Puppy love, Swimming pool and the Beach

I woke up at 6:30 and had a lovely Tico breakfast with Mami. Papi was already working in the garden and when breakfast was over and I had had my shower I joined him out there to play with the puppies. We have 3 adorable puppies (what was left of both the litters). They are so cute!

Deeply focused in what his sisters are playing with…

And these tow are trying to bite each others ears off.

The one to the left Papi named her Kaiman and Mami named her Dulcita. Seems like there is no hope of them agreeing to the name either. Papi is set on the name Kaiman. They laugh and joke around with it though.

Roxanas kid Luis’ joined me in the garden to play with the dogs.

At 10:30 I was ready to rumble and packed my bag for a day in the sun and headed out. I walked around enjoying the lovey weather for a while and then headed to the Best Western Hotel El Sitio. They have a lovely swimming pool that they let locals use for a small fee.

I changed and enjoyed the sun utterly. The sun kissing my body and the warmth radiating from it. I ordered a Papaya in Milk smoothie which tasted like from heaven. It was just wonderful.

At 1:30 I ordered Chicken  Rice and Chips and just a few minutes after my lunch arrived Federico called and asked if I wanted to join them for the beach. Federico had a meeting to attend to with his work so instead of going alone, he brought the family with him so they could enjoy the beach.  Of course I wanted to join them so I ate as fast as I could and just a few minutes after they called again to ask me if I was ready. They were outside the hotel already. I changed and packed in 5 minutes and finished eating and ran outside. In the car I realized I had already gotten a sunburn. Dammit.

Anyways, we were soon on the road and the whole gang was rather cheerful. We stopped to get some water for the trip and then we continued on to Tamarindo. It takes about an hour and 20 minutes to drive to Tamarindo from Liberia. The kids were fed up by then, but when they finally got their way out of the car they were superhappy. Tamarindo is a beautiful beach, but it also has a beach village famous for tourist parties and not only that, it is also a small part of the National park Marino Las Baulas.

We enjoyed the village of Tamarindo and we walked around shopping. We found a store called Papaya con leche where they make custom made bikinis. I ordered one that they will make for me. It wasn’t cheap, but… its gonna be awesome :D

We continued shopping for a while before we went down to the beach where the kids played in the sand and went for a swim.

Anita playing in the sand

Isabella

Noylin and Rebeka walking the beach

We watched the sun set over the Pacific ocean while listening to the waves hit the beach and the mild wind sweep through the palms … A dream come through.

Sunset at the beach

On our way back to meet Federico we walked past a few nice restaurants that were decorated for Christmas. I guess Santa will visit at the beach too

Christmas at the beach.

Federico was done in his meeting and soon we were on our way home. Not long before we arrived to Liberia

On our way back home we stopped to buy chicken and we had dinner back home at Federico’s place. I spent about an hour there before I went back home to Mami and Papi to spend the rest of the evening with them.

A day at the Beach at Scheveningen

This morning I slept in. I have not really felt well for about 2 weeks now so sleeping in was lovely.

About 11 am I went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and pick up some breakfast and then I headed towards Scheveningen and the beach. I took the tram and enjoyed some nice music on my way there. Scheveningen is one of the 8 districts of The Hague.

It was a beautiful day, quite windy, but really beautiful. At the last stop of the tram line I walked towards the beach. Not so many other people were here today, but I enjoyed a long and nice walk along the left side of the pier.

I sat down to enjoy a drink at the Oase Beach Club and to enjoy the sun out of the wind, before I went over to the Restaurant area for a beach promenade. The sun was warm and lovely and Iwas having a great time shopping and walking along the beach.

I should have probably stopped to enjoy the fish spa, but it was quite nice to enjoy an ice cream and walk by as well :D

The wind was so strong that the sand was whipping towards my legs, and I was very happy to have brought with me my hooded jacket to keep me warm :D

The official symbol of Scheveningen is 3 silver herrings swimming to the right; above the head of each herring a crown of gold.  This emblem is printed in the sement tiles laid all over the city.

Links to Tourist Information in Scheveningen
Official Tourist Web Page for Scheveningen

Relaxing Day at El Mirador Lodge

As Magnus left early this morning I had no program planned other than relaxing and that was really necessary. I am starting to feel really exhausted by now from the high level of activities that we have had lately and I know I have a REALLY long drive ahead of me tomorrow – hence I have to be fit for fight. So after breakfast I went back to my room for a nap.

At 10 AM Angela from Switzerland came to the hotel to visit me and we spent a nice time talking.

When she left I went back to sleep and thats how my day passed.

Just before Sunrise we all went up to El Mirador to watch the Sunset.

David and Mary from France (living in Canada)

For dinner a lot of other travellers that we had met during out roundtrip of Costa Rica had joined us at the hotel as well. Kasper and Claudia (Switzerland from Arenal Hike), Jerker (Sweden), Kathy and Mark (Canada), Todd (Houston, Texas), Mary and David (France) and Bob (Canada). We were served an amazingly good chicken with fresh fruits for dessert and a lovely brokkoli soup as an apetizer.

Todd, Jerker, Canadian family and Mark and Kathy

Mark and Kathy

Lunch at Playa Dominical

This morning we set off from Manuel Antonio, with a short stop in Quepos, towards Hacienda Baru and Dominical Beach.

It was a nice drive. Roads were good and the distance was not too far. Just 44 km. We reached Hacienda Baru at 10:30 and registered for the Night in the Jungle Hike. The Night in the Jungle tour was pre-booked since quite a while, but we just wanted to let them know we were there before we took off for Lunch at Playa Dominical.

Dominical Beach is just 3 kms away from Hacienda Baru and it is a great surfing beach. However it is not so nice for the regular swimmer as you can see from the great waves (and the underwater currents which you cant see).

However I went for a swim first and then I spent the rest of the time to watch our stuff and work on making my pale nordic winter skin become less pale and more tropical just like these gringos:

For lunch we found a nice beachside Restaurant named Tortilla Flats where we ordered a casado each.

And we even have to cover up with a towel at a beach restaurant. Hrmf

Lunch was great and once done we went back to the car just to realize that none of the people that had arrived after us had considered that we were there just for lunch and the car owners were long gone by when we arrived. Hence. We were locked in. We had to find a few people with cars on the inside and maneuver through the palms and find a path through the sand to get out. Interesting, but we managed :D

Now we are back at Hacienda Baru and awaiting our night in the Jungle.

Driving from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio

From the Extreme Canopy Adventure we started driving back towards Santa Elena and then through the city and towards Sardinal.

We had about 2 hours of extreme driving on dirt and gravel roads with huge dust clouds each time someone passed us. Aircondition instaed of open windows was the solution.

Magnus drove most of the way from Santa Elena and I read maps as to where we were going. From Sardinal we drove onto the PanAmerican Highway and then we went towards Puntarenas, up towards Atenas and Oritina and then we finally turned towards Jaco Beach and the coast again.

From here on I was really surprised of how nice the roads were. Its not just that I have been driving on these bad gravel roads, but they are really nice. No holes and markings and good roads all over.

At Playa Hermosa we stopped for a swim in the ocean, to watch the sunset and to have dinner at “Dos Gringos” Cafe. Its quite a nice place to go.

Water was amazing and we had beautiful waves hitting shore forming perfect rip curls for the surfers. A beautiful view.

After dinner we hit the road again. This time I continued as a chofer. It was dark already and from there on the roads were still nice, but no lights along the road, no markings and cars coming towards us with full lights on made the conditions challenging. Some places they had reflexes and markings so at least you knew where to drive in your own lane, but other stretches had nothing. I drove slowly and cars kept passing us all the time. Oh well.

Finally we arrived at Quepos / Manuel Antonio around 9 PM and we chose a hostel called Vista Serena where the first person we run into is the only couchsurfer Magnus had sent a request for to stay with in Manuel Antonio, blaming that she didn’t understand how to reply the request… Having been an active member for some years… credibility sank quickly.

Anyways it was awesome to check in, have a shower and finally sit down. We got a private room with shared kitchen, living room and bathroom. The other room that we shared area with inhabited Jenni and Thomas, a nice US / Swiss couple.

Dinner at Playa Potrero with Swedish friends

I had planned to go to Playa Potrero to meet up with my friends Magnus, Belinda and Thomas today for lunch, but we had to have the car in for repairs and it was not returned to us until 2 pm, hence I was not able to start before either.

The drive to the beach was my first in Costa Rica and I haven’t driven for about 1 month so I was a bit nervous, but as soon as I got into the car and out of Liberia city center I felt better again. I also felt in the helpful mood and picked up 4 hitch-hikers on their way to the beaches. It was quite easy to find the way to the beach as all exits are marked with the right beaches and if you know more or less to which one you are going you just go to that one.

I arrived in good time for a fruit fika with Piña Colada and then we went down to the beach to watch the sunset.

Belinda, Magnus and Tomas at the beach.

After sunset we went to an American Restaurant, The Shack, where we had dinner. On our way there we met a nice cow that was probably more scared of Magnus than he was of it :D

At the Shack we got excellent food and excellent service! Some for all tastes :D

After dinner I had to return to Liberia. I had an hour and half ahead of me in the car and it was still my first day driving down here, so I felt I had to start.

The trip back home went quite well. I had to stop to feed the car some super and during parts of the road there were so few signs along the road that I seriously thought I had taken a wrong turn and gotten seriously lost. However I arrived back in Liberia around 9:30 and I was quite proud of myself that I have now taken my first drive outside of Norway!

Visits from France

The past 4 days I had visitors from Lille, France. Antoine and Laure came to visit me here in Oslo. Its been quite a while since last I saw them and it was great to catch up !

They arrived thursday afternoon and we enjoyed french cheese that they had brought from France as well as crackers and some fruit for evening snacks :D This was enjoyed in company of a nice bottle of red wine :D We had a great time catching up and talking and enjoying a great time.

Friday Morning I had a driving lesson and my two guests set off on adventures with the Oslo pass, visiting museums and parks around Oslo :D

One-time BBQ

I met up with them at 5:30 and we went to Frognerparken (the Vigeland Park), but first we stopped at a groceries store to pick up a BBQ, some lovely salmon and hot dogs :D

We also picked up bananas and chocolate for dessert before we went into the park. Due to the lovely weather the park was FULL of other campers that wanted to spend the evening bbq’ing and enjoying the sunny evening. Families, groups of friends, lovers, young, old, tourists and locals. There were so many people in the park we hardly found a place to sit down.

The fountain bowl is carried of 5 male bronze statues. It looks lovely in the sunshine.

When we were done eating our lovely meal, we walked around in the park and enjoyed the sunset – taking pictures and having fun. We walked all the way down to the National theatre where we got the train back home.

On saturday Laure et Antoine went for another day of sightseeing while I stayed in doing laundry and cleaning and organizing the apartment after a few weeks filled with action and not much time to stay at home.

I met my guests around 4pm and we went groceries shopping before we headed towards Bygdøy and Huk Beach. There we settled in in the sun and started preparing our meal. We had fresh baguettes and fresh shrimps with mayo and 2 bottles of white wine. A wine which was completely perfect for a sunny, nice day having shrimp at the beach !!!! Deinhard – Green Label Riesling is the name.

We had such a great time together at the beach. Antoine even went for a swim.

Antoine et Laure

We went home around 10ish and enjoyed the evening before we all went to sleep.

Sunday morning Laure prepared french crepes for us for breakfast. It was sooo good :D They left around midday and it was sad to see them go :( I had a great time with my frenchies !

 

Frozen beaches

Let me start by saying that today has been not only a little bit, but a whole lot better than yesterday!

I went in to the office today to meet up with Louise and Birgitte and my other colleagues. It was a great morning ! Louise and I went to lunch together before I went down to the beach at Fornebu to take pictures. I love spending time at the beach at Fornebu. Its just so soothing and calming to my soul. Sometimes I think I miss the open ocean outside Arendal where I grew up. I just love going back there both when the ocean is calm in sunny weather and on stormy, rainy days. I think its something you need to have grown up by the sea to understand :D

However today was really beautiful. The sea is not frozen yet, but every little puddle and pond was frozen rock hard :D
I guess that is part of the beauty of it :D Its so different from summer, but its still exactly the same :D
No way Im going in the water at least !

I liked being outside in the sun so much, and despite the cold (Temps were down to about -10C / 14F) I decided to walk back to the city. I stopped to take pictures several places along the road and reached the city just after 3pm. It took me about 2 hours in addition to the hour and half I had already spent at the beach, and when I reached my sisters house I was very happy to get indoors to warm up. As the nice sister I am I had brought her some nice dinner as she is down with pneumonea. It was really nice to spend time with her and I didnt leave her place until 8pm. Considering I had enjoyed my walk earlier so much, I continued walking towards home. I reached Alnabru before I gave up and take the bus the rest of the way. I think the highlight of getting home was to take that shower to warm me up :D and then falling asleep some hours later warm and comfy :D

Unfortunately the pictures I took didnt really turn out very good so no pics…

Psatha Beach with Kalli and Orestis

It is Saturday and my last day in Greece for this time. We woke up to another lovely day.

We had breakfast up at Kallis parents place. Kallis mom had mad some incredibly delicious sardines that we had while we waited for Orestis to come over to our place.

Once Orestis came, we saddled up the car, packed and prepared to leave to Psatha Beach, about 1 hour north of Athens.

Psatha Beach, Attica county, Greece

We had a lovely day. The beach was not overcrowded and the water was soooo lovely. What was fancy about this beach is that its all covered by small pebble rocks instead of sand.

The water was clear and warm and we went swimming several times throughout the day. Temperatures were around +32C and not a cloud to be seen.

They had a small beach shop nearby the beach where I went to buy some drinks for us and I found some cute sandals and a beach bag that I also bought.

When we got hungry we started our trip back to Athens. On the way home we stopped at the Ippokampos Restaurant. A lovely seafood Restaurant. Ippokampos means Seahorse.

Orestis, Kalliope and me @ the Ippokampos Restaurant

We had 4 different dishes that were so incredibly good. We got to choose our own fresh squid and it was just delicious ! …

It was such a lovely day.

Once we got home, Kalliopes mom had made the greek speciality Moussaka. A lovely dish. I didnt have the heart to tell her that I was full. I had to try it ! AND … It must be the best Moussaka I have ever tasted !!! Great.

We stayed in talking this night and I spent some of the time packing my suidcases. When Orestis left we went to bed.

Aegina, Greece 17 july

I woke up at 7 and got ready for another beautiful day in the sun. Kalliope gave me a ride to the metro station. I got myself a granita and some good breakfast in a nearby coffeeshop there and then I headed to the port of Piraeus again.

It takes a while to cross Athens in public transportation and just the metro ride took me about 45 minutes. However, once you are in for something good – the wait is unimportant !
I got tickets for the Nefeli ferry to Aegina at 10:00am. It was such a lovely day and I had a great time during the trip.

Once there I decided to walk around the port for a while and take pictures.
Aegina is a lovely place and there are so many colors everywhere!

Fishing boats in the harbour of Port of Aegina.

I had a lovely walk, I picked up some fruit from the sellers at the harbour and some good ice cream again. It was quite a hot day!

Why not turn your boat into a store selling fruit ?

I love these tiny streets where everything you can find for sale is displayed outside the stores to attract you to enter and they have lots of nice stuff I want to bring home :D

All kind of lovely honey, nuts and sweets for sale in Aegina.

Once I was done with the city of Aegina I started walking out of it and I found a nice beach, but I have been unsuccesful in finding out its name :D They were all listed in greek (which I until now have only learned 4 words of !!! ), but it was past the archeological site of Kolona.

The archeological site of Kolona

Once done discovering I went back to the nice beach from yesterday and stayed there for some hours. I had my lunch at the beach and went swimming several times. The rest of the day I spent reading my book and listening to music at the beach.

At 5pm I took the boat back home. This time I tried one of the speedboats (one of the flying dolphins xv) which saved me a lot of time, but robbed me from the joy of being able to spend the time of the journey in the sun.

I reached Piraeus and grabbed the metro home. I cought the bus the last piece of the way and when I arrived at Kalliopes area the sun was setting and I took some nice pictures of the sun setting over Athens from the Kipoupoli height. A totally lovely day.

At night Kalliope and I went out for drinks with a friend of hers, Orestis, at bar Meli. We had a great time and decided to go to the beach together tomorrow !
NIIICE. Another day that will be well spent in the sun !