best.

it's been a little while.

i'm well aware. 

but when you see all the crap i'm about to show you, you'll understand immediately why that is.

...

these snazzy pictures are from a noche de hogar (fhe) we had with rodrigo and his clan. 

we chilled, sang, listened to them sing, ate a rico tico dish--courtesy of paola--as well as tasty cookies--courtesy of laura--and just partied it up.

you're about to meet rodrigo's four adorable kids.

best family.

daniella. love her.

isaura. super diva.

(isaura...likes playing with things...particularly my camera. so this face could mean a number of things...)

don rodrigo rivera the first. (rodrigo's padre)

andrés. huge baller.

joji DANCING IT UP!! way too cute.

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one morning, we up and got on a bus to visit another volcano--volcán poas--like it was the normal thing to do.

on our way there, we passed some wildlife (goats) grazing outside san josé.

(why do i think this is so hilarious? when do you ever mix goats and billboards, i mean, seriously?)

 

are you aware that this crater is straight up smoking? so cool!

 

then we went on a little hikey hike through the jungle...

 

 

...and wound up here. super pretty lake.

and then we got this picture taken and people thought we were european. question mark.

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well. we also took an excursion to a little place i like to call miramar because that's what it's called. ha ha. this is where the best zip lining in costa rica is. 

it was killer. seriously. i testify. 

this is our view from the check in zone. yep. over yonder is the pacific ocean.

we traveled there wednesday and just chilled. this is me reading up about the infinite atonement in a hamaca in the jungle. falling asleep. iguanas crawling around below me. mini rainstorms passing through.

holy crap. best nap.

on thursday morning, we were stoked for our adventure!

there was the option of mounting and riding a horse or an atv to where the zip lining began. 

naturally we chose horsebackriding, i mean, it just seemed like the appropriate thing to do.

plus laura's obsessed with horses. 

my horse's name was Janet. 

(i loved this picture because everyone was riding on the left side of the path, but she was totally going against the norm right-siding it all the way.)

just a little bit of what we saw...
 
and she was über competitive with this one horse named billy...they were dangerously racing up precariously rocky trails, and at one point he even tried to bite her long, floppy ears. 
play fairly, please!

then we got all beautified for the zip lining.

listen. 

i'm well aware that my getup is totally attractive. tell me something i don't know.

basically, this is the essence of what we did all day long.

let me tell you more--it's zip lining through the jungle:

25 lip lines... 

...over 11 waterfalls (including two rappelling). SICK.

(in other words, it was total cash.)

first rappel. SO FUN!

and you're allowed to be jealous of my shoes. ha ha ha. 

(in my defense, i perused the website and found NADA about needing closed toed shoes, so--in my light-packing, prideful nature--i only took my trustee chac's. then i had to either have my toes cut off or borrow their reeeeeesty shoes at the hotel [without socks] in order to do the thing.

needless to say i went with the latter option. 

my toes are in tact and i'm still grossed out about the whole thing.)

we may or may not have stopped, de-geared, and jumped into a waterfall pool in the middle of the excursion.

BEST CHOICE!

 (you may or may not remember this--swimming in a waterfall pool as part of my bucket list? i sorta did it in hawaii, but that was a rookie waterfall. this was much more legit, and i'll actually go ahead and cross this one off my list with pen instead of pencil now. 

pencils are for sissies anyways.)

i love this foto. we're just chatting in a waterfall pool. nbd. and this was not staged.

before leaving we got hydrated.

hopefully there were no poisonous snakes upstream...

pura vida. 

just drinkin waterfall water. totally fine.

the clan

literal tree hugger.

the last zip line we could go upside down if we desired. 

i desired to do so. the jungle dirt that fell from my reesty, borrowed shoes, however, was not desirable as it fell into my open and busily laughing mouth.

apart from that, the upside down ride was the best option available. 

...make that the second best option available.

the best option was doing the superman for an additional $15, which is where you go headfirst for a half mile (used to be the longest zip line in the world). 

uuuum obvio.

 yeah, we did it. 

this is me practicing.

the end. fin.

aaaaaaaand we survived. not dangerous/scary at all.

what a blasty blast.

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then we went on a viaje de carro!

 (road trip!)

...with rodrigo's family up north to San Carlos...

where we visited another vocano--volcán arenal--went to the aguas termales (hot pots. heated from a legit volcano!), partied with rodrigo's friends--the Wong's--and chiiiiiiilled.

 this is the volcano--super pretty! but real cloudy. worst.

this is a picture of a picture. nevertheless, its what the volcano looks like on a non-cloudy day. 

this was quite the spectacle. 

it's a dam. 

but i guess it's such a big deal because it's the only lake that shows up on the map of costa rica?

ha ha. i was just like...viva deer creek, man. but whatever, it was still super beautiful.

volcanic ash below my feet again.

casi-twinner sandal friends. i love dani best. she and i are super similar and we get along real well. 

have you ever wondered what the jungle looks like from the atop?

let me tell you. it's a very unique view.

this view was made possible by my local hanging bridge providers.

the jungle beneath my feet (think bette midler, wind beneath my wings)

these big leafy plants are called sombrilla de pobres...poor man's umbrella.

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apart from all the above goodies, we've been teaching away the workshop like mad and loving our lives:

we've tried new things, learned a ton, been humbled, had our patience tested, and seen some success in the process.

(i swear, i'm learning more than anyone. and i'm supposedly here as a service? come on.) 

oreo pb shakes to celebrate a job well done?

i think so.

best roommate.

got some ahí de gallina in my mouth.

and laura tried inka kola for the first time. she's a fan.

too bad the best peruvian food outside of peru itself is in san diego. whoops.

thank you hermano pulido. 

[right kristen, der, jenn and co? :) ]

happy independence day to you from costa rica!

definitely treated ourselves to a sundae. we tried to be as american as possible. 

yep. what a win.

being here has made me come to terms with my roots and to actually feel legitimate gratitude for my american citizenship.

my cute friend, angi.

sleepover! pijamada! 

partying it up with las callejas--dinner and a movie. thank you net flix. 

best girls night.

last week we did a noche de hogar (fhe) only with friends at the callejas', and we did it again tonight. obviously the occasion includes a spiritual thought/feast...

...games, snacks, and some fun.

best times.

meet kitty.

she snuck into their house and nuzzled up to hermano callejas last night as he slept. he swatted her away, totally freaked out, but then they decided to adopt her. adorible calico.

best kitty around.

this is kitty, estefania, and me after our noche de hogar tonight. cutest ones.

i know. tma-freaking-i. tabstar is UH.DORA.BLE. 

 she looks like a star.

best niece. 

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and finally, here are all the promised videos. i'm sorry. i'm sure it's overwhelming that they're all posted together and you've probably lost all of any interest you may have once had to watch movies seeing all these all clumped together here below. i can't seem to move them as i desire so this will just have to do.

these first three are of zip lining, per request from kristen:

 
freaking rodrigo's crazies throwing rocks into the river right where i'm standing. oh well, i was totally distracted because this river straight up runs down from the volcan arenal and i was loving my life. even when they got me real wet.

the above video is pretty pointless. but laura grabar-ed our freaking sick stay in miramar and i was confused the whole time with how lazy it felt to do nothing. ha ha. this video immortalizes my utter confusion mingled with contentment.

i am legit doing a cartwheel on a hanging bridge in the jungle.
best call ever.

this video 100% doesn't fit here or anywhere. but whatever. it's from our previous volcano excursion (to irazú) when i fed the pizote. it makes me laugh because i totally get pressured into sharing my cashew clusters with him all because of his razor sharp talons and my open-toed, chaco-ed feet. totally gave in to peer pressure.
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and i'd say that's about all for now. you see what i meant? good thing i've been having the best experiences errrrrrr.
life's a bowl of cherries.