we started out our trip in san jose and quickly got out of town and headed to the pacific ocean to meet some friends in playa esterillos este. what a fun coincedence that the trotters, coors, and longs were all spending a week in costa rica at the same time! after a great roadside breakfast we arrived mid day and met up with them at the beach - we swam, surfed, hacky sacked on the beach and relaxed by the pool.
the next day we drove about 20 minutes north to playa hermosa, a beach known for its surfing. we stayed for 2 nights at the backyard hotel and loved every minute of it. we had beautiful views of the pool and beach from our room and spent the whole time lying by the pool and reading good books - so relaxing! richard tried surfing a bit, but the waves were a little out of his league!
from hermosa (beautiful in spanish) we drove about 3 hours north east into the mountains (about 5,000 feet) on the most steep and unpaved roads we had ever seen. the views were spectacular on the switchbacks all the way to monteverde. monteverde is an old quaker mountian town where they make cheese and have an incredible cloudforest that we toured the next morning. because we visited at the beginning of the wet season, the town was pretty empty, and the one gas station in town was closed for months! we also toured a renario (frog garden) and had fun finding all the big and little frogs in their cases.
from monteverde we took another terrible road down the mountain and then finally hit pavement on our way to laguna de arenal (lake arenal) and the arenal volcano. this volcano is one of the most active in the world! we loved this drive around the lake and found a great place to stay at montana de fuego resort. the next morning we took an awesome 3 hour canopy tour in the rainforest complete with 9 zip lines, a 150 foot rappell, and a horseback ride back to the hotel. while the afternoons were rainy, we enjoyed time by the pool and watching the french open in our room.
on the way back to san jose, we stopped at a beautiful waterfall on the roadside and visited the la paz waterfall gardens for a quick lunch. 
overall, we loved the trip and would recommend costa rica to anyone.
our only suggestions?
1. make sure you opt in for the gps - we would have been lost without it.
2. fill up with gas before you go up to monteverde!
3. eat at least one trit a day (the most awesome ice cream sandwich!)
for more of our pictures, check out:http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=bg0m1qv.2l9tax7v&x=0&y=5ywvxa&localeid=en_US
