Travara – the worlds first purpose-driven travel and lifestyle media platform to align with Sustainable Development Goals launched today. Check them out.
Hurricane Florence has devastated the entire eastern part of North Carolina. While there is significant damage to the area, we think our beloved happy place has been mostly spared. Bridges and roads in to town are flooded out, so we won’t know for sure until we are able to visit. In the wake of Hurricane Florence here’s what you can do to help:
Help The Red Cross. Find a blood drive near you here. Make a donation to the Red Cross recovery efforts here. Sign up to be a Red Cross volunteer in NC or SC here.
Support the Salvation Army’s Hurricane Florence relief efforts
Donate to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund here or by texting FLORENCE to 20222.
Register with the state of North Carolina to be a volunteer. They are urging people not to self deploy to the area, instead register and let them know how you can help so your skills can be best used. Check here for other volunteer opportunities in North Carolina.
The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina supports some of the hardest hit areas. Give to their efforts here.
The Diaper Bank of North Carolina is in need of supplies. You can donate to them here or purchase items from their Amazon wish list.
Check this article for a few other organizations you may consider helping, and some important reminders to think about before you donate to any unfamiliar groups.
Remember while many people are in need of material items, water, medicine, and non perishable food, cash donations can help ensure that organizations are able to purchase those items which are in the highest demand. They can also be purchased locally which can help to stimulate the local economy. Only donate material items to those organizations which are specifically requesting you do so.
To find the latest on power outages, road conditions, and storm cleanup in North Carolina.
Every time I hear this song on the radio I think of sitting on Sunset Beach watching the planes land at SXM
Would you go on the worlds longest cruise? 254 days. I. Would. Not.
Pack your bags and head for Alabama to check out America’s best restaurant. The James Beard Foundation annual awards were announced Monday. Check out all the other winners.
On the next day of our trip we met Jhonny bright and early in the hotel lobby to go on the Buena Vista Tour. Again, we can’t say enough nice things about Jhonny and he really made our trip, but we did not have an English speaking guide. We drove close to two hours to the area near Arenal Volcano, stopping at Llanos de Cortes waterfall on the way to check out the view. If this had been our only stop we probably would have gone in swimming, but thinking of being soaking wet in the car for the next hour or more did not seem fun so we opted for just taking a few pictures.
Llanos De Cortes Waterfall
After checking out the waterfall Jhonny was nice enough to stop and buy us fresh coconuts from a roadside stand. It was my first time trying fresh coconut water and it was so good! When we arrived for the Buena Vista tour a guide led us down 15 hanging bridges. We opted for the bridges over ziplining because we chickened out, but I think the bridges may have been just as scary if not more. We were high in the trees and the bridges shook and jumped with every move. We did see some monkeys and other animals so that was really neat.
Buena Vista Hanging BridgesJhonny!!#PIMPINJOY. Can you see how far the ground is below?
After surviving the bridges,we changed in to swimsuits and hiked up to the top of a water slide that had been built through the forest. It was so fun, it’s pretty long (about 500 meters) and really sent us flying down the hill it was built into. Then we were served a traditional Costa Rican meal. We then met up with the cowboys who got us ready to ride horses to a volcanic spring, where we were able to swim and relax.
This wrapped up the Buena Vista tour, and we headed back to the hotel. It was a busy and full day, but we loved having the chance to experience so many things in one place. After the two hour drive, we got back just in time to take in another beautiful sunset at the resort and order room service for dinner.
Most of the rest of the trip was spent at the resort. We took a shuttle in to Tamarindo on our second to last day to do some shopping and eat diner. We saw what was maybe the most beautiful sunset of the trip from the beach. Seriously the sunsets in CR were unreal, watching the sun drop right into the Pacific without a cloud in sight was so amazing. We stopped in a restaurant for the best shrimp and mango ceviche and just took in the views. We enjoyed the evening in Tamarindo, but I would say we had a better experience when we went the first time during the day. There were a lot of people on the beach and the sidewalks that were selling stuff and just generally harassing tourist, we didn’t have this experience during the day light.
We spent the final two days of the trip relaxing around the resort. Swimming in the pool, ordering food and drinks (and ice cream) by the pool, walking on the beach, and just being lazy. We went back and had dinner at Sabanero Steakhouse our last night. It was so nice to have the chance to relax and take it all in.
All the stars!! From the pool deck at night!
Costa Rica you sure were beautiful! We can’t wait to return! Any tips or suggestions for a return trip? Leave them in the comments. If you missed the first part of our trip, find it here.
