Costa Rica--Part 1

Just got back from our vacation in Costa Rica and it was sooooooo much fun.  Now, bear in mind that my most recent vacation is always my favorite vacation, but this one is up there in the list of best vacations ever.  Maybe it was because there was so much stuff going on at work, or because we hadn't had a chance for all four of us to hang out as a family in quite a while.  As always, there was so much laughter and fun just being together.  We all had a great time.

You can check out the complete photographic evidence here.

Made the 2-hour drive from San Jose to Jaco with no problems but thank God for GPS.  Got to the house, met Pierre the local manager, got settled in.  The house was beautiful, lots of architectural and decorative features, great pool and fountain, a nearby stream and beautiful gardens.  We saw Jesus lizards and hummingbirds every morning and discovered a really big Halloween Crab living under the mango tree in the garden.

That afternoon we went for a swim in the pool and a cut throat game of "Toothpaste" between Amy and Claire.  What Claire lacked in swimming speed, she made up for it by choosing obscure words for the categories--like "reservoir" for the category "body of water".  Even after she told Amy it started and ended with an "r", Amy couldn't get it.  We then took a walk on the beach and then had dinner at the local Soda down the street from the house.  Had the best yucca and the fish casado.  Al had a whole snapper and Amy had the chicken casado.  Yummy!  We finished the night playing "Pass the Pigs" on the patio while listening to the rain and drinking Imperial, La Cerveza de Costa Rica.  BTW, they have an awesome logo.


The surfing on our first full day at the beach was great.  We got to Jaco Surf School just as they were heading out to an easier break for lessons.  Turned out, the location was at the end of the street where our house was.  Gustavo handed me a rash guard and board and told me to head out while the girls had their lessons.

I paddled out to get beyond the break.  Waves were about head high and breaking pretty hard.  It was exhausting to get out and I got caught in the washing machine twice, really worried about how strong an ocean swimmer I was after all these years.  I caught my breath, waited for a wave, started paddling into a promising one only to pull back because the drop was too steep.  Mistake!  The next wave caught me and pulled me back into the washing machine.  Bruised and tired, I decided to take my place in the white water of the shore break.  After not surfing for 20 years, I figured I needed to ease my way back in.

About this time, the girls were out in the water and already standing up.  It was a great sight to see.  I had fun and the balance and board movement came right back so I was able to walk the board to stay in the wave, turn and ride out of the wave.  We saw the guys waving us in at the end and, completely by accident, Amy, Claire and I rode the same wave in.  What a great time.

After, we were going to go to the ATM, get some more colones, pay Gustavo and go get the best fish tacos in Jaco according to Gustavo and Lauri, the owner of the house we rented, at Bubba's.  This begins the only inconvenient part of the trip.  We tried about 4 different ATMs and couldn't get money from any of them.  We went back to the house and I called our bank.  Now, we had told both the bank and our credit card company that we were traveling to Costa Rica so they would not put a hold on the international transactions.  However, because we took money out on Saturday and it was Monday, the Saturday withdrawal was posting and we had reached our limit on ATM withdrawals.  So, we went to the bank to get a cash advance.

Al dropped Amy and I off at the bank--me to get the money, Amy to translate.  We stood in line for about 35-40 minutes only to find out that I needed my passport, even though the sign said local ID was ok.  Sooooo, we drive 10 minutes back to the house to get my passport and go back to the bank.  We get in line again and wait, this time only about 25 minutes.  A manager for the bank comes out, pulls us out of line and takes us to a back room.

The whole trip, we've been making up scenarios from the show Locked Up Abroad and Amy and I looked at each other with a "this is the moment look."  As we sat in the office, we were both trying to suppress giggles as we thought about the situation.  We got the money, left the bank and headed over for lunch and to pay Gustavo.  The fish tacos did not disappoint and neither did the beef one that Claire had.  She said it was the best taco she'd ever had.

We went back to the house, had a swim, drank some wine, played "Pass the Pigs" again and relaxed.

Tuesday we went to Manuel Antonio Park for a 2-hour horseback ride.--one hour in the forest and one hour on the beach.  We got to the very small Marlboro Stables and saw one particularly lively horse that turned out to be the one for Amy, who has the least amount of horseback riding experience of any of us.  She said, "I don't have a good feeling about this" but Al and I both told her it would be fine and not to worry.  I was crossing my fingers.  ;)  It was interesting to note that none of the horses had bits, only a rope halter/rein combo that wrapped around the horses nose.

The ride was great, wonderful views, cool wildlife including 3 sloths, a hawk and several iguanas.  We finished the ride with no injuries--yeah!--and went to lunch at Costa Linda on the recommendation of the stable owner.  Had a good lunch and then drove back to Jaco.

There was a lot of fresh fruit at the house so we decided to get some rum and make some fresh fruit rum punch.  Blended up some pineapple, lime juice and mixed fruit juice and had a yummy punch.   A storm came through and we lost power at the house so we decided to head into town and see if we could find a place that was open.  We couldn't find DiMarios where I wanted to eat but ended up at Caliches Wishbone.  As soon as we got in and ordered, another really bad thunderstorm came through and they lost power.  But it was back on relatively quickly and dinner was good.

The stray dog that had wandered into Bubba's on Monday and hung out around our table also did the same thing at Caliche's.  He was now known as "Old Friend."

Wednesday was beach time before we headed into San Jose for the rafting trip.  Just enjoyed the sun, the surf and relaxed.  We picked up some more tacos from Bubba's and then took off for San Jose.  As we were driving along Rt 34, Alan got pulled over, or rather "waved over" by a cop.  Turns out his lead foot works internationally as well and he was told by the cop to slow down or he would be facing a $400 speeding ticket.

We got into San Jose and Alan got us to the hotel through the crazy traffic and crowded, twisting, turning streets.  At one point, we were trying to turn onto one street and a cab driver decided to be nice and let us in.  Obviously, this is not an expected action among cab drivers in San Jose and he was rear-ended by the cab behind him.  Eeek!  We checked into the hotel, dropped off our bags and then drove the rental car to the airport.  While its only about a 13 mile drive, it took about an hour in San Jose rush hour.  Again, thank God for GPS.  Not sure we could have made it without it.

The cab ride back to the hotel was a little quicker.  We had dinner at a little restaurant near the hotel, La Criollita.  It was recommended by the hotel clerk when I told him we wanted a place with good Tres Leches.  Got back to the hotel and then to bed early so we would be up and ready to leave for our rafting trip the next morning at 6 AM.

That will be Part 2 which I hope to get up tomorrow.