Day 7. We made it to the casa in Ojochal and now we chill

So we made it to Ojochal and up the numerous winding dirt roads (4x4 needed) to our casa in the hills of Ojochal. Upon arrival, we dropped the suitcases in the bedrooms, made a run to the grocery store to cook some pasta for dinner, jumped in the pool and went to bed...well, at the least the kids went right to bed. As soon as they were asleep, for just a bit of torture, eric and I ventured outside to scavenge the yard for creepy crawlies. We successfully, without any effort, spotted a tree frog, lots of creepy spiders, too many geckos to count, and a larger than life sized toad. When the mosquitoes started swarming a bit too much, we joined the kids in sleep wondering what birds and animals might be our wake up call in the morning.

The morning, which is around 5:30 or 6 AM in Costa Rica, greeted us with the bright sun, holler monkeys in the distance, and squawks from toucans and bright green parrots. The binoculars proved to be the coveted item of the morning as we all became instant bird watchers. We spent the morning being lazy sipping Costa rican coffee, swimming and bird watching. Around lunch time, the kids dug out the watercolor and art supplies(so easy, small and light to pack!!!) and set to work. Art time as journaling is always one of my favorite family activities on vacation. I love to see the vacation memories my kids choose to document, see the skills as artist change and enjoy creating together.

The kids, again homebodies, were quite content to stay at the casa and swim, snack and play. Eventually, however, the adults curiosity of what adventure might await made venturing out a requirement. So we packed the car with beach attire and little else and headed down the hills of Ojochal to the coast. We landed at Ventana Beach. A beach with a huge, flat shoreline with dark, smooth sand. The name Ventana in Spanish means windows, and that is just what this beach has. The ocean in it's mighty power has craved large caves in the rock walls that border the beach. The caves are the perfect frame for the tide and ocean that rushes in to the screams and laughter of the kids. We enjoyed the late golden sun while playing in the waves, walking down the shore, and searching for sea animals. Near the point where we were turning around to walk back a group of white faced monkeys-monos-greeted us from the tree tops. They swung, and ate and watched us just as we watched them. A perfect nature encounter to end our day. We headed back to the casa for dinner, the sunset and dreams of tomorrow. OH, and a power outage...yay, we get to be local and experience just as they--candle light to watch the sunset.











































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