“Pura Vida”

Our Costa Rican Honeymoon

I can’t remember if there was a specific reason we chose Costa Rica for our honeymoon, but I’m fairly certain we didn’t discuss going anywhere else. We both just knew it was the ideal place to celebrate our marriage (and Michelle graduating with her DVM). The warm climate, oodles of wildlife, and tons of outdoor activities was simply perfect for us. Michelle did all the planning, from the flights to the hotel to all the activities. This WHILE finishing up the last bits of wedding planning and navigating her final year through clinics in vet school. Thanks love!

5/31/14- “The Wedding”

The newlyweds sparkly exit!- Orlando Florida

After the wedding, we spent the night in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Orlando. It was by far the fanciest hotel either of us had stayed in, and I distinctly remember Michelle being anxious about the $200ish dollars just for one night. It was worth every penny. We were greeted by a lovely bottle of champagne and some chocolate covered strawberries from our siblings (thanks guys!). A delicious wind-down to the craziness of our wedding day.

Thanks to Jeanmarie, Sadie, Roger, Alex and “Jeff.”
-Waldorf Astoria, Orlando Florida

6/1/14- “Cheers To Us”

We splurged on room service for breakfast, then it was off to the airport! We set out from Orlando International Airport and had an uneventful flight to San José, Costa Rica’s capital city. From there, we took a classic “puddle jumper” 12 or so person aircraft to Quepos La Managua Airport. This was a quick 30-minute flight over beautiful tropical rain forest. This flight was similarly uneventful, and we were able to take in the lovely rainforest scenery below. The landing was a tad bouncy (eek!), but otherwise OK. The airport in Quepos is a single blacktop airstrip with a tiny open-air terminal building, quite quaint and cute. Surprisingly, it is the fourth busiest airport in Costa Rica! Here we hired a taxi (no Uber back in the day, folks!) for a quick 20-minute ride to our resort in Manuel Antonio. As we were dropped off, our taxi driver asked what day & time we needed to get back to the Quepos airport. Noon on the 6th, we told him. “OK, I’ll be there to take you.” Great! One less thing we need to worry about on our last day. See you then!

We stayed at The Falls Resort, an adorable resort hotel nestled in the hills of Manuel Antonio. The resort is laid out in a “U” shape with most rooms facing inward, the shared porch looking onto the gorgeous garden courtyard. It is teeming with tropical plants, butterflies, lizards, birds, and sometimes monkeys! What a wonderful place to just relax and take in the splendor of Central America. After getting checked in and scoping out our room, we took a stroll around the gardens. It is just magical and so unlike anywhere either of us had experienced before. We would end up spending a lot of time just relaxing here, it was that nice! All the travel and the garden tour worked up a bit of a hunger, so we meandered into town to see what it had to offer.

The beautiful garden waterfall- The Falls Resort

We found El Avión- a bar & restaurant built inside an enormous cargo plane! The plane is a Fairchild C-123 that was abandoned at the San José airport by the United States government in 1986. Interestingly, it’s twin was shot down over Nicaragua in 1986, which brought the Iran-Contra affair to light. This abandoned C-123 was bought in August of 2000 and shipped to Manuel Antonio in several pieces, where it was reassembled and made into this unique restaurant! El Avión provided our first “taste” of Costa Rican food, and we were not disappointed!

Salud! To our first trip together, with MANY more to come!
-El Avión Restaurante, Manuel Antonio

After dinner and a drink, we headed back to The Falls to relax for the evening. We were joined on the porch by a Lesson’s Motmot, a brilliant blue and yellow-green bird with a tail two sizes too long, the end of which has two “racquets,” essentially a pom-pom at the end after a section of bare feather shaft. We enjoyed the sunset and took in the sounds of the surrounding rain forest wildlife until it was time for sleep.

6/2/14- “Meandering”

Dawn broke on the southeastern coast of Costa Rica. We did not stir.

Exhausted and without obligations, we took out time getting out of bed and getting going. What a pleasant contrast to our hectic lives back home in vet school. Weird.

In true “Pura Vida” spirit, we decided to just relax and live the simple life for the day. We had breakfast at The Falls Garden Restaurant (now rebranded to The Medusa), which was phenomenal- everything just seemed to taste better than back home. Was it the quality of the food? The novelty of our first vacation together as a husband and wife? The lack of stress and responsibility we endured daily back home? Who knows, but we relished every bite. Yum.

After breakfast we splashed around in the pool a little bit, which was divinely relaxing. Before we got too pruny, we thought it would be fun to walk down to the local Espadilla Beach. The roughly 1.8km walk started northwest through part of town, past numerous small resorts and restaurants. Costa Rica is world-renowned for it’s hospitality and eco-tourism and Manuel Antonio is no exception! The houses are brightly colored and heavily themed after the local wildlife.

Nature abounds everywhere- Manuel Antonio

A southern turn down Calle Mariposa takes you down an unimproved gravelly road with overarching trees. We enjoyed seeing a local on the back of her horse, sauntering down towards the beach. While taking it all in on our walk, we suddenly noticed a commotion up above in the arch of trees. A small troop of White-faced Capuchins was crossing the street, with youngsters in tow! These monkeys are remarkably intelligent and can be quite naughty. Interestingly, the have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any primates other than humans! We enjoyed their antics crossing the street up over our heads for several minutes before they moved on and we continued our journey south towards the beach. The roughly 30-minute walk (per google maps) took us around an hour and a half, nice and leisurely, Pura Vida!

When we finally arrived at Espadilla Beach, it was quiet with only a few other people enjoying the sand and scenery. A soft layer of puffy clouds kept the sun from being too harsh and the temperature was exactly right. We explored the beach for about an hour, taking in the rolling waves and the small islands close offshore. We checked several dark crevices between rocks that were clustered around the beach, hoping to find cool creatures. We greatly enjoyed our quiet time here, but as always, our tummies insisted that we head back to town for some fuel.

Exploring Espadilla Beach- Manuel Antonio

We meandered back uphill to The Falls, had a nice relaxing drink poolside, then enjoyed a delicious dinner together. Michelle had a grilled fish with mango salsa and fresh vegetables, I ordered a roasted pork dish with grilled veggies and seasoned potatoes. The quality of the food and flavors were just fantastic. Afterward we relaxed on our garden-view porch while the sun went down. I enjoyed a rare cigar (haven’t had one since) and we just enjoyed each other’s company and the sounds of nature until bedtime.

Michelle’s fish and mango salsa dinner- The Falls Resort

Enjoying my (likely) last cigar- The Falls Resort

6/3/14- “Wildlife Abounds”

For the next three days we had a unique jungle adventure planned each day. The first excursion was a guided tour of the beautiful Manuel Antonio National Park. Situated essentially in the middle of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, it offers the perfect combination of lush jungle and open, warm-water beach. It’s no wonder that despite being the smallest, it is Costa Rica’s most visited national park!

We walked down to the park entrance after a nice breakfast at the resort, enjoying the half-hour walk to work off our food. We met our guide Mario from Costa Rica Jade Tours there around 10am and headed into the park. He brought a nice spotting scope and we spent about three hours walking through the forest looking for wildlife and learning the natural history of the national park. He was super friendly and of course truly knowledgeable about the animals. He also had a keen eye for spotting things we would have otherwise walked right by without even noticing. We saw all manner of creatures: amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, and even crustaceans! The highlight was a Three-toed sloth, hanging out munching leaves in a tree close by the trail! I, of course, greatly appreciated seeing a Red-eyed Tree Frog and Green Iguana in their natural habitat- both animals I have kept as pets in the past. It was clear Mario was immensely proud of his beautiful country and all it has to offer we really enjoyed our time talking with him and exploring the park.

Green Iguana juvenile in the spotting scope
-Manuel Antonio National Park

Three-toed Sloth!
-Manuel Antonio National Park

The park trail heads southeast through the jungle, and eventually the canopy opens up and you get an expansive view of the pacific ocean. Here the land narrows into a thin isthmus and widens a bit before the small peninsula ends. On the northwest side is the southern extremity of Espadilla Beach. The southeast side of the isthmus is Playa Manuel Antonio Cove. Luckily both beaches weren’t overly crowded and the views were just gorgeous. We spent some time taking it all in and breathing in the fresh ocean air. We even made friends (from a safe distance) with an active racoon that was suspiciously investigating some garbage cans.

Slat y-tailed Trogon
-Manuel Antonio National Park

Playa Manuel Antonio Cove
-Manuel Antonio National Park

The walk and all the exciting wildlife worked up our appetite, so it was time for lunch! Once out of the park and back up in town, we stopped in at Café Agua Azul. This cliffside café boasts stellar views out over the Pacific Ocean, which we enjoyed with our food. Michelle had sauteed shrimp fajitas and I got a nice grilled fish sandwich with fries. Our bellies full, we waddled back to the falls to relax for the afternoon. We lounged around on the porch, may have taken a nap, then took a stroll around the garden courtyard. The diversity of plants here is amazing, and it supports a good number of critters- we saw many bugs, birds and a few reptiles that made the resort home.

Lunch time! Café Agua Azul- Manuel Antonio

The view- Café Agua Azul- Manuel Antonio

The evening wound down and we had yet another fantastic dinner. We both opted for grilled fish, seasoned steamed vegetables, and mashed potatoes. Then it was off to bed with happy tummies. We were greeted in our room by a cold bottle of champagne , the perfect end to a wonderful day enjoying the charms of Manuel Antonio.

6/4/14- “I’m on a Horse!”

Today’s adventure- horseback riding! Our shuttle arrived early in the morning and whisked us off to Las Campesinos Reserve. It was an uneventful, roughly 1 hour drive through beautiful rain forest up into the foothills to the northeast. There we got a quick safety talk, met the other tour participants and our host “Elvis,” donned our helmets, and saddled up! Believe it or not, despite being a lifelong animal lover, this was Chris’ first time on horseback! Despite having a fantastic experience (spoilers), sadly it remains the only time I’ve been on a horse.

Michelle saddled up
-Las Campesinos Reserve

Trail ride down the river
-Las Campesinos Reserve

The ride took us over hills, through the forest, across and along streams, and next to pastures of curious cows. The horses were all very chill and easy rides, and I was comfortable right from the start. After a little less than an hour, we finally arrived at our destination- a secluded waterfall named Cascada Brisa del Nara. Here we disembarked, splashed around in the water a bit, and climbed up the side of the waterfall for a picture opportunity. One of our tour compatriots was nice enough to snap a pic of us in the waterfall, preserving the moment forever. It was one of the first pictures of us as a married couple that we display in the house to this day!

The ride back was just as quite pleasant, with Elvis was chatting us up about both Costa Rica and the American things he loved (like music, obviously). There were some very friendly local dogs that paced alongside us for a bit and enjoyed some pets and belly rubs when we arrived back at the lodge. Here we were served a wonderful, tasty lunch. It consisted of a small salad, steamed veggies, turmeric rice, chicken, and the best tasting mango we have ever had! All of it was grown/prepared on the local ranch. It was wonderful. We really enjoyed this little excursion and it’s safe to say my first experience riding a horse was a great success!

Our colorful, and delicious lunch
-Las Campesinos Reserve

We spent the rest of the afternoon again lounging around The Falls, with of course another fantastic dinner. This time I had a delicious seafood saute with shrimp, calamari, and mussels, served with steamed vegetables and maduros (fried sweet plantains). Michelle had chicharron (fried pork) with the same sides. As expected, both dishes were fabulous. We walked off dinner by taking an after sunset walk around the resort grounds. I attempted to get some creative low-light pictures with my cell phone, with minimal success. We called it a night.

The Falls pool and gardens- The Falls Resort

An amazing dinner to finish the day- The Falls Resort

6/5/14- “Amongst the Canopy”

Today’s adventure took the excitement and adrenaline up a notch. It started off with a literal “bang” as we heard something fall/drop onto the roof of our room, then skitter off to the edge of the roof. Then there was another. Hmmm, let’s go check it out! We tossed on our robes and headed out onto the porch- where we were greeted by a troop of mischievous White-faced Capuchins! They were raiding the mango and other fruit trees in the courtyard! They made quite the ruckus and soon we were joined by a few other guests spectating the action. One of the naughty monkeys was a female toting her kiddo around like a backpack, so cute! After a few short but eventful minutes, they had wreaked their havoc, apparently had their fill of the mangos, and headed off property, into the jungle. What a treat! We got dressed for our next adventure with a smile, chatting about how cute and naughty they were.

Capuchins chowing down on mango- The Falls Resort

With our early primate alarm clock, we had some time to kill so we enjoyed a nice breakfast, followed by again strolling around the wonderful garden courtyard. We encountered a Scarlet-rumped Tanager and accidentally disturbed a Common Basilisk that was sunning himself to warm up for the day. Our last adventure here was conveniently organized by the resort, who co-owns the El Santuario Canopy Adventure! We were picked up right at the resort and driven directly into the rain forest, about 25 minutes. The last 10 minutes was a nice bumpy gravel road, starting the adventure off right!

At the sanctuary, we were greeted by our small cadre of yellow-shirted bilingual guides, who welcomed us to the longest zip-line adventure in Costa Rica! The El Santuario Canopy Adventure consists of 8/10 of a mile of zip-lines! The course traverses 14 platforms, 5 suspended bridges, and finishes off with a belay rappel down the side of a giant Ceiba tree! We were super excited, as this would be a first for both of us. Michelle, however, has a hate/hate relationship with heights, so there was that. She was a trooper though and did fantastic. The crew did a great job of keeping the mood light and distracted those that are skittish of heights with their banter.

Geared up and ready!- El Santuario Canopy Adventure

Making the climb to the first platform- El Santuario Canopy Adventure

We got an important safety talk while they fitted us into our harnesses, gloves, and helmets. Then it was off to start zipping! The experience was just awesome. Throughout the course there are jungle floor hikes, tower climbs, suspended bridge traverses, and of course, the zipping. I absolutely loved the feeling of flying through the air, zipping through canopied jungle, then bursting out into open stretches of air above the trees. I’m sure those who have sky dived (sky dove?) will probably say it’s better, but this was one of the most fun and freeing experiences I’ve ever had. Michelle, somewhat surprisingly, also loved it. The heights on the towers were a bit rough, but once she got strapped in and started cruising, she was on cloud nine. Along the way, we made friends with a nice family of three twenty-something kids and their mom from Ohio. We all had such a blast!

Off she goes!- El Santuario Canopy Adventure

Of COURSE I want to go upside down!- El Santuario Canopy Adventure

Michelle flying like a bird!- El Santuario Canopy Adventure

Living my best life- El Santuario Canopy Adventure

I think she likes it!- El Santuario Canopy Adventure

After the zipping, climbing, and dropping was done, we were treated to another fabulous lunch. We walked around the beautiful butterfly garden for a little while, then it was back to The Falls for the evening. On the drive out we watched as the adjacent palm plantations had their fruit harvested, by hand! Apparently, they still sometimes use ox driven carts to collect and transport the fruit to the processing facility, crazy!

Back at The Falls, we grabbed an adult beverage and enjoyed our daily stroll around Manuel Antonio and the resort gardens. Wildlife friends encountered this go round were a GIANT Harlequin Beetle and a Melodious Blackbird. Our dinner choices for the evening were: a latin spin on Bruschetta for Michelle and grilled fish with sauteed vegetables and rice for me. Afterward we crashed for what would unfortunately be our last night in Costa Rica.

An enormous Harlequin Beetle- The Falls Resort

6/6/14- “Last Hurrah”

Dawn broke on the last day of our Costa Rican honeymoon, boooooo. We were brainstorming ideas to get “accidentally” stranded here and not have to go back to the states. We did miss our small zoo of pets though, so we fought back the intrusive thoughts.

After our breakfast of scrambled eggs, seasoned potatoes, and amazing bacon, we took one last stroll down to the beach. I may have taken us a little bit out of the way on the long way around, but we were DEFINITELY not lost. That aside, we had a lovely walk and encountered a slew of tropical creatures. We saw a beautiful iridescent green juvenile Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, a Yellow-throated Toucan, and several Mantled Howler Monkeys who were putting on an intimidating territorial display, it was intense!

Yummy fuel for the day- The Falls Resort

Michelle making the garden even more beautiful- The Falls Resort

Down at the beach we were all to ourselves, which was lovely. On a whim, I drew a heart in the sand, within which we placed our initials, handprints, and wedding rings. I snapped a picture, which is of course the top banner of our website. Then we said our goodbyes to our quiet beach and headed back to the Falls. As we finished up the walk and were right across the street from the resort, we heard some tiny chirping coming from the roadside palms. It turned out to be a pair of adorable Squirrel Monkeys! So cute!

It probably surprises no one (except us at the time) that our taxi driver did not return to take us to the airport. 30 minutes after he should have been there, we had the front desk call us a taxi. Luckily, we had allowed some extra “time padding” and we weren’t in danger of missing our flights. (Wait, that was dumb, we could have stayed…UGH).

The taxi got us back to Quepos La Managua Airport with plenty of time to spare. Without concern, we boarded our little 12-person puddle jumper that was to take us back to San Jose. Unfortunately, a short way into our flight, we had to detour around a gnarly thunderstorm. It got really dark and cloudy, and we hit several patches of severe turbulence. This is when I discovered the true extent of Michelle’s fear of flying. She was straight-up white knuckling my hand into pulp and having a full-blown panic attack. I tried my best to keep her calm and a genuinely nice couple seated behind us was rubbing her back and reassuring her everything would be OK. After what seemed like an eternity (likely 15 minutes or so), we got around the storm and things cleared up. Michelle spent the rest of the flight nestled in my shoulder, focusing on breathing, trying to come back down from the stratosphere. I didn’t think I would ever get her on a small plane ever again. Side note: I still haven’t, despite paid-for plans to do so. (See our Alaska trip report for the frustrating details).

I’m not sure how I convinced her to board the “real” plane back to Florida, but somehow she managed to do so. Thankfully, that flight was uneventful, and we landed safe back in Orlando just fine. We picked up the dogs (Nalani, Steeler, and Anika) who were staying with Michelle’s parents, and the next day we all traveled back to Gainesville.

The next few weeks were a whirlwind of craziness. We spent the first weekend moving all of Michelle’s stuff into my, scratch that, now OUR house. What a disaster. It took a full week to arrange all the furniture, put everything in its new place, divvy up the closet/bathrooms, and make it livable. The following week Michelle started her new job as an associate veterinarian at Gainesville Animal Hospital! I bought a brand new 2014 Dodge Charger (that I still drive) to replace my 15-year-old Dodge Dakota R/T. Then I packed up the Charger and drove nearly cross-country for a month-long externship at the Dallas Zoo to start my final year of vet school.

Where are we gonna put all this stuff???
-OUR House: Archer, Florida

Well, at least we shouldn’t be apart very long early in our marriage again, right???

That’s called foreshadowing folks.

Poor Michelle.

-CCC, July 2026

Costa Rica- June 2014

“Pura Vida”

Our Costa Rican Honeymoon

Australia- April 2019