At last...monkeys!!!!!!

We started the morning out at the golf course. Keith and Todd played and Jack and I followed in a cart. On the second hole we got to see...you guessed it...capuchin monkeys. I couldn't get a photo because they were pretty high up in the trees so it was shady but we saw them and they watched us as we passed. On the next hole we saw a relative of the raccoon called a coati. It was so mellow and intent on its breakfast that it didn't mind us getting close to it for a photo. Our Costa Rican friends, Nelson and Elvia, got a cart and joined us. They are here on vacation from Florida and I think they have done just about everything you can around here. Yesterday Nelson took surfing lessons and went hang gliding! When Todd made a birdie putt he did the Chi Chi Rodriguez swordfighting routine and that's when we found out that Elvia is Chi Chi's niece. Talk about a small world! This is our last night at the Marriott and tomorrow we leave for Malpais and the Starmountain Ecolodge (http://www.starmountaineco.com/). We are supposed to have internet there so I should be able to maintain the blog without interuption. We have to drive for about an hour and then catch a ferry that takes us across the Nicoya Peninsula. We actually will have a casita all to ourselves and everyone will have their own bed. Jack has been sleeping with Todd and me and he is quite the kicker! Tell Lucy we love her and give her some pets for us. Sun King is missed also. Until the next post...Love, Camie

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." Psalm 136:1

We Are The World...

We are the world, we are the children, we are the ones who make a better day so let's start giving.

Bet you all haven't heard that song for awhile! We heard it today on the American radio station. We also got to enjoy some seventies power ballads and "Eye of the Tiger." There seems to be one English radio station and it is catering to the retired baby boomers (pensionados) that reside here. The funny thing is that the commercials are in Spanish. The boys are watching Disney Channel in Spanish while I am writing. I didn't realize that Kim Possible was bilingual! Today brought some awesome Boogie Boarding in bigger surf for the boys. Todd was able to rent another surf board for a couple of hours (they haven't passed out his picture to all the surf shops yet...see broken board photo). The best part of the day, however, was picking up the Hyundai. We now have a full size SUV to attack these crazy roads. We met a retired couple from Arizona that has been here for five weeks. It is their third time here and their friends have a vacation home in Nativa. I figure if they can experience Costa Rica to its fullest, we should do just fine here. I don't think it was an accident that we ran into them at the car rental place. Tomorrow we are planning and exciting trip to a laundry service. It is exciting because your clothes don't dry well and quite frankly some of them are starting to stink! Until the next post...Love, The Nolls

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

Sticking With What We Know

Today's adventure included a trip to Jaco Beach to return what was left of our rental surfboard and check on our new car rental. It is with great, and I mean really great, pleasure that we will be picking up a 4 X 4 Diesel Hyundai Terracan tomorrow to use for the rest of our trip. I don't think anyone will look back as we drop off our Daihatsu Terios which smelled oddly like nail polish remover. We visited one of our favorite sodas again and picked up dog as our lunch companion. The boys pet her and she decided to crawl under our table and go to sleep while we waited for lunch. There are dogs and cats everywhere here. They are at the beaches, on the roads and sometimes even the restaurants as pictured here. We also visited the Costa Rican Wal-Mart today. It was called Maxibodega but they wear Wal-Mart blue vests and have Wal-Mart on their name tags. They even have the smiley face on everything, but they didn't have Boogie Boards which was why we stopped in. We also had to get gas for the first time and it was pretty funny because we were unsure of how to get it, what side to pull in and or even how to open the gas tank. It turned out it was just like getting gas in the U.S. except the attendent pumps it for you.

We discovered that if you click on any of the photos they will open larger and in a new window. Also, if any one would like to leave a comment, just click on comments underneath the entry. You do not have to register to leave a comment. We would love to hear from you. Love, Camie

"And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation." Psalm 35:9

Yeah, the waves are big in Costa Rica

As promised Luke, here is a picture of Todd and his "log"... or what's left of it! Early morning punishment at Playa Hermosa--film at eleven.

Still no monkeys

Well, we visited the Butterfly Farm/Frog Garden/Serpentarium today, in addition to exploring a little by car. The boys had a great morning of surfing at our little hotel beach break...even Jack was on the board. There was a mix up with our car reservation (an international incident you might say!) and we are trying to track down a 4 X 4 vehicle to rent for the next part of our trip. We still have not seen monkeys, but sometimes you can hear them. Todd thinks one was following along side them on the golf course the other day but it never made itself visible. My personal favorite part of the trip has been eating at the local lunch counters (called sodas). They season the food so well here and the beef is excellent. I eat some form of steak everyday! A typical Costa Rican dish is called a casado and consists of your choice of meat, a cabbage salad, potatoes, hard-boiled egg, fried plantains and gallo pinto (Costa Rican Rice & Beans). You get all this for around $5 or less. Everything tastes so good! Hope everyone back home is doing well. Love, Camie

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever, Amen." Ephesians 3:20, 21

Noll Boys Ripping it Up!

Lazy Day

Okay, so maybe today wasn't a day of high adventure afterall. Todd did get a chance to surf at Estrellos Beach early in the morning, but he was the only member of the family to leave the compound. We discovered that a great time could be had right here at Playa Herradura (the hotel beach). The hotel lawn stops at the sand so Mom was able to read under some beautiful tropical trees while the boys played in the waves. Keith learned to surf today. It was his first time on a board and he actually had some decent rides. He has now decided that he likes surfing better than golf and wants to do it all time. Much to his dismay, we will eventually return to the desert where the only thing you can surf is the internet. Today we also learned the value of a good siesta. In a tropical climate your body needs a break around 3:00 p.m. We are still waiting for Jack to wake up from his. We had lunch at the Los Suenos Marina where we saw many tropical fish(even Dory from finding Nemo) swimming near the shore and Keith spotted a Manta Ray too. They seemed out of place to me because the water in that area is murky like a lake and I always expected them to be found in sparkling clear water...at least that is how it looks at Petco. Under one of the palm fronds by the hotel pool we found a small bat colony(see photo on left). They actually look very cute when they are sleeping. Luke, I will take a picture of Todd with the surf board for you tomorrow. Until the next post...Camie

"Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called seas. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:9, 10

We have arrived!

The picture on the left is our National Rent-A-Car we picked up today. We have been cruising in style ever since! For those of you who were praying for us during our 5 hour layover in Houston...Muchas Gracias! We actually had a pretty great time while we waited. Our plane from Vegas was delayed an hour so we weren't able to see Paul & Jake Bertuccini before they boarded their flight from Houston to Las Vegas. Please tell any Bertuccinis you guys see hello for us! The drive from San Jose to Playa Herradura was amazing. It was raining heavily and there were waterfalls (from the runoff, very brown in color) at almost every curve. Todd saw more than I did since I had to keep my eyes on the horizon. It was a verrrrry curvy road. When we arrived at the Marriott, we found that it is so designed to cater to American tourists that it doesn't seem like we are in another country. Jack did want me to let everyone know that the pool here is sooo cool. Todd and Keith played golf this morning. Keith's love of nature was stronger than his passion for golf and he quit playing after three holes so that he could explore and try to catch things. He did learn that if you actually do catch an iguana that is 4 feet long, they will scratch you until you let them go, but yet he is still trying to catch them everytime we come across one. Speaking of lizards, we have seen many--geckos, baselisks, iguanas (of course) and a couple of others that we can't identify. When we were leaving Playa Hermosa (beach in photos) we saw an actual crocodile sunning himself. There has also been many birds with the most notable being a scarlet macaw that was in the tree near us when we had lunch. It was fun leaving the compound today and to actually have to speak Spanish to people. I mixed-up the words for ice and ice cream while trying to order iced tea at a little local restaurant and ended up getting some kind of papaya milkshake instead. When I realized what I did, the look on the waitress' face while I was ordering finally made sense. Another blooper for the day happened when Jack found a cool little shell and put it in his pocket. Later I saw something crawling on the bed (very out of place at the pristine Marriott) and we found out that there was a little crab still living in the shell.

All in all, we have been treated with such warmth by the Ticos. I think we even cleared immigration and customs faster than if we were just waiting for luggage at McCarran. We have seen what a wonderful imagination God has and also His amazing attention to detail. I can't imagine what we will see tomorrow. I think we could end up at the canopy tour if all of us have the courage to go that high and we are also planning to visit the Butterfly Farm and Serpentarium. Todd rented a surfboard and plans on hitting the waves first thing. Surfs always up here! Until the next post...Love, Camie

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18

Four Days And Counting...

So it begins, our first website and our first trip to Costa Rica. We have created this site so our interested family and friends can check up on our adventures or just say hi. We will update the info when internet access is available. The adventure begins July 25...Stay tuned!

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6,7