Our vacation and engagement in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Hey Everyone, this is Genava writing my first official blog post for Reiner photography. I couldn’t be more excited to announce that Wil and I got engaged while on vacation in Costa Rica!

It probably goes without saying that since we are wedding photographers, we had to bring a decent camera. Here’s a few of our favorite shots from our vacation turned engagement in the diverse and beautiful region of Guanacaste, Costa Rica:

We spent the first couple of nights in Tamarindo, at Tamarindo Backpackers (pictured below).   It’s a fun place, there’s always music playing and it is filled with young travelers from all around the world.   We enjoyed some amazing cuisine at Fisch, enjoyed some nightlife, and went on a kayak tour of a nearby lava reef island where we snorkeled and saw some of the most beautifully colored fish.  Playa Avellanas

After a few nights we decided to head south to a place called Avellanas.   The waves are a bit more powerful there and there’s a lot less tourism in the area, which was exactly what we were looking for.  We stayed at hotel Mauna Loa, and we were really thrilled with the place.   It was amazing to have fresh fish and pasta prepared from scratch each night by our lovely Italian hostess, Anna.  The beach was just a short 10 minute hike from our private cabina, across a boardwalk that extends through an estuary.  On most days Anna’s dogs would travel with us to hang out and play in the water.

While in Avellanas, we also really enjoyed our visits to a beachside restaurant called Lola’s, where we were just steps from the beach and could watch the waves while sipping fresh fruit smoothies and feasting on more fresh fish!

On our second to last day, we traveled to Ricon de la Vieja national park and found a breathtaking waterfall that was perfect for swimming.

One of the things that impacted me the most in Costa Rica, was just how happy and friendly everyone was. Check out these guys packed in to the back of a work truck. They were truly loving life and yelled the country’s motto “Pura Vida!!” as our truck whizzed by them.

On our last full day in Costa Rica, unbeknownst to me, Wil had set up something really special for me. He hired our tour guides from the previous day’s waterfall tour to take us out to a remote surf break known as Roca Bruja (Witch’s Rock).  Wil had spent a lot of time camping here for surf trips in his early twenties and it’s a really special location for him. The ride in over rocks, down a mountain, through several rivers, and through some vast jungle mudpits was brutal, and was followed by a mile or more hike to the beach through the jungle.  This place is definitely hard to get to.

Here’s a shot of our tourguide Diego skillfully crossing a river, and below that a shot of Offi and Diego of OffiTours.

 I guess Wil figured if I could make it all the way out here, and loved the experience as much as he did, then we were truly meant to be—because later that day, in this tiny driftwood hut, he proposed to me. Of course I said YES!! We had a celebratory dinner at an amazing art gallery/restaurant called Cafe Liberia, where we had the best fresh smoothies, and as you can see even the food is a work of art!Heading home- a shot overlooking the two volcanoes jutting out of Lake Nicaragua.