Scott Wisher's Costa Rica Page


	Costa Rica - January 2007

In mid-January, Carrie and I took a trip to Costa Rica, partly to attend Craig Jones's and Shelly Pacheco's wedding at Playa del Jaco, but also to check out this beautiful country. While I updated the website with pictures and links, Carrie put together a journal narrating the highlights of our trip. Hope you enjoy.

Day 1, Thursday Jan 18th – The Long Journey
Our day started at a red-eyed 4:15 AM. Scott and I had our bags packed, clothes laid out, and all checklists marked from the previous night, banking on the fact that there would have limited cognitive abilities at this hour in the morning. In a rare state of punctuality, we were out of the house by 5 AM and on our way to DIA. On the drive over, we were starting to wake and feel the excitement for the upcoming trip. We were heading out of the country with 10 full days of vacation ahead. Earlier on, Scott had mentioned that he didn’t know if he could handle being away from work for that long. I just laughed, knowing that all you need is one really good, long trip under trip under your belt to change that thinking forever.
Our journey to Central America was long, but relaxing. We had a quick trip to Phoenix, where we would spend a 4 hour layover. We entertained ourselves at the Phoenix airport playing gin rummy, backgammon, and making friends with the bartender at the US Airways lounge. Later, in order to get some exercise and escape the clutches of daytime TV (Jerry Springer was playing in the lounge – yikes!) we strapped on our packs and hiked the full length of the Phoenix airport. This 30 minute excursion was the most movement we would have for the rest of the day. From here on in, it was all about indulgence.

By the grace of the travel gods, we were upgraded for all legs of our trip. This came as a nice surprise, as we got notice only days before we were ready to depart. Being in first class – and not being kicked out for not having an official seat assignment - was a new experience for Scott. We took full advantage of our accommodations, and pretty much ate and drank for 5 hours straight en-route to San Jose. We finally reached our destination at around 9 PM local time. We picked up our rental car, got directions, and navigated our way into San Jose without incident. You could not help but notice a Quiznos, KFC, BK, and Denny’s on our way to the hotel (the, eh-hem, Holiday Inn). We decided to crash early and move on to Jaco first thing Friday morning.
Day 2, Friday Jan 19th – Roady to Jaco
We woke up Friday morning and packed our bags for a quick departure. Before we took off however, we decided to grab some breakfast and take a quick jaunt around the city. There was a little soda around the corner from our hotel where we managed to order breakfast by employing our limited Spanish skills (although I admittedly complicated things by making a substitution, as Scott sat by shaking his head). We had a traditional Tico breakfast comprised of eggs, gallo pinto, fruit, and fried plantanes. After breakfast, we walked through the center of town and grabbed a few pics of the Capital city.

We got back to the hotel before noon, checked out, and got on the road. Scott did a great job navigating the highways of Costa Rica. I have to say, while the natives of this beautiful country are generally a kind and gentle people, something about getting behind wheel of a vehicle causes them transform into raging lunatics. Another interesting phenomenon is that it is perfectly normal to see vendors roaming the lanes of the major roads and highways w/ fruit, toys, and trinkets for sale. Here is a picture of vendors selling their wares in front of the toll road on the Pan American Highway.
The drive down was beautiful. Once we started heading south toward Playa del Jaco we picked up a coastal route that winds its way down a mountain pass to sea level. San Jose, which we now refer to as the Kilometer-High City, sits a 3,200 feet above sea level. Our descent to the coast was stretched over about 115 km, making for an ear-popping drive, marked with gorgeous rolling hills, and quick glances at the Gulf of Nicoya. Here and here are a few snapshots of the scenic drive.
Once we reached Jaco, we stopped at a look-out point to take in view of the beach that we would enjoy over the next couple of days. We then made our way to the beautiful Club Del Mar hotel, where the wedding was being held. After checking in and saying hello to the bride, groom and other wedding goers, we enjoyed a walk on the beach and some poolside R&R.
That night, we had dinner at a Argentinean restaurant in downtown Jaco, before meeting the rest of the wedding party at a local bar. The restaurant served great seafood, and our favorite Costa Rican brewed libation – Imperial beer. Scott ordered a tuna steak, while I opted for the red snapper. As our dishes were served, I guess I was a bit shocked as I came – literally – face to face with my meal. While I took Scott up on his gracious offer to switch plates, I did try a bite of the whole snapper, and must report that, despite the woeful look in it's eyes, it packed a delectable flavor.
The rest of the night was spent at a local karaoke bar – a lively joint called the Jungle Bar. We listened to Ticos sing their local favorites in Spanish while drinking $1.50 bottles of Imperial and playing pool with a few other travelers, including a couple of Aussies. Little did we know, our paths would cross with these mates again at a later point in the trip.

Day 3, Saturday, January 20th – The Wedding
We woke up around 9:30 at the hotel – early by vacation standards. In true beach-bum style, we skipped the shower, threw on our bathing suits, and headed into town for some breakfast and beach combing.
We were getting better and better at ordering meals as the trip went on. This time started with a gorgeous fruit plate filled with papaya, pineapple, bananas, watermelon and berries. The fruit in Costa Rica is fresh and flavorful. We were soon a big fan of their oranges which are deceiving green and yellow on the outside, but ripe and juicy on the inside.
After breakfast, we took a long walk on Jaco’s shores. As we walked along collected little stones, shells, and pieces of coral, we soon began to discover these little shards of discarded tile washed up on the beach, which we began to call “paint,” due to the irony of having toxic paint-bearing debris littering this breathtaking beach. Despite our surprise at the presence of this “paint” on the shores of the beach, we found it to be quite pretty. So we decided to do the beach and ourselves a favor by collecting as much paint as we could find. Here's the result of our beachcombing.
Our pockets got heavier and heavier w/ paint, rocks, and shells as we made our way to the far end of Jaco Beach, where we spent some time watched the huge Pacific waves crash up on the rocky coast. After a good 3 hours of cruising the beach, the sun was beginning to take it's toll on our milky gringo skin. We decided it was time to head back to Del Mar for some poolside lounging before getting ready for the wedding.
Getting ready for the wedding… for women this may conjure up memories of spending perhaps up to a couple of hours applying hair and face products, opening a new package of stockings, squeezing your foot into a pair of heels you’ve worn less than a dozen times, and donning a less-than-comfortable dress for the next 6+ hours. For men, this is probably the only time you are required to wear a tie these days, unless you are a banker or politician. I can say with enthusiasm and delight that these traditions are thrown to the wind at a beach wedding in Jaco. In a mere 45 minutes of “primp” time, Scott threw on a pair of khakis and a short sleeve button down, while I sported a printed skirt and coral halter top. Our biggest decision was weather we should go barefoot or wear flip flops. This was our kind of wedding.
The wedding itself took place on the beach at sunset. The “alter” was framed by two arching palm trees, and guests sat in simple white chairs forming a semicircle around the wedding party. Here is a picture of the ceremony.

This wedding also skipped past the 2-hour long, 5 course meal. Instead, a gorgeous buffet was served featuring fresh fish, barbecued steak, chicken and a large assortment of grilled vegetables. No assigned seating… you take your plate to one of the many white clothed tables surrounding the wedding party, or you could just stand, continue to socialize while munching away. We decided to join a couple we met earlier in the day at their dinner table. Jeff and Mandy were friends of Craig from Kansas City. We made an immediate connection with these guys as Jeff and I talked away about how much we love our jobs (consulting) while Scott and Mandy talked about how much we love to talk about our jobs. These guys were a lot of fun, and the hours flew by as we indulged in many drinks, and many laughs. Soon we looked around to discover that we were the only table left standing. Not ready to call it a night just yet, we decided to continue the festivities with a moon lit dip in the ocean, followed by a … hopefully not too rowdy or loud… session at the pool. Good times were had.
Day 4, Sunday Jan 21st – Colts vs. the Pats
We had a big day ahead, but the previous nights activities got us off to a late start. We finally motivated and checked out of the illustrious Del Mar sometime after noon. Farewells were said, bags were packed once again, and set off in the Kia. Destination: The Nicoya Peninsula.
We had only two main goals for the day: 1) get to Montezuma beach in time to check into our yet-to-be-determined lodging for the evening, and 2) seek out a venue able and willing to televise 4 hours of American football to a pair competitive, but friendly, Colts / Patriots fans.
We made a blind drive to the ferry town of Puntarenas, unsure as to when the boats would be departing. We showed up to discover that the next ferry would arrive in 1.5 hours, and would put us on Nicoya Peninsula at 6pm. Game time was at 530. It would be tight, but with some luck, we might be able to find a friendly bar to catch the last 3 quarters. We passed our time in Puntarenas by watching a daring crew of young Ticos high jump off of a raised dock into the waters of the docking station.
The ferry ride over to Paquera, the destination port town, featured a gorgeous sunset. Once we arrived, we mapped our destination, and set out with one eye on the road, and the other on local establishments. Finally, in the town of Tambor, we happened across a little pub called The Beachcomber. After passing through a few of the towns, none of the places seemed to give off a vibe of welcoming toward a couple of gringos, never mind fans of the barbaric form of what these North American’s call “football.” But low and behold, the travel gods were with us once again, and upon entering the bar, we were greeted with the glow of a 40 inch flat screen ALREADY televising the game. We came rolling in like gang busters calling out to the bartender and the 5 or 6 patrons sitting at the bar about The Game that was already in progress. As it turned out, there was a couple from New York sitting at the bar who had already issued a request to the bartender turn the channel to ESPN. Excellent! Our new best friends. We took a seat at the bar next to these guys, and chatted – during commercials and rounds of the Pats kicking some serious Indy butt – about our respective travels to date.
The Beachcomber offered us a taste of home away from home. It was like a North American oasis tucked in along the Pacific coast of Central America. Our friendly bartender, Carlos, served up beer after beer to accompany our juicy burgers con queso (cheese) and crispy papas fritas. As we familiarized Carlos with the rules of American football, he talked enthusiastically about his future travel destinations: London, Germany, Japan and non-other than “The OC.” From what I could gather, Carlos’s travel aspirations were largely inspired by where he believed hot chicks resided.
The chit-chat begin to die down in the 4th quarter as the game took a nasty turn. We all know what happened here… no need to recount the gory details, but the long and short of it is, the good guys lost, and the bad guys lucked out and secured a trip to the Super Bowl. I was graced with the company a very smug fan for the remainder of our journey on to Montezuma. ‘Nuff said.

We finally got to Montezuma around 10:30pm. Sans reservations, phone, or recommendation for lodging, we checked our trusty travel book and stopped at a couple of the hotels that seemed to fit our needs. We finally settled on the hotel Amor de Mar. A couple of games of backgammon, and we hit the sack, ready for a full day a la Playas de Nicoya, manana.
Day 5, Monday, January 22nd – Waterfalls, Off-roading, Rescues, and Deadly Surf
We woke up around 9 AM pumped for our day. When I think back to the events of this day, it’s hard to believe that everything happened in a mere 14 hour period…
When we woke up at hotel Amor de Mar, we got our first glimpse into why this hotel comes highly recommended. Our room led out to a beautiful stone patio overlooking the rocky beach of the peninsula’s Pacific coast. The grounds of the hotel leading down to the coast line include luscious green grass, spotted with flowers, beach chairs, and banana hammocks. As you make your way further toward the rock outcroppings leading to the water, you discover a number of small tide pools – warmed by the heat trapped from the sun and housing small schools of tropical fish.
After breakfast, Scott and I made our way down to the rock outcroppings to explore. It wasn’t long before we discovered the largest of the tide pools. This pool was engulfed by a large rock wall, which we took turns jumping from into the clear blue pool. At the time, we didn’t know that this would foreshadow our next Montezuma destination.
We headed back to the hotel, and checked out with plans to move on to Santa Theresa later in the evening. But not before we made our way to Montezuma most sought after attraction – The Waterfalls.
It was about a 20 minute hike from the main road in Montezuma up to the highest of the falls, and the trail head was located across the street from our hotel. When we arrived at the falls, we were first entranced by their height. I would estimate 50 meters. We could spot one traveler at the top of the falls looking down at the numbers of swimmers enjoying the pool where we stood below. Then our eyes focused in on a young Tico balancing on the Cliffside about 20 meters up the wall of the fall - we were just in time to see what would be the highest cliff dive of the day. The boy splashed into the water with hardly a sound next to the pounding of the waterfall. The serenity of the pool was unfazed as visitors happily continued their lounging and swimming.
Motivated by the our tide pool session and the courage of this young Tico, we made our way toward one of the mid-sized rock walls at the far end of the pool, stashed out belongings, climbed up, and leaped into the pool. Soon, we were joined by several others climbing the wall, and leaping off with dives, flips… each jumper trying to outdo the last.
Waterlogged and happy, we retreated back down to the trail head. This time we stopped at the coconut stand for a snack, and the entertainment provided by half a dozen monkeys, who loiter about the stand in hopes of snagging a spare banana when the owner wasn’t looking. The owner was no fool – the monkeys drew the crowd, and he rewarded them regularly with pieces of fruit.
It was still early in the day, and Scott and I weren’t quite ready to leave Montezuma. So we decided to walk down to a nearby beach we had heard about that morning. This particular shore was abutted by a makeshift campground, where travelers pitched their tents, cooked meals, and even had a small water supply feeding into the camp. On the shore, we collected some shells and became fixated with this lone pelican searching the ocean waters for an afternoon snack.
We made our way back to the hotel where our car was parked, marveling at some of the local structures along the way… . There was much too love about Montezuma, but alas, time to move on down the coast to Monte’s neighboring gem: Santa Theresa.
Scott drove the Kia while I co-captained. We were told that the roads to the neighboring beaches were a bit… rough. This hardly prepared us for the off roading escapade to ensue. After a few miles into the trip… just past Cabo Blanco (a nature reserve at the tip of Nicoya which was sadly closed during our visit) the road turned into a jeep trail, replete with large rocks, deep gullies, and river crossings. Yes. River crossings.

Scott popped the Kia in low gear, and winced every time the rental car bottomed out against the uneven terrain. I did what any co-captain would do in this situation - giggled a lot and took pictures. The trip from Cabo to Santa Theresa was about 7 miles. We were 5 miles (and 50 minutes) in, when we saw two people on the side of the road waving us down. Given the stories of car theft in Costa Rica, we were hesitant to stop, but as we got closer, it became clear that these were a couple of travelers who needed help.
Turns out, these two were a couple of Canadian travelers who had rented an ATV. They were out making the return trip from Monte to S.T. when they lost control of their ATV coming down a large hill. As their ATV sailed over the embankment, the two jumped off the vehicle into a rocky riverbed. The guy, Mike, punctured an artery in his leg during the crash, and they were now in need of help.
We piled the two into the car, and sped through the rocky road, at a screaming 45 miles an hour into town. Along the way, we asked a young local, watering the dusty street in front of his home, where the nearest doctor was. Shannon, who spoke about as much Spanish as Scott and I, spewed out the following in a broken Spanish accent: “Doctor!?, Med-ee-caaal??!, Hos-pee-taal??!!" The young fellow looked at us kinda funny, and in perfect English said, “Ya need a doctor? There’s one down the road just as you enter town.” The tense moment collapsed into laughter, as we sped off in the direction of the town’s center.
We got Mike and Shannon to the clinic – a small office with a single “medical consultant” behind the town pharmacy. Now in good hands, we wished our Canadian friends well, and continued on into town.
Santa Theresa is known for its good surf. My being a novice and Scott being a first timer, we weren’t sure if we would make the attempt during this quick overnight in town. But once we moved toward the beach area, and the streets were littered with ticos and gringos alike carrying their boards through the dust roads, I knew I couldn’t leave without taking my turn on the waves.

We found a basic, $30 room at the BeachBreaker Hotel - a popular lodging spot for traveling surfers. There was a surf shop next door that rented boards. We dropped our things in the room, changed into our suits, rented a couple of long boards and made our way to the ocean. I gave Scott a quick lesson transferring what I knew about surfing – this took all of about 4 minutes, and then we moved our way into the water. The waves were enormous, and from what I could see, the only acts in town at this time of day were hot-shot short-boarders who could quickly hoist up, and nimbly move across the roaring surf. As for Scott and I, we were no different than the rocks or seaweed being swept up with the current. We had absolute no command over crashing tide, and our longboards did nothing more than make us enormous floating targets, ripe for the tumble. At one point, I managed to get passed the break and make to where the rest of the surfers waited for the next big wave. I looked around – I was the only longboard, the only girl, and clearly the only person who didn’t have a clue as to what she was doing. Time to abort mission. Trailing my surfboard, like an enormous buoy strapped to my ankle, I swam back to shore. By this time we had spent a good 30 minutes fighting a losing battle with the ocean. We were both spent. Scott was already on the beach, taking in the scene. Offering a truce with mother nature, we settled for another beautiful ocean-side sunset before heading back to the BB, and getting cleaned up for dinner.
We decided to head back into the center of town for the night, where we had dropped off Shannon and Mike a few hours earlier. It’s a small town, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise when we bumped into these guys again. After a few stitches and a shot of some painkiller administered by the pharmacist, Mike was feeling good. Shannon also had a few scratched attended too, and other than a slight limp in Mike’s giddy-up, they looked great. We had dinner and a few drinks at a great nearby barbecue place with the two of them and their friends Brett and Lindsey.
All of our photos from the first 6 "beach" days of our vacation are here.

Day Six, Tuesday, January 23rd - The long day of travel
What I haven’t mentioned yet is that this road to Santa Theresa is littered w/ motorbikes and ATVs. Given the terrain, these seem the best equipped vehicles to make passage into the town. There was an occasional 4 wheel drive truck. Mike and Shannon mentioned later that night that they couldn’t believe it when they saw this compact Kia. So while we made it into S.T. without incident, we were still a bit nervous on the drive out – the tip of the secluded tip Nicoya Peninsula is no place to trash your rental car. So after a second attempt at surfing the following morning (the waves were much more mellow, and we actually caught a few), we took the bumpy drive back. This time, I took the wheel, and Scott captured the footage. Here is one of about 4 “river crossings” we survived in the Kia.
It during this waiting period that I started to notice that I wasn’t feeling so hot. My back was achy and my stomach was sour. I chalked it up to a rough day of surfing the day before, and helping myself to two ice cream cones at the ferry station. But by the evening the situation got worse. Our goal was to make it to Tilaran that night – a small town leading into the Arenal Lake area. After hitting mainland, we would have a 2 and a half hour drive starting at 8pm. I spent most of the ride curled in the fetal position shivering (in 70 degree weather) while Scott tackled the windy, dark roads on his own.
Back on the ferry, we checked our handy tourbook, and selected a few hotels that would be suitable for the evening. We ended up making a reservation at the only one we could get a hold of that had a room - Hotel Tilawa. We got really lucky, because the place turned out to be gorgeous. Views of the lake, a large open lounge area featuring local vegetation, and multiple viper snakes in a reptile tank. After checking in, we walked over to the far side of the lounge where there was a pool table and foosball table. When we got there, one of the patrons said, “hey, we know you guys.” Turned out to be one of the Aussies we played pool with in Jaco a few days earlier. Small country.
I retired to our comfortable accommodations in room 220, while Scott joined the guys in the lounge. That night, I ran a fever and by morning my condition had taken a turn for the worse. We decided it was time to seek out a doctor.

Day 7, Wednesday, January 24th – Pharmacy Pitter, and Arrival in Arenal

The front desk gave us directions to a doctor and pharmacy in the center of the town of Tilaran. We were told that the pharmacist spoke pretty good English, so we decided to start there. On the ride in, I pulled out my Spanish dictionary, and looked up words I thought may come in handy: headache (dolor de cebeza), body ache (dolor de cuerpo), fever (fiebre), and eh hem… diarrhea (as it turns out, there was no direct translation in my dictionary, but the pharmacist happened to know this one…). Between my broken Spanish and her passable English some conclusions were made: I most likely had a bacterial infection, most likely from food, but if Scott got sick, it was viral. I was given antibiotics, anti-diarrheics, and the Spanish version of Tylenol, for a whopping fee of 2500 colones (about 5 dollars). No prescription required. I felt better just walking out of there.
Feeling confident with my newly acquired stash of drugs, we decided to make the 2 hr drive to Arenal Lake. It was the already afternoon, and we still had to find a vacancy and secure accommodation at one of the nearby lodges. We enjoyed a beautiful drive along the lakeside, and even captured one of the most perfect rainbows I’ve ever seen.
We saw a sign for the Arenal Lodge – one of the lodges that came recommended in our tourbook. We decided to pull in and take a look. The drive up to the lodge featured mounds or vegetation, trails, and the promise of wildlife. The lobby was an open gazebo featuring twin parrots nesting in the branches of trees that grew within the glass covered roof of the lodge. There was a large deck connected to the lobby overlooking an infinity pool and two Jacuzzis. Beyond this, a rolling hill that led to a nature trail complete with vast species of flowers, animals and plants.
But the greatest attraction at Arenal Lake is, over course, the active Arenal volcano. With luck, visitors will be graced with at least one clear day (or portion thereof) where the clouds break and the volcano comes into full view. Arenal lodge, while a little further away from the other volcano-viewing lodges, offered rooms with unobstructed views of the volcano (save the clouds, of course). We decided to stay.

Day 8, Thursday, January 25th – A Day at the Lodge

We had big plans for Arenal – a canopy tour in the rain forest, a visit to the hot springs, an evening watch of the volcano in hopes of spotting some running lava. But my condition was cause to adjust plans and opt for a more mellow enjoyment of the area. Scott and I spent the entire day on Thursday at the lodge.
There was plenty to keep us entertained. After breakfast, we decided to walk around the lodge and seek out the pair of macaws we had spotted to the day before. These beautiful birds mate for life, and it is rare to see one without the other close-by. The male counterpart appeared to be the most social. Earlier in the day, we observed one of the waiters calling to the him while holding out his arm. The bird quickly flew to him and sat perched on his forearm with ease and contentment. Scott was particularly fascinated by the birds, so when we later saw the birds eating near their feeder, Scott got up the nerve to repeat the call and hold out is arm. “Veena!” “Veena!” he called. The birds gave what seemed to be an odd glance in his direction before continuing their meal. He tried again. No luck. We moved on to the deck. After a while the birds flew near, and perched at the entranceway. The male, to my alarm, flew into the restaurant. I looked around waiting for the staff of waiters to respond to this emergency. But when I turned the corner to where the bird flew, I saw him sitting contentedly on the shoulder of an unaffected waiter going about his business of preparing for the lunch crowd. Noticing our interest in the birds, one waiter finally came out on to the deck and called the bird to his arm. It was then that we realized that the call was actually “Venir!” “Venir!” meaning come. Once perched, he transferred the bird from his arm to Scott’s arm. Here’s a triumphant Scott with his new friend.
Later the same day, we went on a small hike around the Arenal property. The hike featured a small plantation (offering coffee, sugar, heart of palm, palm, and pineapple), and a variety of flowers and plants. One of our favorite discoveries along the hike was the army of leaf cutter ants. Leaf cutter ants form organized highways to transport the leaves of the plants from the source to their colony. They do not eat the leaves themselves, but they eat a fungus produced during the decomposition of the leaves. All of our wildlife photos from Costa Rica are here.
That night, we dined once again at the lodge. I was still illin, so I passed on dessert and headed to bed early. As I flipped through channels I was reminded of our friend Carlos as I fell asleep to an OC marathon. I wonder if he thinks everyone in California is this beautiful and this empty?
For all the pictures from our “volcano” portion of the trip, click here.

Day 9, Friday, January 26th – The Return

We woke up early and packed our backpacks for the first time in 3 mornings. We would miss our cozy room at the lodge. After breakfast and a farewell to the waiters, the Macaws, and the Terra, we hopped into our trusty Kia and enjoyed a beautiful 3 hour ride back into the city. This was our first opportunity to see the inland farming communities of Costa Rica.
Coming full circle in a week, once again in San Jose, we dropped our bags at the Holiday Inn, and made our way to the open Market at Avenida Central. We picked up a few souvenirs – handcrafted masks for Craig and Cortney, a woven bag for my mom, a wooden vase for Scott’s mom, coffee for the Dad’s, etc. Scott and I picked up a beautiful wooden salad bowl set as well as a wooden vase for ourselves. Sadly the dry Denver air has caused these items to warp and crack a bit. Fortunately, they are still functional and appear to be fine unless you take a close look.
I made another stop at the pharmacy in search of medicine for my still ailing stomach. After a disjointed but friendly exchange with the pharmacist, I finally got a hold of some milk of magnesia – the chalkie stuff that my mom used to keep in the fridge to help with indigestion. I took a slug of that about an hour before dinner. That night, we opted for more of a North American flare – Veggie Wrap for me, Quesadilla for Scott – at one of the local restaurants. We were preparing ourselves for an all-too-soon return to the states. We would miss Costa Rica.

Day 10, Saturday, January 27th – Real Life

It was a 5 AM departure from the hotel. We had an 8 AM flight and a scruffy rental car to return. We made a slow drive out of a quiet San Jose just around sunrise. It seemed so peaceful at this time, and I kind of felt like we had the city to ourselves for a heartfelt farewell.
Fortunately, the returned Kia was accepted back without issue. The details of our adventure would remain a secret between us and the chassis.
Our bags now stuffed to the brim with souvenirs – including liquids (rum) – we rearranged our packs and checked one in. Fortunately we were just shy of the large-bag weigh limit, and the remaining pack was just shy of the overhead storage size limit. The travel gods remained with us until the end.
On the plan ride back, chatted with a couple about 20 years our senior. They had just purchased land in Costa Rica and planned to live out their retirement on this fine land tucked between two oceans. Well, decisions such as these are a long way off, but we smiled as we contemplated their new life. One thing we know for sure, we will be back to pay a visit once again to the land of hot volcanoes, high surf, tropical forests, and perfect rainbows.
All the amazing photos from this trip can be access from these 3 links: Beach, Arenal, Wildlife. Hope you enjoyed!