Costa Rica. We started our vacation at Rio Perdido (rain forest with natural hot springs) and finished at the Gulf of Papagayo (Pacific Ocean side).
Our adventures included numerous hikes, zip lining over the canyons and waterfalls, river tubing (nothing like the water parks here, by the way…the required helmet was my first clue!) and of course time on the beach to recover 🙂
SO much wildlife: monkeys (including howler monkeys that sound like gorillas!), pelicans, iguanas, geckos, hermit crabs, raccoons, coatis (one of our regular pool visitors), and even whales!
One morning, we were kayaking on the amazingly clear water-  looking for sea turtles.  But instead, a whale slowly surfaced about 20 feet in front of us…and then her baby.
An incredible week of experiences.
Beach Report
Late yesterday, I walked the beach in Avalon from my office (28th Street), north to the jetty.
I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of damage from last week’s storm (see the 2 pictures below).
The sand added  during the recent replenishment (25th Street and north) provided a great buffer for the waves.  From 25th to 28th Streets, there are signs that the dunes were battered by the waves, yet the established dunes remain intact.
In Stone Harbor, the beaches experienced some erosion in the areas from 106th to 111th Street , as well as in the very south end near the Catamaran beach.  The Borough is working on smoothing the paths to allow safe access down to the beach.