July to October, Finland to NY to Costa Rica

As always, we spent July in Finland. Four weeks full of visiting family and friends, enjoying Finnish food and landscapes.

Tuomas and Jaakko in the forest. The enemies were attacking!!!

Solid as a rock.

Birch.

Pine.

Bug.

Sangria. Why not!

Linnea borealis.

On our way back to Costa Rica we stopped in NYC for three nights. It was a perfect way to get rid of some of the jetlag!

NYC is often associated with shopping and plays. Not when traveling with our family. We did some shopping at FAO Schwartz, long-awaited Lego's for the boys and spent a day at Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. Wow, what a place!!!

A real astronaut.

Tuomas and Jaakko inside the Gemini capsule.

Heaven for the boys!

Somebody had painted my portrait!

Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.

Yellow cabs' hiding place.

I love NY

I never thought I would fall in love with NY, but I did! Can't wait to go back!

After three days we continued our trip back to Costa Rica. The boys went back to school the next day. Guanacaste Day was celebrated with a traditional parade going through town.

Parade cows.

Basketball in the park.

Construction work started the next day after coming back. The mirador up on the third floor was partly redone, adding a bathroom, a shower, new floor tiles and a partial roof. The pool was emptied.

Ready for new tiles.

I made some manta rays and a sting ray for the pool.

The mirador almost ready.

You can probably see the bathroom door ajar inside the room. Probably the best view from a bathroom you can ever get. We put a couch and a chair under the fan. A beautiful spot to sit down and read or enjoy a sunset. Welcome!!!

View from the back of the garden towards the house.

Spanish boys and ours´playing by the creek.

We have met a wonderful Spanish family with three boys approximately the same age as ours. Perfecto!!!

September 5 we were scared by a 7.6 earthquake. Luckily nothing bad happened to our family nor friends. The house got a few minor cracks, but not all have been so lucky. Since then we have had smaller tremors that we have not felt, but also a couple of bigger shakes the we most certainly have felt! Scientists say that the first big one released most of the tension so it is unlikely that there will be a big one in the near future.

In late September we adopted a five month old street dog, Gordon Gekko. He is the cutest puppy around!

I can't see you. Go away!

Gekko with his girlfriend Ditsy.

Rainy season was pretty dry to begin with, but now at the end of October we have had plenty. One night we had about 10 cm in a matter of a few hours. Some leaks in the roof, but nothing alarming. Lightnings are beautiful!

ZAP!

Early morning in Coco.

View from the balcony.

I visited a butterfly farm. These jelly beans are actually cocoons.

Gently flowing creek.

A beautiful caterpillar.

Tranquil moment fishing on the beach.