"You are a lucky duck!" became the quote that could sum up pretty much any day on our trip. What started as a comment made during a game of phase ten ended up as a one liner that could turn the worst of moods upside down. Sure, traveling is absolutely a fun experience, but don't go thinking it's all sunshine and roses. There are 4 a.m wake up calls, roosters that wake you on the first day you can sleep in, and howler monkeys outside your window in the middle of the night. There are hours on chicken buses that never seem to move, and broken down mini vans in the middle of nowhere... thankfully the middle of nowhere has a restaurant. During those hours upon hours on buses there are hours upon hours without meals or sleep or bathrooms. There are also taxi rides to beaches during which the driver stops three times for directions, only to arrive at a place we can't afford. During these times, these moments of sleep deprivation and grumpiness, it was good to be reminded that we were all "lucky ducks!".
For three glorious weeks my husband Dwayne and I traveled Nicaragua and Costa Rica with our good friends Jen and Ben. We spent two very busy weeks in Nicaragua before crossing into Costa Rica for the more relaxed "holiday" portion of our trip. They are two very beautiful and very different countries. Every day we felt so lucky to be there. I would be writing forever if I tried to describe what we saw and loved about these places, so instead I will show you.
We began our trip in Nicaragua, flying immediately to the Corn Islands. The vegetation and humidity of Little Corn Island brought memories of Thailand flooding back. I love this climate!!!
The beach of Little Corn Island, above, and one of the cabinas at Elsa's below.
Big Corn Island (above and below) to the right and left of our hotel.
Laguna de Apoyo - a lake formed in the crater of a volcano. We hiked three hours uphill for this photo!
Volcano night tour, above the Masaya Volcano at sunset.
Looking down into the volcano at night, standing at the edge, no guardrail between me and molten lava!
Las Isletas, Lake Nicaragua - we took a boat tour to some of the islands. There are approximately 365 islands on this huge lake. The first two photos are taken on the "chicken bus" a two hour bus ride to get about 6 miles! We picked up mattresses and a refrigerator along with passengers on the way. These kids were so cute, and so very patient!
An extended family of about 40 people or so live on this island. We stopped in for some visiting and they served us coconuts. Our tour provider sent us with some photos for them taken by past tourists that had visited, as well as some clothes for the children. They were very grateful and excited!
These children are so beautiful! I wanted to take one home!!
They thought it was funny that I was taking photos of their rooster!
Not our boat, below, but we were on one similar...
Monkey Island, a small island home to five monkeys brought there by a local veterinarian. He visits regularly to feed them and keep them healthy. The males are friendly but apparently you don't want to get too close to the only female!
The streets of Granada, Nicaragua... We loved this gorgeous colonial city!!
I seem to be drawn to bikes around the world. I love this little "chopper"!
After Grenada we headed to the touristy beach side town of San Juan Del Sur.
Isla de Ometepe, Ometepe meaning between two hills, is an island consisting of two volcanoes. Concepcion stands at 1610m tall and Maderas at 1394m. Most people come here to climb the volcanoes, but climbing up to the San Ramon waterfall was enough for us.
La Fortuna, Costa Rica, another volcano town!!!
After La Fortuna we headed down to two of our favorite Costa Rican towns, Montezuma and Santa Teresa, to spend the last 6 days totally relaxing and enjoying the beaches. If you're wondering why this is our fourth time in this area, well, pictures speak louder than words!!!
this bird wanted my pancakes!
Our favorite little place in Santa Teresa, Casa Zen
At that concludes our three weeks of bliss! If you made it this far, here is our last couple of glimpses of ocean on the ferry to San Jose.
And that's it! Thanks to everyone who made it to the end of this incredibly long post!
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You may all recognize Sonya from my blog, she's graced these pages on three separate occasions, here, here, and here. She is Dwayne's cousins daughter, and I am lucky to also call her my friend. John and Sonya began dating shortly before Dwayne and I did, about five years ago. Sonya's been planning her wedding like every girl does, long before there was any proposal. As my 2010 wedding season continued to get busier and busier, Sonya and I impatiently waited for John to propose. She just knew it must be coming soon!!! I didn't want to miss this wedding, wether I was photographing it or there as a guest, I would have been SO disappointed if I couldn't attend. The call came from Sonya's mom Irene one day shortly after New Years. Sonya was ENGAGED!!!! ...and let the planning begin! I am so honored they have chosen me to be their wedding photographer!
What can I say?!?!? Yesterday Sonya, John and I went out to capture their engagement photos. We lucked out, to say the least, and were blessed with gorgeous frosty trees, mild temperatures, and a bright sunny day. We had such a fun time, I just can't wait to photograph this gorgeous couple on their wedding day!
In case you missed it, the slideshow is here.
Becky:
Kara these are so fantastic!! In love with that last shot!! looks like you guys had a blast!
Congrats John and Sonya!!
caroline thissen:
these pictures are gorgeous. i swear you get more and more talented. i hate that i'm in calgary, and have such a hard time booking a shoot with you. it is my hope for this summer. thanks for sharing these pics. although i don't normally comment on your blog... i look forward to seeing your new pictures all the time. great job kara.
(03.02.10 @ 09:56 AM)
sonya:
i love Love LOVE them all! you did such a stellar job capturing some really great moments. what a fun day we had! :)
(03.02.10 @ 10:26 AM)
Christine:
These pictures look great Kara!! Once again, great job!
(03.02.10 @ 11:29 AM)
Danielle:
Oh my gosh- these are INSANE!!! Killer shots! The steps shot is hilarious!
(03.02.10 @ 12:35 PM)
Krista:
Can't pick a favorite, Kara. You did a great job. Sonya has the most beautiful smile! :)
(03.02.10 @ 01:27 PM)
Carmelle:
These are AWESOME!
(03.02.10 @ 02:14 PM)
KIM:
Wow! Kara, these are great! I love the fourth one from the top! My favorite, but they are all great. Sonya and John make a great looking couple! Looks like a fun day!
(03.02.10 @ 03:23 PM)
Russ Dueck:
someone said "you keep getting better" and they are absolutely right! these are outstanding! great job Kara!!
(03.02.10 @ 10:53 PM)
Alison Wolfe:
Absolutely fantabulous! I love the picture in the slideshow with the one big tree in the background. Johnya - you guys are awesome ;)
(03.03.10 @ 01:23 PM)
laurie:
kara... these are seriously amazing!! love the fun, loving feeling in them. (and the camper is pretty cool too!!)
(03.06.10 @ 11:50 PM)
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What an incredibly gorgeous day! John, Sonya and I headed out this afternoon for their engagement session and we couldn't have asked for better February weather. I love it! Here's a just a teeny tiny peek at our day, more to come later this week!
Natasha Peters:
These look great, Kara!! What a cute couple...can't wait to see more pictures :)
(02.28.10 @ 11:43 PM)
Amanda Sakundiak:
uhmmmmmmmmm. wicked pics girl. drop it like it's hot is right. i love it. keep it up and come to saskatoon so we can hang out. love ya.
(03.01.10 @ 12:09 AM)
Becky:
Yaaaay! I was hoping you'd have a preview of these pics up! Can't wait to see the rest! That last one is so cute!!
Erika:
These two are so CUTE! I love the processing and the unique location!! beautiful!!
(03.01.10 @ 09:16 AM)
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I'm not sure if I'm excited or sad to tell all of you awesome couples out there this news, but I am completely booked up for the 2010 wedding season! I can hardly believe it myself! With a tiny bit of room for camping (so that my own marriage lasts another wedding season), my weekends are filled.
Thanks to all the early birds out there that have booked me, and to those of you who even considered booking me. I'm so sorry I can't take you all, but I try to keep my wedding numbers down to ensure my clients the best possible photographer I can be! Nobody wants me showing up tired for their wedding day!
I still have lots of room for grad, maternity, and family portraits, just send an email my way!
Thanks again, I can't wait to start sharing these 2010 weddings with you all.
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Back in the spring I put out a call on facebook looking for girls 16-22ish to come out for a session with me so I could put some advertising together for senior/grad photos. Jordana's sister Courtney is a friend of mine on facebook and she immediately suggested Jordana for the job. Well, things got busy both for Jordana and for me, and we had a tough time finding a day that worked for both of us. Finally we found a day that worked, and met up for a few photos. We were rained out early, but we still got quite a bit done. By the time we took the photos however, I was full into grad and wedding season and haven't had time to use them for their intended purpose or even look at them until now.
So, finally, here's a few pics from my Spring session with Jordana:
Carmelle:
She is beautiful & I especially like the B/W and the second from the bottom!
(02.26.10 @ 09:57 PM)
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Kara,
(03.14.10 @ 09:50 AM)these pictures are absolutely unbelievable!
I've always wanted to travel to Costa Rica, now I know I must travel to Costa Rica!! Stunning images. I love the B&W of the tree!
(03.14.10 @ 12:38 PM)Love that pic of the lone tree on the hill....that is definitely a piece of art that belongs on someone's wall!
(03.14.10 @ 12:56 PM)Kara! Sooo fun to re-live the trip through the eye of your camera! I love the way you captured so many of the things we loved! I may want to make some of these art for MY walls!!
(03.14.10 @ 01:57 PM)Oh My Sister... you are so incredibly talented!! These are amazing!! I love the last beach shot from Sta Theresea....makes me want to go back so badly.
(03.14.10 @ 07:25 PM)P.S. I find it extremely ironic that you like to photograph bicycles when you don't like riding them! :-)
these pictures speak volumes about your trip! definitely loved the tree on the hill shot. so gorgeous!
(03.14.10 @ 10:59 PM)Wow Kara, I felt like I was flipping through a National Geographic magazine looking at your pics! Amazing talent!
(03.16.10 @ 05:15 PM)I've never commented on one of these before. But seriously Kara I feel like....wow I know the girl who took these pictures.....ya no big deal....she's amazing. I loved every one of them. Your talent has just exploded!!! You are amazing. I miss you lots and hope to see you again really soon.
(03.17.10 @ 08:53 AM)what an amazing trip! loved looking at your photos.... they are beautiful Kara!
(03.19.10 @ 02:01 PM)You've got IT!
(03.19.10 @ 03:03 PM)Lovely photo's Kara. The ones of the kids in the black and white..yellow..purple.. are beautiful.
(03.19.10 @ 06:30 PM)These are amazing photos. I love what you've captured!
(03.26.10 @ 02:12 PM)Your pictures are stunning. Makes me want to go there.
(03.29.10 @ 10:57 PM)Kara, I especially love the pictures you took of the children as it captures such genuine feeling. I'm amazed how you are able find perfect timing to take pictures. You have an extraordinary gift to be able to pick up a camera no matter where and when and work magic.
(04.16.10 @ 10:56 PM)