Bats, Spiders & Scorpions, oh my!

Our latest family visitors have arrived. Andy and I picked up my mom and his parents at Liberia airport last week, and Andy’s sister Stacey and her husband Matt landed a couple of days later. Everyone immediately fell in love with this special place and seemed to adopt the pura vida beach vibe, sprinkled with a few minor drops of culture shock involving the extreme humidity, the “no flush toilet paper rule”, the horrible pot-hole ridden steep mountain roads, and the herds of creepy crawly critters.

The first night was very interesting for Steve & Wendy, as they woke up several times during the night to find multiple dead bats on their bedroom floor. They eventually realized the bats were flying in through the open window, colliding with the fan, and landing on the floor and/or top of the bed canopy, for their final resting place. The caretaker quickly solved the problem by adding a screen over the window. (#costaricaproblems)

And my mom has not been left out of the creepy critter experiences! She killed a massive, quick-moving Costa Rican spider her first night. He was huge so it took a few tries before he went down. Two days later she startled a scorpion hiding under a rug…and she’s still here! (We must have broken our “scorpion seal” because after not seeing a single one during our first four months here, we’ve now seen four more since our first encounter with one earlier this month.)

We’ve already managed to spend a few days at the beach, doing nothing but floating in the salt water and swinging in hammocks. The definition of vacation should be having nothing to do, and all day in which to do it. Along with never knowing what day it is, or what time it is. Check, check and check.

We all agree Christmas is more enjoyable when you don’t have to deal with last-minute Christmas shopping crowds, icy roads, and going broke trying to prove you love someone. Although it does seem odd to see Christmas decorations in 90 degree weather, the holiday spirit is alive in Samara. We are looking forward to a low-key Christmas spent amongst palm trees, pina coladas and family. Removing ourselves from the American Christmas rat race has helped us to remember what this holiday is really supposed to be about: spending quality time eating, laughing, drinking (and sweating), surrounded by loved ones.

We have grand plans of waterfall trips, zipline adventures, fishing excursions, driving through rivers, drinking out of coconuts and multiple beach road trips during their stay. I should have many exciting adventures to write about by the end of their trip. Until then I am going to take some time off from blogging, while we’re busy making memories, so I can be more present for these special moments.

Feliz Navidad to all, but especially to our family members who are freezing back home in Oregon. We’ll try to send you some warm weather vibes, and will make sure to drink a few extra pina coladas in your honor. Cheers!