A surprise blessing

After a pretty tough first month, we really wanted a break.  We had a day off of school, so Jeff started looking for places to go.  We had been to Manuel Antonio 10 years ago and really wanted to go back.  Jeff found a great place to stay and to make a long story short - the managers gave us a good deal on a small bungalow.  So off we went - the four of us, one large suitcase, a back pack, and a pack-n-play - to the bus for a 3 - 4 hour ride.  (Of course, we had the most stuff of anyone getting on the bus.  Silly Gringos!). 

Once we got into the town, we got off at the wrong bus stop and the guy picking us up couldn't find us.  Finally after standing on the side of the road for about 15 minutes the guy found us.  He was so nice and told us - no worries, I have a little surprise for you when we get to the resort. 

When we walked into our small bungalow we thought they had made a mistake and took us to the luxury house instead.  Jeff and I were zoombie like trying to figure out what was going on.  We were suppose to stay in a one bedroom, small living room, and a mini-kitchen.  What we walked into was a two story, two bedroom, two bathroom, large fully equipped kitchen, huge balcony with a jacuzzi.

Chris, the guy who picked us up, said, "do you like your surprise?"  We were in awe and just kept walking around saying we don't deserve this.  We have never been in anything this nice.  This is something we have seen on the HGTV station, not for us to be staying in! 

Chris, we then found out was our personal concierge.  He took Jeff to the grocery store, went and picked us up some dinner.  The next day, he took us on a tour of the resort facility.  The resort had its own private beach, huge mansions (one even with its own helipad), and 4 pools.  All we had to do was call for a shuttle and it would take us anywhere in the resort we wanted.  I am pretty sure we were the only ones who stayed in this resort who took a public bus to get there. 

We had an incredible weekend.  The Lord knew we really needed a nice getaway and he blessed us beyond anything we could have asked! 

These first few pictures of the house are from the website.  My pictures didn't do the house justice!

Now for some of our pictures from the trip.

The beach at the resort

Jeff and Nathan went kayaking

Hanging out at the pool

Swimming by the waterfall

Large iguana also hanging out by the pool.

Jeff and Nathan enjoying a morning at the pool.

The shower was an outside shower.  This is the view from in the shower.

Enjoying some dinner with a great view.

 

 

 One of the most famous things about Manuel Antonio is the National Park.  10 years ago it was one of our favorite places to go.  So of course we wanted to go back.  To get to the beach, you walk through this amazing park.  We were a bit disappointed because we didn't see as many animals as we wanted, but it was still a fun day at the beach.

Nathan found this tide pool and loved playing in the water and sand.

Juliana didn't want to go swimming.  She enjoyed having a snack on the rock.

Even though it rained a lot of the time, one of the many great things about this place was the jacuzzi.  Since it was on the covered porch the children could enjoy swimming even in the rain!

Amazing views from the amazing place!!!