Thanksgiving!

"Feliz dia de Gracia! Happy thanksgiving!!"

I greeted the other employees at the hotel, in a very festive mood Thursday morning...

the response... "we don't celebrate that here..."

Well Praise God for a group of expats who do! Our church got together out at the finca (the Blue Banyan Inn farm) to celebrate thanksgiving together. We had almost 50 people come, and everyone brought a dish. I made a make-shift green bean casserole... and because you cant buy cream of mushroom soup in a can, I made it from scratch! I know. Impressive.

We had a wonderful time sharing and playing at the finca. The farm has mountain views and an incredible pool, as well as beautiful facilities. Jim and Barb, who go to our church, were gracious enough to host! We couldn't have asked for better accommodations!

The Buffet: Everything from turkey to cranberry sauce!

We ate in the dinning room of the Blue Banyan Inn... it was incredible!

Moxi, our pastor, enjoying his rib... he's Scottish, didn't really get into the turkey and gravy

All of us at the bar, stuffing ourselves!

The BEAUTIFUL pool at the finca.... we swam BEFORE we ate, everyone was way to bloated to hope in after dinner!

Barb, the hostess, made Sangria with fresh fruit! Cata and I enjoyed!

This is Tiki... resident parrot at the Inn.
He knows how to say "Barb" and "Hola" and how to do flips.

6.2 Earthquake

Before moving to Costa Rica, I had never experienced an earthquake before in my life. Over the past two years, it has become normal to feel small shakes that rattle the windows for a few short seconds.

Last night, an earthquake registering 6.2 on the Richter Scale hit the near the Pacific Costa Rican/Panamanian border. Even though that is over two and a half hours away from Quepos, we felt the effects! There was a good 30 seconds of shaking... the biggest I have experienced. I have heard that there were very few injured by the quake. They are projecting more core movement in the next few days... but nothing too serious.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j6U3SIe2xtJQdfeJ9zln57FfmRLQD94I1DJ81

The Cow Parade comes to Quepos

Many of you may have seen the Cow Parade that was in Chicago years back. These cows have become a favorite work of art at sights around the world. This past year, the Cow Parade came to San Jose, including cows "canopying" through the central park and painted as lime green rain-forest frogs. A smaller group of about a dozen cows is touring the country. Last weekend, these cows made it to Quepos, so Christi and went to the pier to check it out.

The Beach Babe... we thought it was the most fitting for us to take our picture with.

Mariana, our small companion was cashed out for most of the trip... but when she saw this cow....

... she literally started shrieking with delight. hilarious.

All of the cows were on display at the pier, which offered a beautiful backdrop

A cow using the gas mask of "life"....

Glam

The cow-Bull

The Cat-Cow

The Graffiti cow... Words like Esperanza (Hope) and Libertad (liberty) were spray-painted on

Okay. I dont know what this is. but I find it humorous that there is a back-trap door.

"The cows are works of art. Don't touch them. Take care of them."

The Green One

The Milk One

This one reads "Vaca Up"... Get it?

Work it!


And this... this is the cow that the owners of the Blue Monkey Hotel (where I work) want to buy to put in front... logical that it is blue... I'll keep you posted if it happens...

For more cows... Google Cow Parade Photos Costa Rica.

Or check out the official website...

http://www.gpovallas.com/cowparade/