On the Road Again

We just arrived back from Spring Break and the very next weekend, our family was off again in 3 different directions. Ron headed to Texas for his company's national sales meeting and one of the industry's largest conferences. Canyon headed to West Des Moines, Iowa with his 14AAA baseball team for a "knock the dust off" tournament. Presley and Mom headed to Cedar Rapids Iowa for a beginning of the season tournament. Sounds like the weekend was fun for everyone. However, since Mom was with Presley, this is the only weekend that got represented in photos.

Presley and some of her teammates taking the field for the first time...



Some of the Moms head to Czech Village to check out the National Czech and Slovak museum and have lunch at a local brewery on a beautiful day...




Team dinner...

Costa Rica Day 9 - Poas Volcano, Paz Waterfalls, and San Jose

Our day started at 8 AM on our last full day in Costa Rica. After breakfast, our guide arrived to take us out to Poas Volcano, one of the closest active volcanoes to San Jose. The drive is about 1 hour from downtown San Jose. On route to the volcano, we stopped by a coffee plantation. Our guide gave us some backround on the coffee growing process and we enjoyed a nice cup of coffee. The kids also enjoyed seeing a traditional oxcart at the coffee plantation.





Poas Volcano is topped by three craters. Often the volcano is "shrouded in mist" but we were able to walk up right to the edge and get a clear view of the steaming and bubbling volcano. After our visit to the volcano, we stopped by one of the La Paz Waterfalls on the eastern edge of the national park. On the way back to town, we also stopped to enjoy some yummy fresh strawberries, local cheese (Palmito), and uchuba at a roadside stand.





After our morning adventure, we dropped Presley and Canyon off at the hotel, while our guide and driver transported Canyon and Mom to a local hospital to be seen by one of their doctors. We were fortunate to be seen by an ear specialist. He told us that the antibiotics, which work from inside out, would not be able to make his ear better. Additionally, the drops we had were wrong and wouldn't reach his canal because it was too clogged. The doctor then proceeded to "clean out" his ear canal with a very scary looking tool. Canyon was so brave during this extremely painful procedure and did an awesome job using his Spanish with this doctor that didn't speak English. The doctor then prescribed some new drops and some stronger pain medicine. He also gave us the great news that Canyon was finally ready to fly. Canyon immediately started feeling better after the procedure. Thank you Costa Rica Expeditions for helping us to arrange!



When we arrived back at the hotel, Ron was entertaining the locals in the park across from our hotel with his guitar and enjoying people watching. The kids and I joined him for some frisbee and then we celebrated our trip and Canyon's recovery at Cafe Mundo for dinner! A great end to a great adventure!



"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."

Costa Rica Day 8 - Not Our Last Day in Costa Rica

Today was supposed to be our last day in Costa Rica. However, while Canyon was slowly getting better, he was still in extreme pain. We went to the doctor for another shot of strong antibiotics and more pain medicine. She told us he was not healthy enough to fly and encouraged us to postpone our flight. With help from Costa Rica Expeditions, our travel planner, and support of United Airlines, we were able to change our flight from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon. We also arranged to see another doctor in San Jose on Friday afternoon. Dad's tummy was not 100% so he stayed back with Canyon while Mom and Presley visited Selvatura Park, which is a huge nature park. A guide walked us through an enormous butterfly garden (the largest in Costa Rica), an insect exhibition, a frog and reptile house, and a hummingbird garden. Selvatura also contains a network of hanging bridges, which was a nice way to take in the nature park.

Butterfly Garden


Hummingbird Garden


Treetop Hanging Bridges


Saying Goodbye to Monteverde Lodge


After Selvatura, we had the crazy drive to San Jose. Our driver, Minor, was a bit too aggressive for Mom's liking, passing trucks and cars on crazy and winding mountain roads. This might have been the most dangerous part of our entire trip. Luckily, we arrived safely in downtown San Jose where we relaxed that evening at the hotel. Knowing that we now had another day in Costa Rica, our travel planner asked if we might like to visit a volcano the following day before we left town. Canyon seemed to be improving and said he was up for it.

Costa Rica Day 7 - Trying to Heal Canyon & Zip Lining for Presley

After an extremely rough night with Canyon, we canceled our morning adventure to help Canyon rest and hope for the antibiotics to kick in. Unfortunately, he started spiking a fever late in the morning. Trying to be get him better but also be sensitive to Presley, Mom and Dad decided to divide and conquer, with Dad taking Canyon back to doctor early and Mom taking Presley to Sky Adventures for some ziplining and hanging bridges.

The doctor says that the Amoxicillin was not working and put Canyon on a stronger and broader antibiotic. She also gave him another shot for pain and some electrolytes to keep him hydrated. Here's an example of his prescriptions.



Sky Adventures has one of the more extensive canopy tours in the country. We learned that our hotel requires Sky Adventures to provide an extra safety strap for its guests. Mom was excited for that! After a "practice" run, the tour starts with a tram ride to the top of the mountain and features 10 separate zip-lines, one of which was 1/2 mile long. On our ride to the top, we were lucky to catch a rare, clear and beautiful viewing of Arenal Volcano. Each of the zip lines were all crazy high above the rainforest. Such a fun experience. Hopefully, Canyon and Dad can experience on our next trip here.






After the zip-lining, Mom and Presley explored the Skywalk, a network of forest paths and hanging bridges with great views of the region. Some of the hanging bridges were 300 yards along (enough to cover 3 football fields). Along our walk, Presley and Mom spotted a family of howler monkeys, a special treat to end our day here.

Costa Rica Day 6 - Curicancha Reserve

Our first full day in Monteverde, we visited Curicancha Reserve, a private reserve in the Cloudforest, to hike and spot some of the regions local birds.

Mom starts off the hike showing off her Tarzan skills.



This morning was the beginning of a tough journey for Canyon. His ear hurt in the morning but was a trooper and joined us on the hike. After the hike, Mom stopped by a pharmacy to pick up some ear drops and pain medicine to help him improve.



On the hike, we were looking for the Resplendent Quetzal, a unique bird only found in the cloud forest. We didn't find the Questzal but our naturalist guide Donald, helped us spot the Toucan, the elusive Three-Wattled Bellbird, the Black Guan and some hummingbirds. We also spotted a huge beetle and millipede!




After our hike in the reserve, the pain medicine kicked in for Canyon but Dad's tummy was giving him some trouble. While Dad rested, the kids and Mom enjoyed some awesome relaxation and reading time in the hammocks on the lodge property. Was super chilling experience.




After our rest, the kids and Mom adventured to find a local Ficus Tree that we heard about from our river guides in Manuel Antonio. This tree (and a couple of others) had been entwined and hollowed out by encroaching vines. The tree is not highlighted in any guide books so we had to adventure past the town and inquire with the locals how to find it. Along the way, we picked up a local dog that joined us on our search. After much searching and help from locals, we found the giant tree that you could climb inside. Super cool (and free) experience!






Unfortunately, that night Canyon's ear went from bad to worse and he started screaming in pain. It was late but one of the workers from the hotel was nice enough to take Canyon and Mom to the emergency clinic where we learned that his drops were not working. She started him on oral antibiotics and gave him a shot of strong pain medicine to help cure this terrible infection. She then asked us to come back tomorrow night to get looked at again.

Costa Rica Day 5 - Travel to Monteverde Cloud Forest

On day 5, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before being picked up for the 4 hour drive (including that last 1 1/2 hours of crazy and legendary rough roads) to Monteverde Cloud Forest, a mountaintop phenomenon driven by the continental divide. During our time in the cloud forest we were often "misted" on by the nearby clouds. Our first afternoon was very relaxing, which was a nice break after several very active days of boogie boarding, white water rafting, and surfing.

A view from the crazy road enroute to Monteverde...



We stayed at Monte Verde Lodge, an eco friendly lodge set among luch gardens, with nice walks and views, as well as it's own butterfly and hummingbird garden. Today, the kids relaxed in the hammocks and enjoyed a nice swim and handstand contest at the hotel.





Our first night, we enjoyed dinner at The Treehouse, a unique two story restaurant built around a 60-year fig tree.



After dinner, unfortunately, Canyon announced that his ear felt clogged. Our following day would begin with one of the worst ear infections we have experienced to date, no less very far away from home and the medical amenities of the United States. More to come and lots of prayers.

Costa Rica Day 4 - Surf Lessons & Last Day in Manuel Antonio

Today, the Pergandes signed up for surf lessons. Dante Sports took us to a beautiful secluded beach called Matapalo, with long gentle swells. All the Pergandes were successful in getting up. Mom now has the surfing bug and and can't wait to get back up on the board!







After surfing, we stopped by a local swimming hole to jump off a cliff and cool off. Mom tried but couldn't stop from screaming as she jumped from the cliff.




For our last night in town, we went to enjoy sunset on the cliff. Before we left for dinner, we saw a family of squirrel monkeys jumping around the trees at our hotel, including on this tree behind us. So cute!



The place we went for dinner was called Ronny's (ironic). We enjoyed a beautiful last sunset and a nice dinner along with some cards and a visit from a local bull!