Today is Día de la Madre (Mother’s Day) in Costa Rica, which means I get celebrated twice in one year! It is a national holiday so it is also a great time to take our first road trip as there will be fewer travelers on the road today. We decided we needed to head south to see some of the unique flora and fauna of Costa Rica before school starts, so we have a five and a half hour drive to Manuel Antonio ahead of us.

Stretching their legs after checking out our first amazing wildlife sighting.

As we neared Jaco we came across thirty plus scarlet macaws careening around and squawking in a tree. We had to pull over to take a closer look. I am bummed the lighting was so bad (stupid iphones), so the colors of the birds doesn’t come through here, but you get a sense of the playful cacophony.

As we got closer to Quepos we drove through this palm grove cultivated for palm oil. They use oxen to help work the grove and harvest the palm fruit.

The palm oil fruit.

La Mariposa Hotel stole our hearts with its incredible views, lush vegetation and close up wildlife encounters.

Because it is the rainy season here, we were able to plan this trip last minute.

Wind and rain arrived just in time for a memorable Mother’s Day dinner.

Check out my Mother’s Day bling! Lydia spied this necklace at a night market in Playa Flamingo and insisted that she, Tess and Dave go in on it equally as a gift for me. 💕