A Dental Retreat

April 12-15, 2018

Every year in Guatemala, the missionary dentists tried to take a few days to get away for a dental retreat.  Such a hiatus allowed all of us to relax while mending and cementing stronger ties to our fellow dental missionaries. In 2018, we chose Costa Rica as our retreat destination.  Costa Rica was part of our Central America Mission, and we arranged spectacular accommodations at very reasonable pricing.

We arrived in San Jose, capital of Costa Rica,
and stayed the first night in a beautiful motel
not far from the airport.

We knew that our grandson McKay was serving his mission in Costa Rica, but at his mission president's request, we intentionally avoided contact with him so as not to interrupt his focus. However, we were able to bring down a backpack and a few supplies. The morning after our arrival, we left these items with a missionary couple who would later that day deliver them to McKay.

It was fun to see people who actually knew Elder Simmons
and who had great things to say about him.

All eight of us loaded into our rental van
and took off for the Natural History Park.
(Julie and Bob are shown with us here.)

The Natural History Park is a wildlife sanctuary. There, we saw native animals including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects and birds.

                

  

                       

   

 

The weather was very pleasant.
We even had a little mist roll in to cool us down.

     

Larry and Shaun Hogge.

That evening, before dark, we drove across Costa Rica and down the Pacific Coast. We had arranged for a VRBO home on the hillside overlooking the Pacific shoreline.

From below, you can see the house, nestled in the trees.
The location was nothing less than breathtaking.

Looking out the window of our VRBO. What a view!!!

The next morning, we drove into the town of Jaco Beach and rented four-wheelers to tour the countryside.

What a blast we had!

We drove our four-wheelers to the top of a nearby mountain
where we could look out over the ocean.

At the top, Lonna Jergensen
stood beside a couple of really weird trees growing there.

We even let Trudy drive.
Hang on, Dad!

Larry and Jay enjoyed the slippery, steep, winding road
down to a pretty little waterfall.

As we completed our excursion,
on our way home we discovered this totally yellow field--
a field made up, not of fallen leaves, but fallen blossoms!

The pool! What can we say about the pool?
 Every evening, back at the VRBO, we could soak, swim, and relax there.
Simply amazing!

The following morning, we walked along Jaco Beach.

Then we took a scenic boat ride on a large local river.
The guide said we'd see some amazing things.
He was right!

"Look! There in the weeds; It's a crocodile!"

"There are lots of crocodiles out here. Don't fall overboard."

The guide then pulled the boat to the shore, got out, and standing in the river almost up to his knees, fed fish guts to a fourteen-foot-long crocodile. "Ya gotta be kidding me!"

One slip, and he's a dead man! Those crocs can snap you in half in a mili-second. It was one of the most daring things we had ever witnessed.

Dancing with a crocodile. "But, sir, doesn't anyone ever get hurt doing this for a living?"

Our guide showed us his deformed hand and told us a personal story.
Once, a few years before while feeding a crocodile, the croc had viciously
grabbed the guide's hand in its powerful jaws. The crocodile pulled the man
under water and began a death spiral. Only by desperately thrashing and punching
did our brave guide escape. And even though he escaped with his life,
the mangled hand required months of reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation.
Wow! That's a dangerous occupation!

The adventurous part of our retreat now over, we welcomed a day of rest. On Sunday, on our way back to San Jose, we found an LDS building and attended our meetings there.

We met missionaries who knew McKay.
One Elder had even been his first companion.
We're sure McKay will enjoy seeing pictures
of these missionaries when he returns home.

We also had an opportunity to see the Costa Rica temple.

Back in San Jose,
 we drove to the airport and flew back home to Guatemala.
 We had a wonderful time during this special dental retreat.