Honeymoon Recap Pt. 3 (Los Animales Locos!)

One of the most amazing things about Hotel Capitan Suizo was the natural scenery and wildlife. Even though El Capitan is the bustling little surfer town of Tamarindo, Costa Rica, it really feels set apart at the edge of the town and feels like it’s own little jungle/ocean paradise!

We heard there would be lots of wildlife, and there WAS!! Raccoons, geckos, iguanas, lots of different birds, squirrels, monkeys, crabs EVERYWHERE, and skunks. Yes, skunks! We only saw one of those the last night, when a baby skunk walked RIGHT THROUGH the outdoor restaurant! Everyone got completely still for a moment, but it just waltzed right through one side and out the other on its merry way! Thank goodness!!

It seemed odd to travel so far to see some of the same animals we have here, like raccoons and squirrels, but they were actually quite different- especially the squirrels.

They put out food each morning for the birds and squirrels, so that they wouldn’t come bother guests in the open-air restaurant, but there was still the occasional gutsy magpie bird that flew in begging for food!

This magpie wouldn’t leave until I fed it!

I think the same one was begging food off of our waitress a few days before!

Birds eating fruit outside the restaurant

These squirrels were soooo funny trying to “sneak” up on the fruit with no one noticing…when in fact the whole restaurant was watching!

Ray was as bad as the kiddos trying to feed the squirrels!

The best thing was all the monkeys!! The hotel actually keeps and takes care of two baby monkeys, Sophie and Alice. They are adorable! The hotel staff watches them during the day, letting them play in the trees and entertain the guests.

The first night, Sophie jumped right up on my hubby’s neck and made herself a new friend! Apparently she didn’t want to share, because the moment I reached up to pet her, she BIT ME!!! It was just a little nip on the back of my hand, and although it hurt a bit, it didn’t do any damage! It scared Ray for a moment, but then the rest of the week he was thoroughly amused that a monkey bit his wife!

Sophie would have nothing to do with me the rest of the week, but Alice was friendly enough to let me hold her some!

Alice was a cutie! She lost her tail at some point (I forget if she was born that way or something happened!) But she sure still knew how to swing in the trees!

Alice

Sophie- the little stinker!

Supposedly the BEST place in the area to see monkeys is at our hotel! We went on a jungle canopy tour and didn’t see a single monkey! However we did have lots of fun, despite looking like TOTAL dorks!

When we came back to the hotel, there were monkeys all over!!! (none of these are Sophie or Alice!)

Um…..yes, those white things are their butts….it was pretty gross!!

I’ve seen plenty of these guys before!! This gecko was hangin out above our heads on the post at the restaurant!

Pretty butterflies were all around

This blue crab was soooo big that you could see it out on the beach from the restaurant (notice what good care they take of the beach–it’s raked every morning!!)

This little crabby was hangin out in our bungalow– at least our bed was way up high!!

The raccoons searched for food at night, usually eating fallen coconuts and leftover food from the birds and squirrels. They were harmless to us, but we often heard them snarl at each other, so pretty much stayed out of their way!

Iguanas were always lounging by the pool when the sun was out in full force. Now, I’ve had these crawling on my outside walls and roofs in Honduras and they scared the daylights out of me…however, they didn’t really move around much, unless someone brought some fruit by for them, and they sort of seemed like they were on vacation themselves! So I just left them alone (other than to take pics, and they left me alone too!)

This one was peeking out from the tree at us, laying in our hammock on the beach!

Ray’s new friend!

That concludes my honeymoon recap! At least for now!! If you are at all interested in Costa Rica for a honeymoon, I highly recommend Tamarindo, and even MORE highly recommend Hotel Capitan Suizo. But don’t just take my word for it! Look it up on TripAdvisor to see all of the RAVING reviews and pictures! It’s the 3rd ranked hotel in the area, only because the first 2 are very small, exclusive resorts with very few rooms and they are both Yoga based, and one is vegetarian. We originally booked the non vegetarian one, but decided to go with El Capitan as a cheaper option. So happy with our choice since it was the only one right on the beach!

Happy Honeymooning!!

 

 

Honeymoon Recap- Pt. 2 (In love with El Capitan!)

Hotel Capitan Suizo

We discovered our hotel on tripadvisor.com, and it was a GREAT decision to research hotels on that site!! I realize that many user reviewed websites may be biased by mostly people treated poorly getting on and ranting about their bad experiences, but we could hardly find one negative thing about the hotel (except for a few years back when there was lots of construction!) Practically EVERY other review completely RAVED about it, and it definitely lived true to the reviews! We were not disappointed in any way!

It was a pretty rustic place, with no TV’s, etc. but it was PARADISE!! It really provided an escape from reality, an escape from wedding madness and provided the PERFECT honeymoon experience!

We started off for the first 4 nights in a regular upstairs room with no AC. Your first thought might be, NO AC?? In a tropical climate??!! That was our first thought but the many reviews suggested that it would be ok. Plus it was cheaper, not to mention all that was available! It was actually perfect!! Our room had lots of windows with open screens to allow the jungle and ocean breezes and two ceiling fans. It was occasionally a bit humid feeling, but it truly allowed you to experience the sounds of the rain that came everyday and the lovely sounds of the jungle birds and other animals.

We forgot to take a pic of our room, so this is off tripadvisor,  but this is pretty much what it looked like! Ours was an end unit though, so it had more windows on the left wall. The bathroom is through the door in the back and it was pretty nice with a window breeze too!

Here is the view from our balcony! You can slightly see the pool right behind me and to the far left by the tree you can get a peek at the ocean. It was much easier to see in person!

It was even fun hanging out on the balcony in the rain!! It was so peaceful and calming!

Our second room was the honeymoon bungalow. Although it wasn’t too expensive, it would’ve been too much to stay there the whole week! We decided to move there towards the end because we were afraid we’d be too disappointed in the smaller room second!! It was a great decision! Although the rooms are great, I highly recommend the bungalows if you can afford the higher price! They are each like their own little house! The honeymoon one is slightly different in that the bed is up a little flight of stairs, almost like a bunk bed! It was so cute!!

Isn’t it adorable!!

My hubby testing out the bed!

Our huge bathroom!

Outdoor shower that I was too scared to use because if anyone went for a walk behind the buildings, they’d discover me!!

The food was also absolutely FANTASTIC!! We both packed on quite a few pounds eating here!!

The outdoor restaurant was so much fun! It was very romantic at night by candlelight, and cheerful during the day with animals running around and a GREAT view of the ocean! It was literally two steps away from the beach!

A few nights we even had musical entertainment at the restaurant! This was really nice to hear even from our room at night while falling asleep! No, they didn’t play that late, we just went to bed that early some nights!! )

We loved the romantic candlelight that reminded us of our wedding centerpieces! And loved how they made our shiny new rings sparkle! At one point during the trip, a lady asked us if we were newlyweds, and said she could tell because our rings were still sparkly and shiny! Love it!! )

Breakfast was fantastic- included everyday- it was a huge smorgasbord of yummy fruit, pastries, and a few hot items. They also cooked food to order, but at a minimal charge.

I started everyday with a huge plate of mango, pineapple, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Best fruit ever! And because it’s all locally grown, it didn’t bother me like some fruit here in the states. It’s weird but sometimes the pesticides, etc. in fruit makes my throat itch like crazy!

Mmmmmm….my plate of fruit was always followed by this one….apple bread, eggs, gallo pinto (rice and beans), and platanos (my FAVE!!)

For dinner, we ate……

Giant shrimp

Rollitos de tilapia (Tilapia rolls)- these were soooo YUMMY!!! They were strips of tilapia, rolled up and drowned in butter, cream and spices! Soooooo good, esp when they were gone and we dipped our bread in the leftover butter! We ate these pretty much every night!

Filet Mingon (this is actually just half a serving! We split it one night!)

Chocolate Mousse! YUM!!

Banana Split! Best I’ve ever had!

And Nachos with Guac and black beans for lunch!! (I didn’t touch the guac tho! Yuck!!)

Can you see now why we packed on some pounds??!! They also had great burgers, pasta, chicken….mmmmm! Wish I was back there right now!

The pool and the beach were also amazing! Pretty much all we did was switch back and forth from laying hammocks on the beach, to lounging at the pool, to lounging on our balcony or porch! With visits to the restaurant in between! It was so relaxing, so amazing!!

Next up….a post on the amazing, funny wildlife at the hotel!!

Honeymoon Recap Pt. 1

So, I’ve decided to start re-capping everything by hitting the BEST part first- what happened AFTER the wedding! ) The much anticipated Honeymoon in Costa Rica!!

The wedding was on Saturday, and we didn’t head to Costa Rica until Tuesday. Best idea ever! It gave us time to open wedding presents and get things organized. And things were a MESS!! I spent a good part of Monday on into the wee hours of Tues. searching for missing shoes, clothes, and toiletries! That’s what I get for having my stuff moving all over the place from 2 hotels, my apartment (which I officially moved out of that same day!), and our new place! Oh and the church and the reception site! (I’m pretty sure that someone out there still has my navy blue Old Navy flip flops I wore to the church that day!!)  So after moving and searching for all our stuff and needing to get up for the airport at 4am, we got 2-3 hrs of sleep! Good thing we were headed for paradise!! )

When we checked in at the airport, we were given the option to upgrade to first class!! *Note to budget-savvy travelers- if you use airline points- be sure to do the self check in! For some reason the attendants can’t upgrade mile users to first, but the e-check in allows you to!!*

Our first newlywed pic at 4am in the airport–Too early for make-up!

It was quite early in the am and NOTHING was open so we killed some time in the food court, then took our chances to get into American Airline’s Admiral’s Club! We probably shouldn’t have….but we got in! It was so early that the few people there were hardly making a peep, and we quietly said, “Oh we’re on our honeymoon and flying first class to Miami and wanted to see if we could get in.” And we got in! Technically you have to purchase a one day pass if you aren’t a member, but somehow we did it! She did mention she didn’t see us on the list, but still let us go!

It was nice to kill some time by drinking coffee and OJ and eating cute little muffins. Btw, there was a basket of apples on the bar- which cracked me up! I made reference to feeling like Monica and Chandler sneaking into the first class lounge in a previous post….and that REALLY made me feel like them- except we were permitted to enter, and could eat the apples! I expected someone to tell us to leave at any moment and we’d run out screaming and grabbing apples along the way! Hehe!

If it wasn’t for his head, you’d see the bowl of apples!

I’ve never flown first class before, and I’m sure to some people it’s pretty run-of-the-mill normal!! At first glance, it seems that it’s the same as the rest of the plane- except with bigger seats, lots more leg room, and you don’t have to sit pressed up against a stranger next to you! However, the free mimosas (or whatever other drink you want!) keep coming, breakfast is served, hot towels are offered to freshen you up, and there is plenty of room to spread out and play your favorite card game with your new hubby (and thoroughly beat him!!)

 

On our next flight, we couldn’t upgrade, but the flight attendant sure tried to get us up there once we were on the plane. Didn’t work, but she did bring us some free champagne- no one in coach gets that for free!! ) There is something magic about the words “We’re on our honeymoon!” I suggest using them often!!

 

My wonderful hubby was even gracious enough to allow me to have the window seat all 4 flights (2 there, 2 back!). The view as we arrived in Costa Rica was amazing…especially the coast line.

Doesn’t even do justice to how amazing it was!!

Customs were a breeze (in and out) of Liberia, and we walked out of the airport to find someone holding a sign with Ray’s and our hotel’s names. We did have to pay for our hour ride to the hotel, but they actually sent someone from the hotel, along with our driver to get us there safely. They were pretty great. They even stopped twice for us- once for me to use the restroom and once so we could get a drink.

One amazing thing about everywhere we went in CR- I never used a nasty bathroom!! At a gas station, souvenir store, every restaurant, and of course our hotel- the restrooms were spotless! Neater and cleaner than many bathrooms here! That’s not something I’m used to traveling overseas, so I was pleasantly surprised. That’s not to say they really are all great because I didn’t see em all- but I didn’t find a bad one!

We have arrived!!!

Our hotel- Hotel Capitan Suizo was spectacular! Although I’ll admit on that first day, jet lag (and wedding-lag!) slapped me big time the second our journey was over and we entered our room! Ray thought I wasn’t happy with our hotel, but he hasn’t experienced my travel routine- I’m pretty used to running myself ragged before a trip, then traveling all day to an overseas location, and collapsing when I get there- or if unable to collapse, I get in a pretty foul mood! I almost got in a foul mood, but we got food and slept to the sounds of the rain forest and the beach. Best sleep ever-until interrupted by sounds of children jumping in the pool!!

Next up….a full summary of our hotel and what we did in lovely CR!!

Oh my Capitan, how I miss you!!!!

Honeymoon update!!

Ray and I booked our honeymoon hotel awhile back at Los Altos de Eros in Costa Rica. (see the link for my previous post on that hotel!) While we’d still LOVE to stay there, reality has been setting in that staying there would probably put us into debt starting off our marriage! At $395-$495 a NIGHT…it’s not cheap…..but it seems to be out of this world!! It’s slightly all-inclusive- smoothies, beer, wine, breakfast and lunch are included.

I was especially excited about staying in Tamarindo, Costa Rica because the week we booked the hotel, I had shown all my classes a Travel Channel Samantha Brown video on her trip there! After 10 times of watching her surf, ride dirt bikes, relax in infinity pools and lay in a hammock in Costa Rica, I had to do it to!

By the way…..If I could pick ANY job in the world, it would be HERS! But I think I’d do it a little better- at least in the Spanish speaking countries she visits! Her Spanish is pretty bad! But at least she tries!! I think she’s the coolest chic ever though!! I know her job can be tough and fast paced, but she gets PAID to see the world!!! I soooo want that job!

But back to the point……..We’ve changed our hotel in CR! Actually, we’re now booked for 2 places but will eventually cancel one! Good thing about hotels here- you pay when you leave, so no one has our credit card # right now!! They finalize your reservation when you send them your airfare info.

My mom and dad are SUPER amazing and got us our plane tickets into Liberia, CR for FREE! Yes, that’s right- FREE! Well….nothing’s free I guess! There was about $180 worth of processing fees- so silly! But amazing compared to the fact that we would be paying well over $1200 for 2 tickets there! My dad’s been flying so much lately that he’s earned tons of points- obviously enough for 2 tickets! And my mom was great about finding us a flight that would actually work with our schedule and the airline’s (they only allow so many free passengers per flight!) Too bad we’ll get hit with American Airlines new $15 per checked bag fee!

So you’d think that getting free air would make us think we could splurge a little! Nope! As we’re seeing how much $$$$$ this wedding is going to cost- and the fact that we’ll probably have zero left to put on the honeymoon, we’re seeing we need to cut back!

(oh the memories of Honduras! These things are not my friend, but animal life is abundant in CR!!)

So we found a fabulous little hotel- Hotel Capitan Suiza, which we are quite happy with. Los Altos only had 6 rooms and was very intimate, but the Capitan only has 30, so it’s not a huge commercial hotel either. It’s not all-inclusive, but like I’ve said before- I’ve heard good and not so good things about all-inclusive. Breakfast is included, and the restaurant looks fantastic and isn’t too expensive! We’ve read nothing but good things about the hotel too!

Wish I could put better pics of the hotel on here, but I can’t copy the ones on their page….so go look at them here- Hotel Capitan Suizo Photos. Amazing!! The restaurant all lit up, reminds me of the one in the recent movie – Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Looks like fun!

It’s also right on the beach, which seems to be pretty clean and pretty private. Los Altos is up in the mountains/jungle over looking the ocean (they take you there whenever you want). But there is something about waking up and throwing on a bathing suit and heading straight to the beach, then wandering back every now and then for a dip in the pool, etc. )

We’re spending less than half what we would spend a night at Los Altos (around $175 at the Capitan), so that should give us lots of money to play/eat/drink with! We even decided to book the honeymoon suite for the last 2 nights (the last, not the first so we don’t get too spoiled and hate our smaller room!), and it’s even cheaper than the small room at Los Altos!

Trip Advisor was an invaluable resource for us! Yes, I know that on many travel review sites people only post negative experiences. Well at both of these hotels there were almost nothing but RAVING reviews because everyone loved them both so much! Although, you should take the negatives with a grain of salt, it’s still a great resource!

So- if you have LOTS of money after throwing your fabulous wedding- head to Los Altos de Eros. If you are throwing a “Fabu-less” wedding- head to the Capitan! Whatever you do- definitely put Costa Rica on your “must-see” honeymoon list!!

Honeymooon in Costa Rica!!!

It has been decided!!! We are going to COSTA RICA for our honeymoon!!!! We booked our hotel last night for 7 days in beautiful Tamarindo, Costa Rica!! All that’s left to do is book our flight!! And actually go!!!

We spent LOTS of time looking into all-inclusives in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. It was hard at first to decide. There are so many pluses and minuses about all-inclusives. Plus- you don’t have to worry about other expenses while you are there except for shopping and extra activities. Minus- you probably won’t get to eat anywhere but the resort or experience true cultural food because why go out and pay when your food at the resort is already paid for. Having food taken care of is great, but some all-inclusive food is just so-so.

We found what may be a perfect combination. Our hotel is almost all-inclusive- but doesn’t include dinner except for 2 nights during the week. That means we get to go out and explore the town of Tamarindo and eat wherever we want!

Our hotel is Los Altos de Eros, and it is a small inn that only has 6 rooms!! There are way too many amazing details for me to include them all here! But they have included breakfast and lunch every day, Dinner on Tues. and Sat., complimentary transportation to beaches, activities, shopping, restaurants, complimentary smoothies, beer and wine, indoor/outdoor showers (gorgeous!), infinity edge pool, and offers an amazing view with beautiful sunsets overlooking the jungle and the ocean.

We are sooooooooo excited about going there!! If you are interested in more info, read up on the reviews on Trip Advisor- they even link to it from their website! And read all the info on their own site. The guest pictures on Trip Advisor and reviews of food, location, etc. are what sealed the deal for us!

They were even quick to respond to our reservation requests via email! It’s a little less formal than most hotels and a lot more personal since they only have 6 other rooms which means max 12 guests at a time!

I’m also doubly excited because it just so happens that this month I am teaching my students about Costa Rica (we study a different country each month!), and I’ve been showing them a video of Samantha Brown’s Passport to Latin America from the Travel Channel. I highly suggest watching ANY of her stuff! She’s just so darn cute and goes to the best places! Her job=my dream job! Although, I’d do it with much better Spanish! Haha! In the episode we’ve been watching, she goes to Guanacaste, Costa Ricaand then takes a trip to the town of Tamarindo- where our hotel is! She even goes to and suggests going to Lola’s, a restaurant right on the beach the hotel suggests visiting! I’m soooooo excited!! I can’t wait to tell my students that I’m going there too!! More importantly, I can’t wait to just go!!! )

Honeymoon locations!!

 

I absolutely ADORE traveling around the world! It’s one of my absolute most favorite things to do! I love the excitement and the learning experiences involved- seeing new sights, experiencing new things- I love it all!! I’ve traveled a lot, mostly on missions trips, and I’ve loved every country (except for one-I won’t say which, where I got HORRIBLY ill!!) I am so looking forward to new experiences on my honeymoon!! Oh wait…..that didn’t sound right!! ) Well…looking forward to that, but also the TRAVELING experiences!!! ) Ray loves to travel as well, but has so far just been to Mexico (lots! he even lived there for awhile!) and Canada. He can’t wait to go all over with me!! I’m so glad I found someone who is a smitten with travel as I am!! I couldn’t stand to stay at home all the time!!

One of my major goals in life is to travel to every Spanish speaking country. I also want to travel all over Europe. Lots of other places I’d love to go, but if I can do those, I’ll be a happy gal!! Since Ray and I are so comfortable with Spanish, and speaking to natives wouldn’t be hard work for us (although my real work is Spanish! haha!), and since he’s as into my goal of visiting every Spanish speaking nation as I am- we thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and knock one out while we are on our honeymoon!

All that to say, we are considering the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica for our honeymoon….maybe even Puerto Rico.

DR- ohhh so pretty!! I want to set up a hammock right there!!

And I want to live in this sunset in Costa Rica!!

I’ve been consulting TripAdvisor.com for reviews of some hotels in DR that I’ve been looking at….some seem good….others not so great!!

And as far as CR goes….well, haven’t even begun looking there! We will probably consult a travel agent in a few weeks, since neither of us know any one who has been to either country (We’ve just heard fabulous things about both for honeymoon destinations!!).

I don’t mind that the DR is such a poor country. I do know it quite a bit about it and CR (from teaching my students!) I know that DR shares the island of Hispanola with Haiti- this hemisphere’s poorest country.  Seeing and learning about the people there is part of what makes the experience so amazing! I do however, want to feel like I’m living in the lap of luxury! Most of the time when I visit other countries, I stay in the cheapest places- or even a hut or dirt floor in the jungle! I want my honeymoon to be AMAZING but don’t want to forget about what life is really like! This will probably be the only extravagant trip I’ll ever take- as far as hotel/food/drink wise! I’m normally an easygoing, eat off the side of the road at some little stand kind of gal!

If you have any advice, ideas, or travel information that you can offer, I’d be glad to hear it!! In the meantime, check out these pics from my other trips!! (please forgive the ones of little me with the bad hair!! ) )

PERU

 
Stuck in the mud!(I’m in the red shirt with the early 90’s permed hair! and we ALL had fanny packs!!)

Performing a skit at a school in Peru (Do those pants make my butt look big?? ) )

PANAMA

We did this skit about a thousand times!(I’m the China doll!)

ECUADOR

On the “equator” (I’m at the top! And I say “equator” because the monument was built at the wrong spot! The real one is just a little ways away!)

Train ride to Cotopaxi- one of Ecuador’s most famous volcanoes

Eating…..umm…Cui….ummmm…guinea pig!! I swear I only had a bite!!

CAMEROON WEST AFRICA

MEXICO

Oh how I loved those flowers! (and apparently permed hair!)

Look what I caught in Cozumel!!

Dancin with my girlies (and future bridesmaids!) at Carlos ‘n Charlies in Cozumel (and apparently with the cabin boy too??)

With my sweetie on his abuelo’s farm

Coolest picture I’ve ever taken! It’s real!! Valle de Guadalupe

HONDURAS 

With  my students (and Max the monkey- our class “pet”

Mayan Ruins in Copan with Cesia and Karla

Overlooking Copan