Costa Rica Day 7-- Good bye, my love!

So here we are... the last full day of our Costa Rican adventure. I woke up around 5am and just couldn't sleep anymore. So I got up and went for a walk. I took pictures of our resort, since I hadn't yet.

This is the main area with the pool and the remada.
And if you look straight off into the distance, you'll see the beach and the beach access we had.

I walked all the way down Playa Flamingo and saw my first (and only) sunRISE...

...beautiful, wealthy beach front homes...

...and TWO yellow and black snakes!
(Here's a picture of just one of them.)

I think they were stranded water snakes and poisonous, so I only got close enough to take a picture. That kinda freaked me out, so needless to say, I didn't go swimming in the ocean that day. I guess it's a good thing I didn't realize that there we snakes in the water until the last day!

And I wrote myself a little reminder in the sand.
Pura vida, mis amigos... Pura vida!

I also walked around town for a bit and got myself some breakfast and did a complete transaction at the bank in Spanish. Can you tell I'm proud of what little Spanish skills I have? ;)

Soon after I returned from my private adventures, everyone else was up and we all just went to the pool. After lounging by the pool for awhile, we all went back to the room and packed up and checked out! As part of our check-out process, we decided it was time to take off the MANY wristbands we had acquired during our trip.

It seems that everywhere we went, there was a wristband requirement attached to it. I guess that's how they keep the paid customers separate from the mooching customers!

So all we had to do today was make our way up to Liberia for our early flight in the morning. Check out was around noon, so we had a lot of time to spare. We started out by eating "Outback Jack's", the super crowded place that we tried on St. Patty's day. It was pretty good, but I 'm glad we didn't wait there all night on St. Patrick's Day for the food there. Then we went to Tamarindo on our way out (here's your map...)

...and played all day on the beach, each of us doing what we love most!

Burke played in the sand...

like most little boys do...

And had Becca and Caleb bury him!

Tada!

Caleb slept.

And Becca and I explored the wildlife (people included...)

Becca caught this little crab:

and collected some seashells...

Then while were we swimming, she chased after a baby bat ray that we saw and some 3 or 4 foot long mysterious wildlife that I briefly saw in the SHALLOW waters! I'm pretty sure I saw a baby crocodile swimming where all the people swim! Again, it freaked me out that there was all this "dangerous" wildlife in the waters I had been swimming in all week. It's a really good thing I didn't realize it until our last day!

We also explored the human wildlife life with some good ol' fashioned people watching!
There were cute, tan Costa Rican locals playing a game of soccer (or futbol) on the beach...

and some not-so-cute, pot-bellied old foreign men walking around in a speedo!
(We had Caleb play the decoy so we could get some shots for posterity sake...)

Becca and I also had a picture taking contest, which of course included some jumping pictures. Here are some of my favorites...

Then we all watched our final Costa Rican sunset. :(

Good bye, my love!

Thanks for the sunburned memories!
(PS 3 months after the fact, I still have tan lines from that burn...)

Ok, don't get all sad, thinking it's really over... we still had to make our way to Liberia! We stayed at a nice Hilton hotel by the airport, so we could take a quick nap before our super early flight in the morning. We each took a nice hot shower and I know I felt the cleanest I had felt all week! Then we headed out, pretty late at night, just looking for any place to get some dinner. Well, we didn't just find any place... we found our new favorite place! Look at this yummy casado!

Best meal of the week... By far!

And the boys had big screen TVs to watch, so you know they were in heaven!

And Becca lived, with her back to the TV, yet another little moment of her own personal hell...

Then we headed back to the hotel for a quick bit of sleep in the most comfortable beds ever!
Just ask these bed-buddies!

And that, my friends, was our Costa Rican adventure, Spring Break 2009!

You should all make it a priority to get down there one day.
The people are so friendly! They will serve you not "con gusto"...

...but "con MUCHO gusto"!
There is a difference, you know...

And with that said, I'm out!

Adios, Costa Rica!
Thanks for the time of my life... so far!