Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
its top above the thick foliage.
The waters nourished it,
deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
all around its base
and sent their channels
to all the trees of the field.

Ezekiel 31:3-4

So that was fun! The whole day in the Costa Rica rain forest was an amazing experience that went beyond exceeding our expectations.

We docked in Puerto Limon very early, and headed up into the Veragua Rain Forest and biodiversity research center well before we typically eat breakfast!

Rebekah and I were very impressed with the work being done both to raise conservation awareness and to preserve the critically important ecosystems of Central America.

So we took a bus up roads that would challenge most jeeps, we hiked a little, we rode in gondolas through the trees, we saw some very cool wildlife including a two-toed sloth, we learned a lot (excellent guides), and then we zip-lined through an extensive set of eleven separate spans running from tree to massive primordial tree…

This was a first time experience for both of us. It was fun, a little unnerving, exhilarating, educational, beautiful, and very interesting.

What I enjoyed the most was the sense of quiet and complete immersion, gliding through and under these enormous trees.

I will write in more detail once I get access to my desktop computer, and the images from the Nikon.

The rest of this story is about the lush beauty and the deep widespread poverty, both of which seem to define Costa Rica.

Travel is as much about learning as it is about anything; or at least it should be. Lord knows we all have some room to grow in that department.

We returned to the ship after a long but wonderful day. Then it was swimming, dinner, and a show.

In Costa Rica they call what we experienced – what Rebekah and I live – “pura vida” – the pure life.

If nothing else, this is great theology. Pura vida! – DEREK