La Paz Waterfall Gardens and other adventures

We are really enjoying Costa Rica so far and are so happy we decided to come! Yesterday, the morning started off with Elora discovering and sucking on a slug. Luckily Sean found out her secret and pulled it out! She loves tasting everything she can, especially rocks, small creatures, various foods, other people's fingers or jewelry, etc. I'm surprised she has survived thus far. She is really good at crawling around and pulling herself up on things now, so she's all over the place! I feel like a crazy person sometimes when I'm trying to keep track of three kids, but most of the time we have fun.

 We rented a car yesterday and drove to La Paz Waterfall Garden, which is about a 30 minute drive from here. It took us over an hour to get there though because we kept getting lost and we aren't used to the roads/driving style here! It's pretty chaotic! But once you loosen up and get into the flow of things, you do fine. I made Sean drive because I was closing my eyes so much. Prepare yourselves Mom and Dad - you are going to hate the way people drive here! It's worse than Italy...We'll just have to blindfold you when we go out.

We saw many types of houses while we drove to La Paz. Some are very beautiful and well maintained, some look like 3rd world country homes. This was our favorite: a dilapidated shack with really nice satellites on the roof for Cable TV. Just cuz you live in a dump doesn't mean you can't subscribe for cable! Lots of the houses have corrugated steel all over them.

 It only rained for about 20 minutes the whole day yesterday! We were so lucky that it was dry while we were at La Paz, because we walked around the whole time. It's like a Hotel Resort/Zoo/Nature preserve all rolled into one. They have these pathways and stairways throughout the park that lead to different buildings with animals.

 We got to hold a Toucan! He was so beautiful and so is Peter :)

 Jackson was very brave

 I was scared to hold it, but he was really nice and his feet were pretty soft! I think I kept my guard hand up behind him so he wouldn't peck my face (there's my kickboxing instincts). We carry these giant umbrellas everywhere because you never know when a downpour will begin.

 This red parrot Was huge! Probably 2.5 feet long from head to tail.

 The butterfly gardens were some of our favorite. We felt like we had walked into a magical fairy land with butterflies landing on us, pretty flowers everywhere, and they were even playing Enya for the butterflies! haha... It was very peaceful :)

 This was Peter's favorite. You can tell he was trying hard to be careful so it wouldn't fly away.

 Caterpillar with fur and spikes!

 These bug eating plants were as big as my head

 Newly born butterfly with cocoons. They had hundreds of cocoons all over the place, some of them were a beautiful light green color with gold/mother-of-pearl looking beads along the outside. After they come out of the cocoon, the butterflies actually hang there for a long time and inflate their wings

 Cute monkey I love seeing monkeys because it always amazes me how much like humans they are. Their cute little noses and the way their fingers are so agile - even their tails can help them climb. They are so fun to watch.

 This spider monkey was so friendly! I think he liked being next to the kids because they were his same size. He came right up to the window and just made himself cozy by us and was so interactive! Then we moved farther down by where his cage was open and he came when I made kissing noises at him. He stuck his tail through the fence and we petted it. It was so much fun for us!

 This is the hummingbird area. They would fly right at our heads! I've never been able to get close to a hummingbird, but the ones here were very used to humans. Their eyes are so beautiful!

 Here's the restaurant where we had a buffet lunch. We had the best rice pudding in the world (next to my mom's), some delicious fresh fruit, BBQ pork tacos, and tamarind juice.

 Elora loves eating Platanos Maduros (plantains)

 This Jaguar was huge and super muscular. I sure was glad there was thick glass between him and us! He was pacing up and down like he wanted to eat someone...

 This is a traditional painted Ox cart in front of a traditional Costa Rican style home of the good ol' days. It was so beautiful and simple in the home. One day I will live in a wooden house with a big cozy fireplace and plenty of room for comfy rocking chairs.

 They have a frog house with dozens of varieties, this one is a poison arrow frog. Good thing Elora didn't put that in her mouth!

 This is a bridge that crosses over the river from one of the waterfalls.

 Here we are! The five happy Hesses

  To get around on the mountainside by the waterfalls, we scaled up and down so many staircases like this - very steep and narrow. There were many groups of school kids there (mostly teenagers) and whenever I would pass with Elora strapped to me in the baby carrier, they all would say "AAAWWWWW!!!! Que Linda!!! Que Linda! Mui Bonita! Awwww!!!" It was so funny! The people here LOVE babies, even the teenage boys go crazy over the baby

She IS pretty adorable! She and the boys have been so happy and tolerant with all this traveling and new experiences. I'm so glad she has been adjusting to everything well. We are having a great time!