Waterfall Hike in Costa Rica

Here are a couple of blog entries from Mickey and J.P. We were anchored out in Bahia Santa Elena, Costa Rica for about a week and went totally off the grid.  They were subjected to some hiking, swimming, and gorgeous sunsets...poor kids. It should be noted that they were required to use an example of personification and a simile in this blog entry....again, poor kids!!!

Enjoy!

 

 

Mickey took this photograph after pulling into the anchorage at Bahia Santa Elena.

 

 

 

Easy One Mile Hike

By Mickey

 

Hello Readers!  Earlier this week we went on an "easy one mile hike." It was about 9:00 in the morning when my mom announced that we were going on a hike with our friends, Michael and Diana to a waterfall.  Supposedly the guide book said that it was an "easy one mile hike!".  We had to row a half a mile, but halfway there we caught a ride with our friends.  My family arrived at the beach in about 10 minutes instead of 30. When we got to the path, it wasn't quite a path. It was a river and we were pounding upstream!!  After a full hour, we finally go there. So much for an easy one mile hike!!

 

It was a beautiful waterfall and it looked like it was throwing buckets of water into the lake.  Also, we could drink the fresh water.  We swam next to the waterfall and had snacks of crackers, sandwiches, and cookies.  Then it was time to go back.

 

It was A LOT easier on the way back. We got to the road in only 15 minutes. Now THAT is an easy one mile hike! When we got to the dinghy, we caught a ride with Michael, but his engine broke down halfway there.  Thankfully, we saw Heather and Ron in their dinghy (they are the friends we got a ride from on the way there). Before they could get to our dinghy, I surprised everyone by jumping into the water! It felt soooooo good!! After I got up on the dinghy, they towed us back to our boat and I got in the water again. It was a great day!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waterfall Hike

By J.P.



 

Hello Blog Readers! A couple of days ago me and my family went on a lovely hike. The Costa Rica guide book said it was a easy one mile trek.  It was really a difficult three mile hike.  When we got into the dinghy we couldn't start the engine (long story). My dad rowed us for a little bit then Sundancer's dinghy came in and towed us. Once we got there we waited fro Michael and Diana for about five minutes.

 

The first leg of the hike we looked for the service road. That didn't take us long. Then we found it and we saw HUGE animal prints!  Michael (our friend, who came with us) found me a cool walking stick. After that, we found the river. We walked upstream. There were really big spiders! Dad (Ben) said there was nothing to worry about, but those were big!! There was really slippery moss, so it was harder to walk.

 

Finally, we arrived at the waterfall. It was my first time at a real waterfall, so to me, it looked like a person puking blue something.  The rocks were like little freckles on human skin. The water was so clear I bet if the rocks were 20 miles deeper, you could still see the bottom.  We had  an awesome lunch there. About half of my favorite foods were there. After that, we took a dip in the waterfall. The water was SO clear. I can't say it was crystal clear because I've never seen a crystal before!  After that I started skipping rocks then got board. Two minutes later, we headed back.

 

Going back down the river was as hard as it was coming there. Once we got back to the beach Michael and Diana were nice enough to tow us.  But after a couple of minutes, their engine overheated. So we rowed a while then Sundancer, Heather and Ron, towed us with their ten horsepower engine (which is a lot for a dinghy engine). That was a really fun hike.

 

 

 

 

 

As we pulled into the anchorage, there was a beautiful rainbow. Welcome to Costa Rica!!

 

Above photo credits go to Mickey!!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Visit to Ms. Johnson's Class

Visit to Molly’s Classroom

By Mickey

    On September 13^th we went to my mom’s friend’s classroom. It was a very nice school with a massive whiteboard. There were about 25 kids in the classs. The kids were extremely nice and so sweet.  The room number was 3 and Ms. Johnson, the teacher, would yell, “Who has it better than Room 3?”

    And everyone says, “NOBODY!”   It is from Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers coach.

    There were many things to do like dominoes and other activities. One of the students was doing the Baja Ha-Ha! She was going to do it in a few weeks!!! Also, we talked about our trip. We answered questions, helped with papers, played with the 1^st graders and talked about this blog.

    Well, I better be going. Bye!

Visit to Ms. Johnson’s Class

By J.P.

     Today I went to Ms. Johnson’s class. Me, Mickey and my mom went because we helped out. There were 25 kids at the class. It brought back a lot of first grade memories. I helped out a little. I wrote Ms. Johnson’s name on her books and showed the kids pictures of our boat.

    

     Ms. Johnson’s real name is Molly. Sometimes Molly would yell, “Who has it better than Room 3?”

    Then everybody would yell, “Nobody!”

    Their room is three. There was a girl there who was doing the Baja Ha-Ha. The Baja Ha-Ha is a sailboat race from San Diego to Mexico. I was so surprised!

     That’s all! Bye!

By Mickey Doolittle

Current Location: San Mateo, CA


Hi! We are back in the States right now.  Sorry I haven't written in such a long time. I really wanted to make my own movies so I asked my friend, Zach, who is a Apple genius, and he said Stop Motion Studios is the best app to use!

This is my video taking place five years after Return of the Jedi. Darth Vader has returned as a clone. The Jedi must stop him before he recreates his new empire.

You may have to turn your computer screen....sorry about that!!!

Coming Back to the U.S.

The boys wrote these a few days before leaving El Salvador....we have since flown home and are now back in the Uinted States, enjoying all of the things they were looking forward to....


Current location: San Mateo, California, U.S.A

Hi again; J.P. here! Me and my family are taking a trip back to the United States! I’m looking forward to the food there that I can’t get here in El Salvador. One thing is there’s ice cream that I can’t get here. And we will have a freezer to save ice cream! I’d also like to go back to McDonald’s. Another restrant I’d like to go to is Burger King. A bad thing is they don’t have papusas.

One other thing that I’m looking forward to is my cousin’s dog, Jackson. I’m looking forward to playing with him, feeding him, NOT picking up his poop, racing him and playing catch with him. He also does this thing I like to call treat circle. You just hold a treat over his head and he’ll do circles!
Another thing I’m looking forward to is the weather. It is REALLY hot here!! There’s also nice rain in the States. Rain water is good to drink. There’s also rainbows there!

We have 15 cousins back in the States. Our uncle’s pool is nice. I also would like to visit all of their houses. Here’s some examples; the Buccinio’s, Uncle Pat’s and Aunt Susan’s, Nana’s, and Jerry’s house. Well, guess  I’m done now!  Bye!

J.P. Doolittle

Going Back to the U.S.

By Mickey Doolittle

We are going back to the U.S. for the summer. I am looking forward to Twain Harte. Every year my twelve cousins and I go there. Every day we play mini golf. It is the most awesome course ever. Also, we go to Twain Harte Lake every day;  swimming, sand castles, snacks and the best ice cream in the world (except Baskin Robbins). It is a neat place!

I am also looking forward to Giant’s games. We are going on the 28^th! We are going with a few family members. Weeeeeeeee!   But my favorite part of Giant’s games is joining the crowd and slapping random people high fives when they score a run.

I am most looking forward to seeing all my friends and family. I haven’t seen them for 8 months. I also used to spend every day with my P.E. teacher, Ms. Pam. So I can finally hang out with her.

The food in the U.S rocks! There is a chicken called Orange Chicken and it has this sauce. It is a little spicy, but is really good! McDonalds in the U.S. has the 2 cheeseburger meal. 2 cheeseburgers with fries!!! Bingo! I guess that’s it! I will enjoy.

We'll have to trade in our dinghy for a car for a while.....

Rush hour traffic may be a little different too!



No more riding in the back of pickup trucks either!



We will miss our house on the water....

It's no McDonald's play structure, but hammocks are way cool!!

The view is better than McDonald's, too!!

Current location:  Bahia del Sol, El Salvador

By J.P. Doolittle

Hi again; J.P. here! Me and my family went on a trip to Santa Ana for a volcano trip. We went to a good hotel and a bad one for somewhere to stay. First, we went to the bad one. There were a lot of cockroaches! We were excited because there was a T.V. There were nice cushioned beds, but a little bit small. There was even a hole in the bathroom.  That day we went to the rainforest and when we got back we went to the good hotel!

It was nice and big! There was big T.V. with lots of channels. There was good internet. There were two beds that were also cushioned. There was a restaurant and a breakfast buffet. There were no cockroaches!! There was also a big pool! We spent the night there. After we woke up, we had breakfast then left for the volcano!

The volcano was covered with green!! We had a tour guide help us and show everything to us. When we started the walk around the crater, it was very green. There were massive trees! It was nice and cold. There were yummy berries off the plants. We didn’t use a vehicle because there wasn’t any.

When we got done, there was BIG FOG! You couldn’t see a thing! Me, Zach, Ben and Mickey walked in and out of the fog so it was like we appeared and disappeared. After that we went on three busses to the marina. That’s all for today!! Bye!

Inland Travel

The other day we went on a big trip to the volcano in Santa Ana. There were two options for hikes; a four hour hike up the volcano or a 45 minute hike around a crater. Our friends left the hotel at 7:00 a.m. because Aaron, Nicole and Zack took the four hour hike. We left at 11:00 a.m. because we took the 45 minute hike.

When we got there, it was foggy and warm. It was up in the mountains. Me and my family walked up to a tour guide and he said, “It will be a contribution for a tour guide.” It was a fair deal so we took it and started. Halfway through it was glorious and the trees started to get bigger as we walked. We were getting into the older part of the forest. When it was done, I met up with Zack, Aaron and Nicole and headed back to the hotel. The trip was very fun.

When we got back to the hotel, I flopped down on the couch and started to play with my new IPod Touch!  Our room had clean bathrooms and air-conditioning. Also a flat screen T.V., Wi-Fi, power, HOT showers, pool, and a restaurant. To me it was like heaven!

The next morning, we got on a bus and headed to Apateca, a town near a rainforest. We took a hike up to a lake and had pupusas for lunch. I watched the locals play soccer and swim. On the way down, we caught a ride on a truck. Apateca was a nice town.

Finally, it was time to catch the bus back to the marina. We took the direct bus; it took about 7 HOURS to get back. At one point, I looked over to my mom and whispered, “I am so ‘beepin’ HOT!” But after 7 hours of sitting, we made it. As soon as I saw the pool, I took off my shirt, put down my bag and I was wet in half a second. Well, I better go eat lunch.

Hasta la bye-bye!

Written by

Mickey Doolittle

 Cerro Verde Volcano...it means Green Hill.

At the National Volcano Park

The bad hotel with cockroaches.

We found this baker making pan dulces. They were warm and good! 10 cents each!

The cathedral in Santa Ana.

The lake we hiked to near the rainforest.

A lady had a pet racoon on a leash.



There was a stormtropper in the hostel in Apateca.

The Volcano National Park. The fog rolled in.

Soon, we will have to say good-bye to our good friend, Zack from Panache as he sets sail across the Pacific Ocean. The boys decided to write him a good-bye poem to send him off with well wishes.  We will miss you Zack!!!

We Loved Hanging Out With You Zack

By Mickey and J.P. Doolittle - s/v Knee Deep

 We loved hanging out with you, Zack.

We wish we could return to The Shack!

Those corn dogs and burgers were really good,

we would go back there with you if we could.

We loved hanging out with you Zack.

“Angry Native” the ocean is yours to attack.

It was really fun crossing the bar,

Panache was going as fast as a car!!

We loved hanging out with you Zack.

You are as funny as Jack Black.

It was fun singing with you at karaoke.

When we met you we were full of glee!!

 We loved hanging out with you Zack.

At the Baja party we gave you a whack.

As Jedis, devils, princess and Wookies,

We all set sail for the high seas.

 We loved hanging out with you Zack.

We will miss your jokes and giving us flack.

Please keep in touch with us,

but if you e-mail do not cuss!

Jedis slaying the devils at the Kick-off Baja Ha Ha Party way back in San Diego.

Roaming the streets of Huatulco, Mexico.

Visiting a coffee plantation in Chiapas, Mexico.

 Rafting up with Panache in Barra Navidad, Mexico.

"The Band is Breaking Up" good-bye dinner in Bahia del Sol, El Salvador.

Acapulco Divers

Current Location:  Bahia del Sol, El Salvador

Ooops! We found an old blog entry the boys wrote back a few months ago when we were in Acapulco. Enjoy! We have one more video to post...but will do it tomorrow....slow, slow internet here!


Hi everybody! I went to Acapulco Diver's Show a few days ago. The divers walked through the crowd and jumped into the water. They climbed up the cliff and split up. Then they dove off like crazy freaks!!

We stayed at Acapulso for a few days so we also got to go to Starbucks. Starbucks is a coffee shop, but the BEST one! They have air conditioning, lemon bread, everything! We stayed there for a while and then we went to Burger King.

Then we went back to our dinghy at the dinghy dock. The guys that looked after our dinghy charged us something like 200 pesos! So we paid up. I love Acapulco!

Written by Mickey Doolittle





The Acapulco cliff divers were really cool. They jumped off about 100 foot cliffs. It was about a 30 minute show. They did all sorts of flips. Normally, when there is one diver, he does a flip. When there are 2 or 3 divers, they dive. The last diver jumped off the top of the cliff. He did a flip and it was AWESOME!! Cliff divers are really cool!!


Written by J.P. Doolittle






Video of the cliff divers climbing up...no stairs, harnesses or anything!!!