Manuel Antonio - The Beach (La Playa)

Wow, now that is a great picture!

Early morning on the beach

Cristen and Dustin went to the mountains for a youth retreat, and Lori and I headed towards the beach on the west coast of Costa Rica. (Getting around Costa Rica is fairly cheap-round trip tickets for Lori and I totalled $15.oo).

Before we even left the bus station, God guided our path to two other missionaries who happened to be heading home. Home for them was Quepos, about 5 minutes from our hotel. They invited us to attend their church which just happened to be on the beach.


We had a wonderful time by ourselves. The beach was beautiful and the water was fantastic. Manuel Antonio was better than advertised. We spotted a couple of monkeys up in the trees and heard them in the evenings and early in the morning.


We enjoyed two incredible dinners at El Avion (The Airplane). The restaurant was at the top of the hill overlooking the Pacific ocean and the food was incredible. To make the evening more perfect was the great dinner we enjoyed after our first full day at the beach.

This is a C-123 that was involved in the Iran-Contra Affair.

Sunset during Dinner

After the service on the beach the following morning Lori helped talk me into taking surfing lessons. I did pretty well and actually rode a couple of waves all the way to the beach. Surfing was quit a bit of fun and very tiring.

Church Service on the Beach

"Hanging Ten"

Monday we got up early to walk the beach and get one last swim before catching the bus back to San Jose. What a great weekend Lori and I enjoyed.

In 1492 Cristobal Colon sailed the ocean blue

Two weeks after the start of school we traveled to Panama to renew our passports. This would be the last time we will need to depart Costa Rica before we fly to the states for Christmas.

Our trip to Panama was a bit like Trains, Planes, and Automobiles except it more accurately resembled, taxi, bus, taxi, and two boat trips.

We stayed on the island of Carinero which was a very short boat ride from the town of Bocas del Toro. Our four day trip was very beautiful and relaxing. We enjoyed exploring the island which you could walk around but that is only for the adventurous. Lori and Cristen enjoyed hunting for seashells and we all enjoyed a kayaking adventure.

Bocas del Toro was one of the most restful and relaxing vacations we have enjoyed.

Morning sky looking towards the town Island of Colon.

Coral on the Seashore.

Crossing the bridge from Panama back into Costa Rica.

Our Private Beach

Our bungalow.