Back to reality

Sitting in Miami Dade airport for our oh-so-fun 4 hour layover.

It's funny, since being in my own country I've had 2 people (airport employees) address me in Spanish. Good thing I've had lots of practice with that!

We flew from San Jose with a big group of loud and obnoxious teens/pre-teens. I thought the flight would never end.

Anyway, this time will give us a moment to reflect on our trip.....

Incidentally, our last day in CR was spent shopping--that fun last-minute souvenir/gift shopping that always sucks us in. I was enchanted by some of the art work that is available in the "souvenir" shops in San Jose. I really liked the work of a painter by the name of Gustavo Araya--but the prices were a little too high for an artist that was displayed alongside the "pura vida" rainbow keychains and shell art. We did find a few paintings that we really liked--from a different artist, but the lowest "precio" was $800--a little steep for us. She didn't seem to want to budge on that price, so it was probably not terribly marked up. We didn't buy any art in the end, but we did manage to take home a borucha mask from a co-op type store.

Anyway, reflections on Costa Rica--or this trip anyway.

Driving is exciting, but not awful (except in San Jose). By some insane magic, one manages to find one's way around even without street names or numbers. Rules are apparently flexible, but we saw no accidents during our 3 week visit.

Costa Rica is expensive--period. Expect U.S. prices or higher. Sure you can find cheaper accommodations, but not like in Asian countries. In addition, lots of cool things are accessible only by "tour". Not everything, but it certainly makes it easier.

Black beans are everywhere. The same black bean and rice dish can be called Gallo Pinto at breakfast and Casado at lunch and dinner. (not entirely true, Casado usually has chicken and plantains). I don't even know what the black bean plant looks like, but I'm sure it's all over CR.

Season will drastically affect your experience. When you get advice about places to visit, always take into consideration the time of year both the advisor and the advisee were/will be visiting. If you have inside information on the geographic position of the "masses"--avoid those areas. Christmas through New Years and Easter are major Tico vacation times. It is probably wise to avoid the country during this time.

Ticans are, as a whole, very friendly. Even though we've read that 50% of the CR coast is owned by expats, we never felt resented--Quite the opposite, we were treated better by Costa Ricans than we were by the expats!

Knowledge of the spanish language is necessary only in some parts of the country--Osa Peninsula being one. Costa Rican Spanish is quite easy to understand, however, and most people are willing to listen to you destroy their language if you ask. Otherwise, they will put you out of your misery (and theirs) and just speak English.

Snuggies aren't a necessary carry-on item although San Jose was quite chilly and the Snuggie wasn't entirely out of place.

Vibram 5 finger toe shoes are excellent choices for hiking in the jungle especially under muddy conditions. Our guides were often skeptical, but after watching us tromp right through the stream while our hiking-boot-wearing brethren were balancing precariously on rocks and sticks to avoid getting their boots wet, they soon came to appreciate the "toe shoes" (and so did we!) Where they fail, however, is on the beach where the sand can manage to find its way into your shoes and make you feel as though you had strapped sandpaper to your feet.

Ok, Isaac keeps talking to me while I'm trying to write, so I'll sign off for now.

See some of you soon!

Last Days at the Beach

Hi all.
So the time we stayed in Puerto Viejo was spent doing a little snorkeling, a little body surfing, some beach walking, and a little jungle hiking. We wanted to do a Cacao tour, but we could not make it happen this trip. It was nice not having a schedule and just taking it easy. We couldn't help but feel that our trip was coming to an end so we were also battling the blues. We had a good dinner last night at Loco Naturales in Puerto Viejo and took off this morning for San Jose.

We drove back to San Jose through Turrialba. On the way we decided to stop and check out the tallest volcano in Costa Rica, Volcan Irazu (3400 + meters in elevation). It is supposedly still active, but not terribly. It is a long drive through some ag land up to the top of the volcano, but unfortunately when we finally arrived, the man at the gate told us that it was too cloudy and they were closing in an hour. Basically, he wasn't going to let us in. Oh well. The drive was nice anyway!!


We managed to get through San Jose again. Man, it's a crazy place to drive! We found the hotel that we will call home for the next two nights. Its a pretty posh place right downtown, Hotel Presidente. We'll see if the noise from the street and bars ever dies down.