OUR HIGHLIGHTS:

PLACES:

Monique - Arenal & Tamarindo (& Target!)

Callie - Arenal & Monteverde Rain Forest

Luc - Arenal & Van Der Bank home

ENTERTAINMENT:

Monique - Selvatura Zipline & Cat Cruise in Tamarindo

Callie - Selvatura Zipline & Grand Central Station & Cat cruise in Tamarindo

Luc - Riding the NY subway, Selvatura Zipline, Baldi Springs & Cat cruise in Tamarindo

RESTAURANTS:

Monique - Local restaurant in Arenal & Pedro’s on Tamarindo Beach

Callie - Uri’s Indian Restaurant in NY & Katz

Luc - Mars 2112 (NY)

MOST INTERESTING EXPERIENCE :

Monique - Dinner at Korean Restaurant (and not knowing what to order!)

Callie - Celebrity houses in Hollywood

Luc - Statue of Liberty

SHOPPING:

Monique - Macey’s sale (Expensive, but thrilling!)

Callie - Window shopping (excluding the suitcase shopping on 30th and China Town)

Luc - Toys are Us

FAVOURITE EAT:

Monique - Comodes (typical Costa Rican Food) & Apple and Cinnamon pretzel (NY)

Callie - Plantain chips

Luc - Bubblegum & Chicken corn soups

BEST ACCOMMODATION:

Monique - Orchid Suites - LA (best value), Hotel Fonda Vela - Monteverde (best situated), Marriot Suites - LA (luxury)

Callie - Arenal Paraiso (Best situated)

Luc - Arenal Paraiso (for the pools!)

SPECIAL MOMENTS:

Monique - Seeing Liz (short but sweet!), chilling with Uri and being entertained by the Van Der Banks!

Callie - Pigeons in Santa Monica, seeing old friends & lava running down Arenal

Luc - Hoisting the sail on the cat

MOMENTS WE DON’T WANT TO HAVE AGAIN:

Monique - Driving with Callie on the right hand side of very small roads in Costa Rica

Callie - Carrying the fast asleep Luc in the streets in New York

Luc - Zipline in Arenal & looking forward to going up the Empire State building and then running out of time!

Uri - Slugging the Strydom’s suitcases up and down 4 floors (unconfirmed!)

9 APRIL - GOING HOME

It is a mission to get everyone out of bed and ready for our 4 o’clock pick up. We are at LAX airport before schedule and thank goodness for that, because the lines for the security checks are very long. Must say that we have been really impressed by the United Airways flight and service - from their Economy Plus Seats to the food served. There is no time for shopping and we board immediately. It is a 4 ½ hour flight plus a time change and we land in New York just after 2. We have to meet Uri to collect the rest of our luggage - he is running late, so we stroll around in the duty free shops - to whom everyone has access, but you can only shop if you have a boarding pass. Uri arrives and we tease him about coming with. He also has a field day, teasing one of the check-in girls busy with training. We quickly have lunch and then have to say goodbye to Uri - who ends up hanging around to see if the Strydom’s make it onto the plane! We have a bit of a problem with security - who screens one of our hand luggage bags three times and then asks us to open it to inspect - turns out it is Jana and Jaco’s wedding gift that had them baffled. We decide to take Uri’s advice and sleep as soon as possible, so that we can get straight into the SA time zone. This proves to be difficult with Luc who cannot get enough of the touch screen movies and games. It turns out to be an extremely uncomfortable night with the three of us trying to sleep on 4 seats - or shall I rather say, Luc sleeping on 3 and Callie and Monique trying to find a spot somewhere!!! We are all sad that our holiday is over and cannot believe that it has gone so fast.

8 APRIL - HOLLYWOOD & SANTA MONICA

We are extremely lazy and take the morning to update the blogspot, look at photos, speak to Roni (with Skype and free of charge) and only get going at 11. We take the hour bus ride down to Santa Monica. Callie makes conversation with a big, black fellow, who tells Callie that he is a script writer and movie director, who finally got the go-ahead to film his script. It is an action movie. Monique is very sceptic about this, but we will have to wait and see if it is ever released - as Uri says “everyone in Hollywood is either an actor, producer, director or in the movie business”.

We get off at the famous 3rd Promenade - a paved road surrounded by many restaurants and designer shops. We keep our eyes peeled for someone famous and Callie is sure he saw Sylvestor Stallone. After a long visit to the Sketchers shop - where Luc does his favourite pass time, getting gumballs from the gumball machine, and after buying the most expensive pair of tekkies Luc will ever have, we got down to the main promenade right on the beach. This is the famous promenade you will always see in the movies - people running and skating. We are really surprised by the number of homeless people asleep on the grass in the sun.

We walk down to the beautiful pier - with a few small curio shops, a games arcade and carnival. Luc immediately wants to do the water gun game, but refuses to go on the big wheel with his mother. Callie finally persuades him and we get a stunning view of Santa Monica and LA from high above the sea! There are a few nervous moments when we stop right at the top, but Luc is very impressed when he realises we are just as high as a helicopter that flew by.

On his way out, Luc tries the ladder balance act and ends up winning a small, cuddly toy for his brave effort. We are also forced to stop at the games arcade, under much protest from his mother! The greatest entertainment however is caused by feeding the doves and pigeons on the promenade. This happened by accident - we sat down to see who was climbing out of a limo that had just parked and whilst we were snacking away on some seed mix the local wildlife decided to join us for the snack. Quickly we were surrounded by hundreds of pigeons, climbing all over us!

We decide to head uptown before the rush hour, for which LA is so renowned and take the bus back. When we get to the Kodak Theatre, we make a last minute decision to go and a guided tour to view the houses of the stars! We get a great discount - cause they are filling up seats and it turns out to be a nice tour. We see locations where they are busy filming movies, then we see all the spots where the stars hang out - including the Macdonalds where Hugh Grant picked up the prostitute and George Micheals tried to pick up the undercover cop! We see the designer’s shops in Rodeo Drive. According to our tour guide there is an Italian suit designer who will only see you by appointment and if you don’t buy anything you get a bill of $1500. The average bill at his shop is $ 100 000 per person! We see the paparazzi hanging out at one shop and hear that the stars often come in after closing hours to shop. Then we see the houses and the cars. Christina Aquillera’s mansion on top of the hill to the $15000 million dollar house she got for her mom! We see the Farraris and Lamborginis of the owner of Guest Shop parked outside his house - cause he has no garages! We see the street and houses where Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween were filmed. We saw the Batman mansion and gates - which is public property. We see where Demi Moore lives with her young husband - and hear that Bruce Willis bought the house across the street. Also the houses of James Dean, Elvis Presely and Marilyn Manroe. We pop in at Sean Connery and Dr Phil - or the “house that Oprah bought” as our tour guide called it. We also see the famous Viper Room (Johnny Depp’s Club where River Phoenix died on a drug overdose).

We are very surprised to see that some of the properties are not very private at all, for instance, Patrick Dempsey (Gray’s Anatomy) house has a low fence and you can see the kid’s play area with his whole house. Although the houses are massive and worth fortunes, we actually got to realise that these are just ordinary people, with their own lives and not really much different from all of us - if you can ignore the paparazzi and
Egos!!!

We have a quick dinner back in the flat and try to pack and get into bed as quickly as possible for our very early flight.

7 APRIL - TO LOS ANGELES

WALK OF FAME - CHARLIZE

OUR HOTEL!
SPIDERMAN MEETS SPIDERMAN!
CAPT SPARROW
LUC AND TOM

TO LOS ANGELES - 7 APRIL
We sleep late (8 o’clock) and then decides to go for breakfast. After getting all 10 of us dressed, meeting up with Louise Jnr, putting the dogs away and sorting out the cars, we eventually get to breakfast just after 11. We eat at a great American family joint, where the kids are spoilt to waffles and drinks in “space glasses”. This is after Luc throw such a tantrum to get one and Louise, with her generous heart cannot say “no”.

We are sad to say goodbye to the Van Der Banks and the sadness continues even further, when Andre and Leyla, drops us at our hotel in Hollywood (after an hour drive). Luc is in tears when he has to say goodbye to Leila - we could not help but smile when we heard the conversation in the back of the car - “you are my best friend”, “I love you” etc etc!

We are booked at the Orchid Suites hotel, a small hotel right behind the Chinese Theater and the Kodak Theatre - this is where the annual Oscar awards take place. We get upgraded to one of the best deals on our trip. A massive suite with two king beds and a separate kitchen - must say Andre’s home cooking has made us eager to do some of our own cooking!

We are exhausted and Callie makes a comment on how good Liz and Monique was to survive 3 months of non-stop travelling with their round the world trip. We decide to make the most of it and stroll down to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a block down from the hotel. There are hordes of tourists and the Chinese Theatre is spectacular. Imprinted in the sidewalks we see the names and hands of many famous stars, like Marilyn Manroe, Johnny Depp and even our own Charelize Theron!

Luc immediately runs to Spiderman for a photo - one of the many imitations of movie characters (most probably out of work actors!), who makes a quick buck by posing with tourists. We see Superwoman, Spongebob and even a very good version of Captain Jack Sparrow - just can’t get away from the pirates!

We are tired, hungry and cold and decide to walk down to Sunset Boulevard to Ralphs Foods store to get some food to cook. It turns out to be a long walk and we are starving when we get back home. After a very quick pasta dinner and a glass of wine, Monique is in a bed by 9, whilst Luc and Callie tell stories!

6 APRIL - CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL

LUC IN FRONT OF CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL

INSIDE!

LUC AND NEW LOVE OF HIS LIFE - LEILA

ANDRE, LOUISE AND MONIQUE - WAITING FOR ICECREAM!

Luc does not want to wake up - he must be exhausted after all the travelling, so Monique decides to go to the first service on her own. It is a short drive to the spectacular church, made out of glass. Dr Schuller came to the States in the 60’s and started off his church in a drive-in with $ 500. The Hour of Power is also the largest and longest run TV church programme in the world and is extremely professionally run.

The staff is very friendly and Monique gets a private audience with Dr Schuller, during which they discover that they can have a conversation in Dutch - as he is from Holland originally! After a quick walk through of the programme, it is make-up and then time for the first service. It is truly spectacular to sit within this glass church and quite overwhelming. Monique is introduced and interviewed by Dr Schuller Senior and after the first question most of the butterflies are gone. Directly after the interview, Monique is taken backstage where she does another interview for the web feed.

Callie and Luc arrive and Luc is very happy to see his mommy. The second interview is much more relaxed and more detailed and we all join the congregation for the service. During his service, Dr Schuller Junior, tells about how ignorant some Americans are. He tells the story of the government official who had to visit China. When the travel agent tells him he needs a visa for China, he is furious. He tells her that he has been to China 4 times and never needed one. She double checks and when she comes back to her, he once again tells her that during the previous four visits he never needed a visa, he only used his American Express!

After the service we walk the grounds of the church, looking at all the amazing statues, whilst waiting for Louise to pick us up. Louise is the wife of Monique’s cousin, Andre, who moved to the States about 15 years ago and is now the hairdresser of the rich and famous. They live a few miles from the church and the plan is to spend the day with them.

We are met by a big household with 6 children! Andre and Louise have been supporting the foster care program in the States since their arrival and now have an extended family, including 3 dogs - of whom one is a chiwhawa who thinks he is a lion and wants to eat everything. Louise tells us that the other puppy ate hole in their lounge set and that they had to get a new set. It is great to see Andre again, we cannot quite figure out when was the last time that we have seen each other - Andre did Monique’s hair for her matric dance - this is more than 26 years ago. Andre is also the god child of Monique’s dad and he looks remarkably very much like her dad.

Andre had injured his leg earlier the week and, much to his embarrassment, was hopping along with a walking trolley with poor Louise attending! Luc is in his element, finally having some friends to play with and he immediately takes to Lyla, who is just younger than he is.

We all have pizzas and much talking is done on trying to catch up on family news, news in South Africa and how life in the States are treating the Van Der Banks. Later in the afternoon we take a slow drive (Andre refuses to drive with Louise and is behind the wheel with injured leg and all!) to Laguna Beach to see where the rich and famous lives. We chill out on the beach - a bit cool to swim, but the kids enjoy the sand. We enjoy little Danny (who is now nearly four) and cannot stop talking!

The kids get treated to Macdonalds (now Luc is really happy!) and Andre cooks a great new variation of the Coke Chicken. We hear about them missing tomato flavoured chips and how expensive Mrs Balls is. Andre has booked a hotel for us, but in the end it gets so late that we all end up bunking in Louise Jnr’s room. We thoroughly enjoyed the “chaos” of a big family - something Callie always wanted and Monique never had the energy for!

5 APRIL - TO LA

A FANCY RIDE!

HERE WE ARE AGAIN - DISNEY!!!

After a night with very little sleep, we are up and ready for the car at 6 to be at the airport at 7. It is Saturday and supposed to be an easy drive, but the morning begins with an accident on the road and it is a slow drive. We luckily get to the airport on time, I am on standby for the flight that Luc and Callie’s is on and finally manage to get on it.

We are picked up by a driver from Crystal Cathedral and the boys are in ecstasy when they see our lift - it is a limousine! I have all my days keeping their fingers off all the gadgets in the car. It is a 45 minute drive to Orange County where we are checked in at the Marriot Suites Hotel - what a nice change after all our backpacking accommodation. We have a stunning suite, with a bath! The driver, Feng, tells us that Disneyworld California is a few minutes away from the hotel. We are in two minds about going there, Monique wants to work on her interview and Callie is ready for an afternoon nap, but then decide that we should take Luc.

We stop at the Target (one of the Strydom’s favourite shops!) and after some shopping, set off on the local bus to Disneyworld. We only get there at 5 and there is no discount for arriving late. It is a hefty $180 to get in - but we are doing it for Luc… The park is very full - not as much as Disney Orlando. Our first ride is the Pirates of the Caribbean with only a 15 minute wait. Luc is scared - must remember his first Disney ride when we went down straight down the mountain! The ride is based on the movie and great fun - we see Captain Jack Sparrow a few times and Monique decides that Brad Pitt is out and Johnny Depp is in!

Whilst Luc and Monique go on the “not so busy” Winnie the Phoo ride, Callie runs off to Fast Track some of the more popular rides. Taking into consideration that the wait at some rides are 60 minutes, we might just end up doing 4 rides. After the very slow, but beautiful Winnie, we set off to the adventure of the bob sledge ride. It is a roller coaster that starts off high up in a “snow” mountain. Luc is scared, but once he gets the hang of it - he loves it!

The new submarine ride has a wait of more than a hour, so we decide to go to the Science Exhibition - with all sorts of games and gadgets. On the Chevron car ride, Luc gets to be the driver. It turns out to be bumpy (because of Luc’s driving) and slow (because of the car in front of us breaking down all the time). It is getting to be cold and we do the last ride - Buzz Lightyear. A journey into space where you have to help Buzz shoot down the aliens. Monique scores a high of 38 000 points on this one, followed by Callie with 9000 points (must take after her father!).

We run to get the bus and quickly pop into a street restaurant - a pie shop - for dinner. These are not the pies we know, but rather pecan nut pie, strawberry pie etc etc. We are exhausted when we get home and in bed by 10.

4 APRIL - NEW YORK

Best Bagels in NY!

Mars 2112!

Aliens!

The 2 C's - Callie & Cupcakes!

We sleep a bit later again and only get to the streets at 11. Monique has to get an outfit for the TV show - after being told that she needs to be dressed fancy. We stop at the bagel shop and then Fellini’s Basement, the boys go for soup whilst Monique is shopping. We go downtown to open a bank account and after a very long session we pop into Uri’s office to drop our shopping. We then walk up to 52nd street to the famous, Mars 2112 restaurant. Danny told us about this “spacey” restaurant and must say it turns out to be an experience. You enter the restaurant by getting in a “space ship” and taking a trip to Mars. The whole restaurant is designed to look like you are underground in Mars, complete with aliens walking around greeting everyone. Monique and Luc is hungry and ends up eating the most expensive hamburger ever - $ 15 (R 120!!!). After the quick visit, Callie runs uptown to get the laundry (which we had nearly forgotten about!) and Luc and Monique walks back to Uri’s office. Monique pops into a shoe shop looking for boots and finally ends up making a group of new friends! All the shop attendants are from Africa - Chad, Senegal and Morcocco - and could not stop talking about 2010!!! We rush down to meet Callie at 30st street where he is busy buying a suit case (for all the shopping!!!). We then meet Uri at the subway and then off to Uri’s other favourite - a Brazilian restaurant. It is a great stop, with great food. We have roasted corn which is out of this world! After dinner we take a long walk back and Uri shows us the West Village - where he used to live and is also the suburb of stars like Sarah Jessica Parker. We stop at the famous Sex in the City Cup cake bakery and eat a decadent cup cake. We get to the hotel just after 11. We quickly pack, whilst Uri waits patiently! Uri and Callie takes the two big suitcases to his flat, whilst I finish the other packing. Struggle to get Luc into his bed - an early morning that waits for us.

3 APRIL - NEW YORK

Luc with the Empire State Building behind him (did not make the tour!)

Various versions of the "statue"!


Wall street (behind)

Central station

We struggle to wake up, have to pack and move to a new room, but eventually manage to meet Liz and Uri at the French Roast (which I have been calling the Toastery the whole time!). It is a sad breakfast - Liz just heard that her Father-in-law has passed away. The train that she was supposed to take has derailed and she has to rent a car to drive up north. Callie and Luc goes off sight seeing, whilst Uri and Monique goes with Liz to get the car. We stop on our way to get some of the best bagels in NY, get the car and then off to Uri’s flat to get Liz’s stuff. Very sad to say goodbye - time too short!

In the meantime Luc is crying his heart out when he realises Liz is going. Callie takes him with underground to downtown NY - the mission to see the Statue of Liberty - which turned out to be a mission indeed. It takes them hours to get tickets and then hours in the line - 2 hours to finally get on the boat to the Statue! Callie meets up with a fellow South African who lives in NY and is too happy to see them! It is freezing cold on the Island, but Luc is full of beans, posing for pictures and pestering his dad to buy curios.
Back in midtown NY, Uri and Monique goes to Uri’s office to work on the Strydom Trust Web site and do other work! Very fast wireless, so Monique can catch up on a lot of work.

Finally back on Manhattan, Callie and Luc goes off to the Grand Central Station - also to be seen in Madagascar (movie for children). They find it to be spectacular - they get there at 5 and see all the “ants” (working class) going home! There is a massive clock made out of solid gold and two very fancy restaurants. There is a wonderful toy shop and Luc is happy!

We all meet up at 42 station to venture into the Bronx, where Uri discovered a stunning Cuban restaurant. We are really nervous getting off at the Bronx, especially when we see police at the entrance of the station. Thank goodness the restaurant is just below the station (really below cause this is one area where the train is not underground, but high above the road!). Uri uses his Spanish and we eventually have a great dinner at a great low price as well!

Uri and Callie is very adventurous and wants to go and wander around in the Bronx, but Monique is not to be persuaded! We also eventually discover that the police at the underground is there to recruit reservists and not to control crime! This is once again a very late night and we are dead tired!

2 APRIL - NEW YORK

Side of NY Building

Katz & Uri

We are a bit jet lagged and still on Costa Rican time and sleep late. Callie runs over to Uri to collect our suitcases with winter clothes (which Uri had to carry up and down 4 stories!). We drop our laundry off and then meet up with Uri who takes us all the way down town to have brunch at the famous Katz Deli. What an experience - this deli has been there for more than a 100 years and is famous for pastrami/beef rye sandwiches. You get a ticket when you enter and then have to line up for a cutter, who makes the sandwich. Callie and Uri is brave and order one of the famous sandwiches - which is massive! Luc is happy with his French fries and soup! Monique orders two massive german sausages - oily but great! By the way this is also the restaurant where When “Harry met Sally” was filmed.

We stroll back via Soho and Little Italy towards Wall Street and end up right in China town - and at Monique’s favourite bakery - without planning it! Uri is now the hero and we all indulge in a pastry. It is running very late and we need to get Luc to sleep before the long evening ahead. It is just amazing how quickly the time flies when you are having a great time! We take the underground back to the hotel. Luc refuses to sleep but finally succumbs.

We are in Time Square just after 7:30 and immediately join the line for Mary Poppins. We are in the cheap seats, right at the top balcony with the stage just about straight down from us. Luc is terrified walking down to our seats. In the end it turned up to be great seats - Mary Poppins flew right us to us! Luc loves the show and it is really spectacular. We are seated next to a bunch of high school kids who had to come and see the show - so funny to see that half of them where sleeping, whilst we are so keen to see the show.

The show lasts much longer than what we thought and we are only done at 10:45. We have to meet Uri and Liz who has just flown into NY at a Indian Restaurant. Uri tells us that the kitchen closes at 11 and we have 15 minutes to get there. This create great stress in the Strydom household. We grab the downtown train, then were not sure where to get off, and then the train stops one stop from our destination and we have to get off. In the end we get a taxi and finally arrive at the restaurant. It is only us and we are very happy to see Liz. She looks great! Skinny and gorgeous! And, as always, she has lots of gifts for the Africans. We only have one night with Liz and she is on her way to Saracruz, where her father-in-law is critically ill.

The food (and company!) is fab! After dinner we stop for hot chocolate and rum and then take a taxi home. We finally get into bed after 2!

1 APRIL - BACK TO NEW YORK

The boys go for a quick swim in the sea, whilst mother packs the bags and also finally manages to change their flights. This time we get through to SAA USA quickly and manage to get tickets on miles for both of them to LA. We are very happy that we have another week together, especially after seeing so little of each other the previous months.

The ride back to the airport takes much quicker than we thought and we stop at a community development tourist shop to get some curios. We have a small incident at the filling station, when we had to ask Luc to donate his colones coins which he had collected during the stay in CR, as we ran out of local currency. In the end - and lots of tears later - we exchanged his 1000 Colones ($2) for $20!!!! Hey, the boy has got a head for business!!!

We managed to drop the car off with no hassles, but had a hard time getting out of Costa Rica - thanks to USA security! The security staff scrutinised our passports, then asked us where we travelled to, photocopied it, asked us how many times we have been to CR etc etc etc! Then we had to show our tickets back to SAA and one of them did not believe that it was a real flight ticket! We joked and said we would love to be stuck in CR and live there forever - this broke the ice and the same security card laughed about it again when we went through yet another security check!

The flight is delayed and we eat the most expensive meal in Costa Rica - airport food! When we finally board the flight is even more delayed as there is a problem with the front wheel and they have to change it. The day becomes a day of delays! In Atlanta the flight is also delayed for another hour - we did not mind this as we would not have made the flight was it on time. Then we end up sitting on the runway for another 30 minutes due to the air traffic problems in NY.

We finally get to the hotel after two and are exhausted! Luckily we have our same room, so we feel at home immediately - and more used to the cold!

31 MARCH - TAMARINDO

Tamarindo beach

Cat!
On the Cat!
Sailor Luc!
The boys and their toys!

We try again in the morning to get to SAA Voyager - but it is Mission Impossible - finally discover that it is the last day of the year where people can claim their miles. So after holding on for a long time, we eventually give up and go to the beach. We chill out and get a good suntan. The water is really warm and pleasant and Callie struggles to get Luc out of the water when we have to leave. We stop for a quick lunch at the other famous local restaurant - Mama’s Deli. It is too much food! Callie gets a massive pizza and Monique an Italian speciality with coriander pesto, chilli (gentle) and Italian sausage.

We get back to the beach just in time for our trip on the catamaran - Blue Dolphin. We are collected in two groups - there is a bunch of Americans and a group of Spanish - in a little rubber duck. Luc gets a feeling of how it feels when we go for diving in Shelly Beach! (By the way, Roland and Beuhla, we did not diving on this trip!). We are the last group to get to the cat, but we get a nice spot on the trampoline at the back, with two models (guy and girl - or that is what they look like!). We cruise for about an hour until we get to a little bay with a private beach. Everyone gets equipped with masks, snorkels and fins - and some take the noodles as well - and within seconds we are all in the water. Monique tries to show off and does a very high back roll off the back. This impresses only Luc!

We swim towards the rocks on the side. The water is not very clear, but we still manage to see lots of fish - not the tropical fish of the Caribbean side, but still great. See triggerfish, a file fish and even an octopus, who immediately changes his colour when we disturb him! Luc is also a real fish. He tries to dive down like his father, but is too light - however manages to get some depth! He is in his element - screaming and shouting every time he sees something - the sounds coming through the snorkel is very funny. Luc and Monique grab a sea kayak and go paddling for a while, after which Callie takes over and paddles with Luc to the beach. The fool around on the beach for a while and create some more entertainment when they have to get the kayak back through the waves! With so much water, the Stydoms are at their happiest!

Included in the price is all the drinks, a great meal and a T-shirt - yet another Costa Rican bargain! Luc makes friends with the drew, especially with Carlos, who becomes his big buddy! Carlos offers his a job @ $20 an hour. We both agree that it is an excellent idea - Luc can work and we can retire in Tamarindo and become beach bums!! HA HA HA - sounds too good to be true! We sail back under the most magnificent sunset. This time we join the Spaniards on the front trampoline. There is one young boy with long hair who imitates the Leonardo and Kate position (Famous Titanic scene!). We all laugh and tell him he looks more like Celine Dion than Leonardo!

Carlos calls Luc to come and pull one of the ropes. Much to the delight of all (and loud cheering) Luc manages to host a big sail! It is nearly dark when we get to the beach and whilst we are waiting for the rubber duck to drop the first group, Monique and Callie decides to jump into the water. This immediately has a ripple effect and before any of the crew can stop the rest, everyone jumps in! Great fun and the crew eventually have a difficult time getting all of us back on the rubber duck and on the beach. Carols jumps off just before we hit the beach and Luc follows suit! Everyone laughs at the brave ninjo!

We stop at the supermarket and jump into the pool for another late night swimming session! This our last night in Costa Rica and we are very sad!

30 MARCH - TO TAMARINDO

Villas Macando
Villas Macando
Sunset in Tamarindo
Dinner at Pedro's

We are up early. The boys wanted to go swimming, but it was cold and the wind was blowing. Luc has a big bit on his foot and is also coughing, so Callie gives him a Sudafed. At breakfast Luc does not want to eat and complains that he is tired. We use the time to update our blog spot and do some final shopping and only hit the road at about 11. We drive via the lower road this time. The dirt road is much shorter, but at some spots just as bad. Stunning views of valleys and mountains - we can actually see the Nicoya Peninsula from the mountain. We are really worried about Luc as he is now totally lethargic and worried that it is the bite, until we realise that it must have been the Sudafed - Callie gave him a whole pill!. The bottom road takes us via and the National Park. The book says that one can dare to take the short cut via to Tamarindo, it is a bad dirt road but doable in the rain season. We discover that this road is a pleasure in comparison to the ones we have driven in Malawi! The trip is much shorter that the anticipated 4 hours and we get there just after two.

Tamarindo has developed so much since 2005 - to be honest it is now one big building site, with massive high rises going up! It is going to ruin the whole surf village image. Villas Macando is in the middle of the town about 200 meters from the beach - right next to one of the biggest building sites. Mary, the receptionist, is really helpful and we manage to book a boat trip for the next day. We have a really cute room with a hammock in the front and nice views of the pool, double and single bed and a fridge - all of this at $ 65 - we began and end off the trip with good bargains!

We pack off quickly and then walk down to the beach, with a quick stop at the famous French Bakery where we eat the more famous chocolate croissants. The beach is just as beautiful as I remember. We take a long walk to the northern beach. The boys are in the water and body surfing before you can count to 3. Tamarindo is known as a surfers village, where people go to learn to surf. There are very little waves, and very small, when they are there! Wonder what they would say about SA’s waves! We take a long walk to the other side of the beach, where I show the boys where we stayed with Liz - at $300 a night no way we can afford it! We see the most beautiful sunset - all pinks and purples - unlike the oranges and reds we get in South Africa. It reminds the two of us very much of our sunsets in Chacala in Mexico (See http://www.strydomsinmexico.blogspot.com/).

After stopping for a cocktail at one of the beach bars, we decide to take the advise of the guide book and have dinner at Pedro’s Restaurant. A local restaurant with 5 tables under a canvas, but right on the beach. You have to buy your drinks from the bar next door! We both have the Mai Mai (local fish) with garlic - it is divine! Luc’s chicken tortilla is big he does not even makes a dent in it! We all jump into the pool for a lat night swim. This time we have quiet family evening, unlike the previous Tamarindo visit, when we celebrated Liz’s final days of single hood!

Monique sits on the internet until 3 in the morning trying to change flights and get flights so that Callie and Luc can go with to LA - no luck!!!!