Costa Rica - Playa Conchal

After an amazing stay near the Arenal Volcano, we headed to the coast toward Playa Conchal for the second half of our trip. For this part of our trip, we didn't have any excursions planned. All we wanted to do was relax by the water and eat as much as we could (neither one of us had experienced all-inclusive before).

The drive was just under four hours but also very scenic. When we arrived, this was actually the first time we had seen any monkeys!



They loved to hang out right outside where we would be staying the next four days.



Once we got settled in, we walked over to see the ocean for the first time.



It was so beautiful - and we made it just in time for the sunset.



I brought a dress or two and Eric brought something he thought could pass off as "nicer" in the event we just happened to eat at a nice restaurant, but we hadn't really planned to. Well, we probably should have done our homework because we realized when we got there they had a dress code for dinner (for every restaurant). Basically, we weren't allowed to wear flip-flops, tennis shoes, or anything sleeveless, I had to be in a dress or skirt, and Eric had to be wearing a collared shirt (he didn't bring a single one).

Luckily, they weren't too strict on the collared shirt or flip-flop rule, so we were able to pass. However, we pretty much wore the same thing to dinner every night ;)



Pretty much all day every day, you could find us here at the pool. We didn't do anything but pool, beach, and eat - a lot of eating.



We met a really nice couple from Boston that we would end up sitting by the pool next to most days and chat with. They had been married 10 years and have never once missed their yearly trip (usually to Costa Rica or Mexico). They leave their kids with grandparents and take off for a week on their own - one can dream!









I honestly have endless pictures from seeing these iguanas everywhere we went; I'll only show you a couple.





We ended up trying as many of the restaurants as we could. We ordered so much food at each place - appetizers, salads, bread, entrees, and dessert. We kept telling ourselves we already paid for it, we may as well take advantage! We definitely let ourselves indulge this part of the trip.



The water was so clear and beautiful. It was a little cold, but we loved taking walks on the beach. Unfortunately, Eric's phone got some water damage and we ended up losing about a full day's worth of pictures, but at least we were able to save most of them!



We were told if we walked down the beach a ways, we would hit a local town. We decided to check it out to explore and see if we could find any souvenirs that weren't way over-priced like they were where we were staying.



The town was very small but cool to see. There were a couple very modest huts/bungalows along the way right on the beach; they almost looked abandoned. I can't imagine waking up every morning to a beach like this out your front door!

A restaurant/bar on the water (also kind of looked abandoned).





We didn't go too far into the town since we had already walked a ways, but we did go into a couple shops to look around.



Then we were ready to get back to the water. It was sunny and HOT everyday - pushing 100 degrees. That was one thing we didn't have when we were staying more inland, where it was warm but more overcast at times.







Back to the pool and free drinks.



I was laying out at one point, turned to get up and was face-to-face with this guy.



We also saw that Dikembe Mutombo was staying there with his family. He was making friends and shooting hoops with a couple young guys that came up to meet him. Naturally, Eric wanted to get in on the action too (he's behind Dikembe).



When he went over to the bar for a minute, Eric got a chance to shake his hand and tell him all about the basketball cards he has of him (which we actually pulled out and found this past week). Mr. Mutombo made the comment that if he would have brought his cards with him, he could have made them worth a lot more ;)



Our last night in Costa Rica!





Couldn't have asked for a better date.



That night we went to a pyro show at the resort.



It was really fun and a great way to spend our last night.



The next morning it was time to pack up and say goodbye.



We had such an amazing trip from beginning to end. It was everything we wanted - a little adventure and a little relaxation. We loved being able to escape and spend over a week of uninterrupted time together after having been apart for 2 weeks before the wedding.

I'm honestly on cloud nine being married to this guy and to be able to spend the rest of our life adventures together. I'm a lucky girl.



...and not even 24 hours later we were standing in the freezing cold rain back in Alexandria waiting in line at the Social Security office to change my name. It's good to be back!