Mist netting and quetzal sighting

Happy 23rd Birthday Jaal!

Her favorite playground

Waiting for a boat again

We have been enjoying the town of San Carlos, Nicaragua. It has a huge playground park with free wifi. Our hotel was $24 with breakfast and it was cute and clean. Last night we had dinner along the lake with dancing, which Liana found very entertaining.
This morning we found out the the boat leaves two hours later because it's Sunday. And sometimes it fills up. We left our dirty laundry on the line and came back to Liana's favorite playground. Let's hope we get on the boat and have time to enjoy staying at Los Lagos in Fortuna, which has warm pools and crocodiles. Luckily
The crocodiles are not in the pools.
The boat here was nice, through Cano Negro and Guatusa reserves. On the way here at the checkpoint someone got a pot plant confiscated, but otherwise we just saw lost of water birds. When we arrived the customs line was so long that we caught up to the end of end of the previous boat that we had missed. While waiting in line Liana met a friend. She likes to hug and tickle little kids that she has just met. Currently she is giggling in the park with another new friend.

Arrived in San Carlos, Nicaragua

Trying to get to Nicaragua

We again needed to renew our visa and thought it would be more fun to go through a different border north of Arenal. Yesterday liana vomited twice in the van on the way to the boat across Lake Arenal. Then we had a fabulous evening at a swanky resort (Volcano lodge and springs) with natural, large hot Tubs. Drinking piña coladas and beer in the pools. Today we waited four hours for the boat to Nicaragua in a town called Los Chiles, which is where canal tours to Cano Negro leave from, and the guy didn't write our names on the list of departures. They overbooked the boat and we had to get off and wait another two hours. The first boat was overloaded with luggage and people, including washing machines and a motorcycle. The second boat that we are waiting for is smaller. Let's hope we get on it. We plan on spending the night in San Carlos Nicaragua and returning to spend another night near Arenal before returning to Monteverde by Jeep-Boat-Jeep.
And it has been rainy/misty.

Oona and Nyree visit

Our friends Kristy and Ray and their kids visited. They brought gifts for the kindergarten class at the CEC. We made cookies, went hiking, and had fun playing at home.

Liana's quote of the day was, "Wood doesn't come from trees, it comes from garages."
We do have some wood in our garage.

And tonight when Tony was reading her a book he turned the page and she must have memorized it because she said,"And the flowers were opening their eyes, while she was getting ready for a special dance recital."

Caught a scorpion in our house, Tony had a gig by the lake and Liana fell in

Luckily I was right nearby and she knows how to hold her breath.

Liana walking a cat, in a Monteverde traffic jam, and with a ukelele

Lucia's birthday party

Liana's first piñata. First cotton candy.

phone clarification

(360) 464-9948

It's just a regular number. You don't need Skype or anything. Just call as if we were living in Washington. 

:-)

new Skype phone number: (360) 464-9948

Hi blog readers, 

I decided to get a Skype number that rings on my phone. 

This way, you can call me as if I were in the US. It's just a regular old voice call, but if we connect we could then try to do a video call if you'd like. 

(360) 464-9948

is our number. 

:-) Rebecca