. You can only tell their sex my blood samples. At the refuge all the parrots pair off. It was obvious why one was "set free" by its owners. It had decided that it would mimic the sound of the crying baby at its home. Seven times a day, it was crazy.

We learned a lot about monkey behavior and how to (or not interact) with each type. We also heard that Justin Bieber was loathed for his ignorant idea at owning a white-faced monkey that has caused many local Costa Ricans too think it's okay to bring one in as a pet.

They had a baby howler monkey which was very unusual. First one in two years. He was a highlight for everyone in the group. One of the toddler spider monkeys likes to play and be tickled. We were told it was ok to play but to keep our heads back. All the monkeys like hair. My daughter couldn't help herself and had to get a closer look. Before I knew it the monkey had let go of Josh and had her hair. One bun in each hand. Screaming ensued. We got the monkey off her hair without a problem. She wasn't in any danger. He wanted to play but she listened and stayed back from the cages from there on out.

After the two hour tour was done we officially transitioned into the volunteer portion. Our entire group remained for it. We had about 15 minutes for a bathroom break and to grab some lemonade and fresh fruit. Just enough down time before we were put to work. The kids were given a pile of bananas to peel. The adults were given an assortment of fruits to slice. Everything was broken up into baskets and each kid was assigned something to be in charge of. Even our three year old was given a bucket of bird seed and corn mix to carry.

We then proceeded around the refuge revisiting all the animals and feeding them.
I think the kids enjoyed the monkeys the most but I thought the birds were pretty spectacular. Having a toucan eat straight out of your hand or walking into a cage with 40 parrots rushing at my food-filled hands was pretty crazy. The macaws were gorgeous up close, too.

At noon our visit came to an end and we said our goodbyes. We agreed it was one of the best tours we had ever been on and made sure to support the property. They invited us to come back for a few days sometime where we could work with the animals and work on our Spanish while staying there. We might have to take them up on that offer.

We had an hour before we were to be at our afternoon activity so we headed into La Fortuna for lunch. Both the kids wee asleep in minutes. We found one of the restaurants Josh remembered eating at before, Lava Lounge, I have no recollection of this place but it is actually named on the map from Leaves and Lizsrds. Other places in town had been labeled with "not good". I took this as an indirect recommendation.

Since the kids were still asleep I stayed in the car with the kids while Josh grabbed a table and ordered. Naps didn't last long in a 90 degree car. I didn't think keeping our diesel machine running next to an open air restaurant was a good idea. My meal was good. Josh said it was more commercial than he remembered. We brought home leftovers in case we needed a backup plan for dinner...

That morning we had talked to the owner at the resort about the weather and the weather forecast for the day. We were told to expect storm around 3:30 or 4 and then they'd be done around 5:30. We had reservations at our favorite family owned hot springs from 1-5. Our other option was 5-9 but that seemed too late. The weather looked fine so we headed Ecotermales. As we got closer the clouds started in. We got to the parking and we were the ONLY ones. Not a good sign since it was 1:30. We talked to the guy at the front and he said they expected the storm to hold off for an hour and a half to two hours. That would put is closer to 3:30 and may be all the kids could take. We decided to do that and just have dinner whenever the storm started. We still dreamed about this dinner after 9 years.

5 minutes later we were all changed and dipping into the coolest hot pool. Our own paradise hot spring pools all to ourselves. Pretty magical. For about two minutes. And the skies opened. My son ran for the nearby shelter. My daughter and I splashed around. Enjoying the ice cold rain drops mixing with the hot water. This has to be a bucket list item I didn't know to add.

Quickly my fairytale was interrupted by thunder and gathered the family. We decided to wait it out under the shelter. Thirty minutes went by and Josh and I realized this might not pass anytime soon. Our parenting gymnastics could only keep them occupied for so long. As the thunders became louder Josh went to speak to the front desk and was offered a full refund. It was really nice but they probably shouldn't have told us 2 hrs when it was 2 minutes. We should have had more common sense too. Oh well. It was another adventure.

As we headed back to the resort the thunders had turned into strong lighting bolts across the entire area. We made the right choice. We have to make a hard decision tomorrow as to whether to keep our original plan or try again earlier in the day.

It was pouring again when we got back. We had missed the cutoff for telling them our dinner selections but Josh caught the staff in the kitchen and was able to get them before they started pulling their cooking list. We got back to the cabin and decided to just rest and enjoy the storm through the open windows. The bunkbeds were transformed into a fort that became a game of Animal. I only caught pieces of it but the kids were acting our different animals in the wild and from the refuge that morning. We got some time to just chill. As Josh said. How can you come to a rainforest and not enjoy the rain? True.

The biggest lessons we learned this day: Probably not to over plan a day during rainy season. It's going to rain. Enjoy it.
Part of the fun is the unexpected. Go with it. Especially with kids - they have no idea.