"Pura Vida" is a Costa Rican saying, and it defines our awesome trip there.  Here are some on the highlights:
 
 

Martin Ruete & I at the "Volcan Irazu" close to San Jose	Fernan, Fernanda, Me & Erwin enjoying the beaches on the Carribean shores of Puerto Viejo (a rustic town where the Rastas rule)
A dark picture of us on a jungle hike.  We saw frogs, spiders, Macaos, Toucans, and...	MONKEYS!!!  (It's that blurry thing in the trees)

We divided our trip between the Carribean Side (Puerto Viejo), which was all about being lazy beach bums in the day and partying at night, and the Pacific side, where we had more of an "Eco-tourism" experience. The hike above was on the Pacific Side...
 
 

Some of us stayed right on the beach at this small, isolated hotel with 8 double rooms ($40/night).  In case you're interested, check out their website:  http://pers.web.direct.ca/rcote	The rest of us stayed in the more "upscale" Iguana Lodge...the only neighboring housing, consisting of 2 cabins seen in the picture.
This is the terrace of Iguana Lodge, where we all hung out after our daily adventures.	The BEST adventure was a 4 hour kayaking trip that we did through the mangroves and the bay of the Osa peninsula. One of the highlights of the trip was that I actually saw...
A CROCODILE! (This is not the crocodile I saw on that specific trip, but we saw this one too)	But don't worry, we all survived!

After 10 wonderful days of traveling on the Costa Rican coasts, we ended the trip with a FANTASTIC meal at the house of my family's dear friends, Eduardo & Mayra Carillo.  They were kind enough to feed and sleep 7 of us that night!!!   Muchisimas gracias por tanta gentileza y hospitalidad!  Tienen un pais increible!!
 
 

Eddie, Me, Mayra & Eduardo

Mayra, Lenor, la esposa, Eduardo, y Yo.