Day 0
Mission: Get There!
I had no idea what to expect going to a foreign country. It was my first time out of the U.S. of A. aside from Canada or Mexico. After going through customs and being picked up by our car rental guy we set out on the windy roads out of San Jose & were immediately enveloped in the deep lush rainforests of Costa Rica. The Costa Rican landscapes were absolutely beautiful as well as extremely scary! Windy, narrow roads with trucks & motorcycles coming around every bend at 50 kph. About 20 kilometers outside of San Jose where we landed we lovingly named our car 'Betsy'...our little '92 (ish) Nissan Sentra who seemed to need coaxing on the steepest of hills as Paul down-shifted to make it to the next obstacle! We were immediately immersed into a culture, a language and a way of life which is very different to our own little (BIG world of Houston, TX). This is definitely a land where everyone seems to be concerned about the wild life and preserving nature in its truest and purest of forms. Everything from our room sign saying to please 'conserve water if not using' to all of the tour guides and their true appreciation for the rainforest, waterfalls, etc. surrounding the Arenal Volcano. After helping Paul navigate the steep, twisty roads of the Costa Rican rainforest and making it to our quaint little room at the base of the Arenal volcano we both needed a drink. We had finally made it to the hotel...it had been a long day of travel from Houston but we had made it...tired, together & in one piece. :)
Day 1
Mission: Take it all in/Immerse yourself in the Costa Rican culture
Activities: Observatory Lodge Morning Hike - 8:20AM - 11AM, Wild cat & monkey exhibit, hot springs & dinner @ The Springs Spa & Resort
What a perfect day to immerse yourself in the wild, beautiful landscape of Costa Rica. Learning about the wildlife, natural surroundings & how Costa Rica operates. We started by going on a morning hike at the observatory lodge, home to the seismograph which monitors the volcanic activity at the Arenal volcano. Despite it's inactivity for a few years now the volcano still emits gases which you can see for miles and miles on a constant basis. The hike took us deep into the lush rainforest that we had only driven through earlier and learned about the changes that have happened over the last 30 or so yrs which have shaped Costa Rica into what it is today. We had a very interactive hike including a trip down to a beautiful waterfall (Cataran), seeing a tiny little eyelash viper, 3-toed sloth & took away a much greater apprecation of the beatiful nature which surrounds us everywhere we go including the mini facial I got from the tour-guide with the mud from the rainforest floor (...of which he reminded us some of the spas in the area charge hundreds to use ;) )!
Part 2 of the day was equally as fun as we made our way over to a different resort a few hundred kilometers away for a jungle cat & monkey tour from animals who have been rescued by the resort and are awaiting a final home at a nearby santuary. We saw some osolots, puma's and a few monkeys that Paul had a hard time dragging me away from, although he was completely enthralled with taking pictures of these wild animals up close. They were mostly friendly about it (hence the picture of the osolot taking a swipe at Paul's face) >>>
...then to top it off we got to sit in the most awesome hot springs with an AMAZING view of the volcano and sip on heavenly tropical drinks & Costa Rican beer! This will be a visual and memory that will be stuck FOREVER in me! What a perfect way to spend our 6 month anniversary! =)
Mission: Catch a few
Activities: Fishing with Captain Ron - 6AM - noon
We got up early and met captain Ron at the fishing dock, which is less like a dock and like a low lying rock area which boats can pull up to...old Betsy wasn't getting down that steep embankment so we parked at the top and walked down. We did some top water fishing, which I wasn't used to but Paul seemed to be pretty familiar with, knowing all the lures, how to skim them across the water and lots of fishing stories to boot. Captain Ron is an American who fell in love with Costa Rica when he first visited here and decided immediately to sell everything and move, speaks to the great power of the 'island life' that everyone seems to be so connected with here. All of the restaurants, hotels, and activities are all outside.Today was no different. Getting over the fishing area proved to be a more water-based activity than we had hoped and wound up completely soaked from the perpetual rain showers that Costa Rica is known for. We top-water fished for around an hour and a half, hopping from fishing hole to fishing hole but wound up with only a few screeches from me not knowing how to fish top-water and being more scared than anything when a few fish tried to bite. We switched over to troll fishing, which seemed much more promising fishing. We caught guapote (the coveted fish in this lake), talapia & machaca. However, teh final score of the Paul vs Kali fish-off 2012 was: Final score Kali: 10, Paul 8...hey what can I say, my maiden name is Fischer ;) 
...our honeymoon thus far has been packed full of adventure and fun! We've gotten to taste some great food (called 'comida typico' or typical food which I find to be a hilarious description), re-learn spanish or what we thought we knew and try to fit in in such a different world than our own. It's been an awesome adventure so far although it would mean nothing to me if it wasn't spent with the most amazing man I have ever met and continue to fall in love with each day! Life is wonderful when you have someone who you adore so much and who you can hold hands with & travel through life together with. It also helps that I am feeling better than ever after my surgery and have been extremely lucky that everything has gone amazingly well in recovery!
We have so much left to do on our trip and are very much looking forward to it all! Just thought a quick update was in order since a bunch of you were so pivotal in making this dream-come-true a real story for us. :)
Pura Vida!!
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