So it has been awhile since I have posted! The reason for this is that we spent alot of our vacation time here this summer:

I was so happy to have so much cottage time this summer.  We did alot of laying on the beach, reading and touring the Grand Bend area.

Saw some great storms come in from the lake.

Played in the sand.

And had alot of long beach walks.

 Places we loved in Grand Bend (and area):

Bayfield town centre (lots of cool shops)

Starlite Drive In

Archie's

Sunday Flea Market

Just a note: the food at the restaurants in not great.  We tried 5 different restraunts this summer and the food was mediocre at best in all of them.  Come for the beach not for the food!

Our last night

I am posting this over a week after we have been home but I just wanted to share a pic from our last night.  A dinner at El Arado - our favourite restaurant in MA.  A great way to end the trip.

And a pic of our pool the morning we were leaving.....ahh how I miss it!

Checklist Complete

Today we all went on a mangrove boat tour with Mau of Iguana Tours.  He was a terrific guide!

We started off the tour with some delicious fresh fruit and then headed out to the mangroves for a "two hour tour".  Adding to our animal list - several different types of herons and water birds (i'll have to look up their names), green and black iguanas, cool sea crabs, an anteater and a troop of capuchin monkeys up close right beside our boat.  We even saw a mom with her baby come right down beside us and drink.  This was our final thing to do off of our checklist - see a monkey up close.  It was awesome!  We then had an amazing casado lunch right beside the mangrove before they took us back to our house.  We plan to have an afternoon by the pool and hope that the howlers will pay us a visit again tonight!  Until tomorrow.......

Mono Titi by the pool

Mono Titi by the pool

Naturefest!

The last few days have been eventful!  We went on the night jungle walk on Wednesday with Emilio from Fincas Naturales.  It was truly amazing and the frogs were deafening.  We saw 9 different species of frogs (including Reilly's favorite the red eyed tree frog).  We also saw a snake, caimans, turtles, crocs and a kinkajou.  Many of the creatures we encountered are endangered so it felt very special.  Emilio was a terrific guide.

On the way to our night tour we spotted the endangered squirrel monkeys (mono titi), white faced capuchin and were very close to some howlers although we couldn't see them.  My parents who stayed back at the house saw a whole troop that night!  A very rare occurrence.  They howled outside our house until dark and then were there again in the morning.  It was a great sound to wake up too.

It was seriously a wildlife packed day!

A busy day

Last night we went up the road to see if the monkeys would come through at their usual 3:30pm to the el erado.  No monkeys but the owner of el erado restaurant let us try bananas just picked that day from her garden.  I  have never tasted a true banana I now realize.  Delicious!  After great chats with the owner we came back to the house for a swim.  We shared the pool with another family from Canada (vancouver) and they happened to have an 8 year old boy too.  Both boys compared notes on all the animals they had seen and then we were lucky enough to see a Jesus Christ lizard right by the pool.  Amazing to see these things run.

Heading out for dinner

This morning we awoke to the sound of howler monkeys close by.  Very eery sound.  Then while enjoying our morning coffee on the deck a flock (6-7) of toucans landed in the trees right beside our deck. 

Then it was off to the national park again where Reilly was able to rack up the following to his total animals seen: 5 sloths, 1 more toucan, 4 bats,  3 Jesus Christ lizards, 1 howler monkey, 2 parakeets, 2 vultures, 1 stork, 2 golden orb spiders, 1 red eyed tree frog, 1 giant crayfish,. Killer bee hives, iguanas, blue morpho butterfly and other butterflies, hummingbird in her nest and lots of unique plants and flowers.

Tonight we are off on a jungle night tour.  More on that tomorrow.

More Beautiful Weather....

Here is our little tree frog from last night.  What big eyes you have!

We woke up very early this morning and did a quick hike through the National Park.  Swam in the Pacific within the park and saw tons of hermit crabs and iguanas.  Within the rainforest part of the park we saw tons of birds, beautiful blue morpho butterflies and Jesus Christmas lizards.  I have great pics of a Jesus Christ lizard that will share when I have a better connection.  I am writing this while sitting by the pool having an Imperial.  Hope you are having a great day too wherever you are.

Little Lizard in Manuel Antonio Park

Hermit Crab

Searching for Crabs in Manuel Antonio

Found one!

The beach

Jesus Christ Lizard posing

And back by the pool at the end of the day

Exhilarating!

Path up the mountain

A fantastic few days.  Yesterday we went on a mountain/suspension bridge tour. It was exhilarating and terrifying all in one.  It started with a ride through palm plantations and then up the mountain in this modified atv type vehicle.  You can check it out at www.vacationbuggy.com.  After a very dusty ride up the mountain and some spectacular views we reached our destination.  Now in the picks on the web the suspension bridge did look terrifying, but nothing prepared me for actually being on the suspension bridge.  But, we did it and then had a short hike to a waterfall where you can swim at its base. Now we had to go back across the suspension bridge- even more terrifying the 2nd time!  I have to say though that our guide Don did actually make us feel safe the whole time. On the way down we had a delicious meal at a soda about half way down the mountain.  After an exhausting day we decided to eat in on our lanai and were treated to a toucan sighting and this very cool night tree frog all right on our deck.  Our deck geckos also made their nightly appearance.  Pura vida!

View up the mountain

Palm Plantation

100 Year Old Bridge

Leaves as big as Reilly

Before crossing the suspension bridge