When we packed up to come here, we left two wonderful little dudes at home under the care of a cadre of grandmas (of note, one of them is snowshoeing, talk about opposite vacations!). Well, it snowed back home and the guys got to enjoy some time in the snow.

Prior to going to breakfast, we went to Mi Cafecita, the resort’s cafe. Chris saddled up, admired the dual group La Cimbalta and Mahlkonig K30 (this espresso grinder makes ours look like tiny bananas!), and ordered a double espresso. The best way to judge the quality of the cafe is based on the espresso straight. All of the other coffee-based drinks are based on espresso, so you always want to try that first. The barista’s name was Arianna, which she remarked is like Adrienne, who ordered an iced green tea (no sweetner!).

The espresso was precisely how I like it – medium to medium rare roasted beans and no bitterness. Adrienne’s iced green tea was green and iced; it had a very pleasant layering of flavors which started with simply the sensations of cold and wet, moved into the subtle taste of green tea, and finished with some notes of jasmine.

After caffeine, we went up to Mis Amores for breakfast. Chris had smoked salmon eggs benedict. The hollandaise sauce was smooth and creamy and the English muffin cut easily, which is not the case for many Benedictine Eggs. The smoked salmon was light in flavor and blended in well. There was kale just above the muffin which wasn’t my favorite, but it didn’t stop me from eating it. I am a firm believer that you can judge a restaurant by the quality of their EB – they passed the test easily!

Adrienne had scrambled eggs and bacon. Nothing special, but got the job done. We had fresh-pressed pineapple juice and a plate of locally grown fruit – pineapple, giant Clementine, strawberries, blueberries, melon, and papaya. The fruit here is just not like we get back home, it just isn’t.

After breakfast, we explored the resort on foot. The resort is situated on the side of a very big hill, so parts of the paths are difficult on foot – not technically difficult, mind you, just a very steep incline. The resort has an army of golfcarts running around – you can always call the front desk and say you need a ride and a golfcart will be there in less than 5 minutes to pick you up and take you wherever. Because of the rapidly changing weather, each cart is fully-equipped with polyvinyl rain doors that roll up when it’s sunny and come down to keep you dry.

Plantains

We climbed up, up, up to a distant part of the resort where they have natural hot springs. Of course, we didn’t having swimming suits on or with us, so we just looked, but planned to head back there later in the trip.

Our resort is one of 3 that are all owned by the same parent company and connected. Ours is adult-only, but the one next to us (very close to our room, connected by a foot bridge) is family-friendly. Our lunch today was at another one of the related resorts at a restaurant called Ayla. The food here was fine – I would describe it as “pool-side country club fare”. Chris had a chicken gyro and Adrienne had a burger. The gyro wasn’t authentic, but it was still tasty. The fries were dusted in Za’atar seasoning – something that’s been on Chris’s list to try for about a month.

This restaurant has a wonderful view of Arenal, the volcano that the resort is situated near and that all the area owes its fertility to. Arenal last erupted in 1968 and it’s the one of three volcanoes that we have seen that actually looks like a volcano. Joseph has responded to this information very inquisitively – he asked us if we were going to see a lot of dinosaur bones (his nearly five year old mind associates volcanoes with dinosaurs, as all of the books and puzzles do) and, at one point, he was afraid for our safety (volcanoes are a very real threat to human life when you are nearly five).

We went back to the room for some rest in the afternoon to go on a nightwalk/frog-spotting tour in the early evening. That excursion get its own post!