-Linda
Apparently I’m the only one in the family who knew that the pineapple is a symbol of welcome – in addition to being the national fruit of Costa Rica (well, maybe not really). Anyway, we can all agree that it is pretty exciting to be finally welcoming 2021 after the longest year ever!

For the last two days we’ve had quite a bit of rain, which they say is unusual in the dry season. Maybe it’s a sign of cleansing — washing away 2020 in a tropical rainstorm seems entirely appropriate. As a result, we’ve had some nice lazy mornings, and the girls started a project of watercolor painting the animals they have seen (or hope to see?) in Costa Rica. Yesterday we also screened a Netflix matinee of Back to the Future, which was such a fun blast from the past.
Both yesterday and today the weather cleared by about 10am, in time for a good beach outing this morning back at Playa Santa Teresa (our ‘home’ beach). Both girls practiced their surfing, and it’s so exciting to see them catching waves!
The last two nights have been too cloudy to have great sunsets, but we had two amazing ones on Sunday and Monday nights. The girls did their surf lessons at Playa Hermosa, which is about a 15 minute drive north of here. As the name would suggest, it is an absolutely gorgeous beach, with nice gentle waves perfect for beginner surfers. The low tide sunset there on Sunday night may have been the best we have seen to date.


On Monday night we also had a glorious sunset when we went to Habanero for dinner. Sadly, the restaurant itself was quite disappointing: overpriced, mediocre food, terrible service, and ear-splitting music. Alas, the location almost made up for it!


Tonight we are headed to Vista las Olas for a New Years Eve swim and outdoor dinner. Thinking of all our friends and family tonight, and looking forward to a BIG NYE party one year from now!!