It's About the Journey

Showing posts with label Costa Rica. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Costa Rica Wrap Up

The money in Costa Rica is called the Colones and when we went the exchange was about 500 Colones for $1 US
We found Costa Rica to be equally expensive as the US and at times even more so. Be prepared to drop at least $40 for a mediocre meal for 2.
Research, research, research your rental car deals- oh and research some more. The fees are super hidden and everyone we talked to agreed that it was super expensive and quite the ordeal.
I suggest that unless staying in just one area like a resort on the beach that you do rent a car and it be a 4X4. We saw so many cars with flat tires and we very grateful we had four wheel drive...this is mainly for the rain forest part of our vacation but either way it doesn't hurt. You never know where or what you'll end up in in Costa Rica. There are so many things to see and close enough you can take short day trips but a taxi would get expensive and in some places taxis aren't around.
You will also need a GPS. We would have died or killed each other without ours because literally sometimes the GPS would just say turn right on road...no name no number. We would have never made it otherwise and the GPS never led us astray.
Although some people know English we knew very little Spanish and it was difficult. I suggest getting a small book with phrases in it to communicate. The beach and tourist areas were easier but in the rain forest we found it hard to communicate. Luckily we did know key words which got us to the right place along with our American sign language LOL
We learned early on that we should have flown into the other major airport in Costa Rica, Liberia, instead of San Jose because it was way closer to our 2 destinations. I had known this previously but I couldn't find any direct flight that were on the same day. They were all 2 day flights so I decided to make our vacation even more adventurous so we drove the extra miles or should I say kilometers. If you do take a trip to Costa Rica with a similar itinerary then flying into Liberia would be best.

Overall I couldn’t have asked for a better vacation. As far as Costa Rica goes- it was amazing. We got to see the majority of what the country has to offer, got to see how the people are self sufficient and super laid back, not to mention friendly and helpful. All around the rain forest towns, the little cottage type houses have a cow or two, gardens, and fruit trees. We even saw a cute little village where there was a nice community garden. They love their flowers and take good care of what they have even if it isn’t a lot in our eyes.

As far as Hendrik and I go- I do admit that I was a bit weary going into this because the past 2 vacations I’ve been on with a significant other ended in my breaking up because there was just things I couldn’t ignore any longer. No matter how much you know about a person when you aren’t at home some things just become more obvious because you don’t have your normal day to day distractions and these can be good or bad things. When you go on an 8 day trip with someone you really know if you are going to stand the test of long term or not and with Hendrik there were just good things reinforcing that this is the man of my dreams and the man I am meant to spend the rest of my life with. We were not apart a minute of those 8 days and I came home happier, more in love, and secure in our relationship than when I left. I knew we would get along great because we do know each other so well but we just had a great time, we never ran out of things to talk about or laugh about. We were adventurous and were both willing to do things that were out of the ordinary. We experienced the culture of Costa Rica and came away from the country feeling like we grew as people from being there. I feel like we grew as a couple and had time that was just ours to relax and learn about each other. without life's little quirks getting in the way. There were times on this trip where I just felt so overjoyed and a flow of love that the only thing that could half way convey it was a kiss and an I love you! I knew this was the right path for me but now I’m even more sure of it. I can’t wait for the many more adventures that I know we will experience together.

Links to the hotels we stayed in:

Hotel Rio Celeste Hideaway HERE

Flamingo Beach Resort HERE

Hotel Presidente HERE

All our accommodations were just what I thought they were and we would definitely stay in all three again.

HAPPY TRAVELING

Costa Rica Part 2

Beginning the next leg of our Costa Rican vacation...for the first part CLICK HERE

Day 4- Tuesday March 11th

Tuesday was the day we checked out of Rio Celeste and headed to our beach resort on the West coast of Costa Rica which is the Pacific side. The East side holds the Caribbean Ocean. We had breakfast, checked out and drove about 3 hours to the beach. We loved driving with the windows down enjoying the changing landscape of winter rain forest to the dry summer landscape with views of the mountains in the background.

More pineapples

almost there

our first look at the ocean

We arrived a bit before it was time to check in so we changed in the hotel bathroom and headed to get our first taste of Costa Rican beaches. After check in we settled into our room and since we skipped lunch due to our mini road trip we ordered club sandwiches through room service.

lobby

from the lobby looking out onto the pool

Later that night we went to a restaurant recommended by the hotel called the Golden Shrimp that was right on the beach. We listened to the ocean and talked as we waited a good bit for our food. We both got seafood and it was good although a bit bland. After dinner we took a walk on the beach...the moon was about full so there was plenty of light to enjoy the beach and ocean at night. We also went to a local grocery store a short walk from our hotel to get bottled water and snacks for the beach over the next couple of days. We realized quickly that we were in tourist country because the prices in the hotel skyrocketed compared to our previous hotel in the forest. After getting rid of the sand and sweat we watch an old classic and a movie I love Working Girl. Hendrik had never seen it but I think he liked it good enough...for a chick flick. LOL

Day 5- Wednesday March 12th

On our 5th day of vacation true to form we started with breakfast and weren't really prepared for the itty bitty breakfast room the good sized hotel had especially when it was made smaller by the team of 30+ rugby players that were very hungry and very rowdy. After an omelet breakfast we hung out in and around the pool for about an hour. That was just long enough for Hendrik to get "bored" and want to do something so he went to the beach to ask about massage pricing. He came back and after disussing the pricing we decided to get massages on the beach underneath trees, each an hour long full body for $45 each. We thought it was a really good deal compared to pricing at home so we went with it. Not only were they super relaxing since they were ocean side but the ladies who massaged us were really good and nice. After lunch we drove to Tamarindo about 20 km away to check out the town and also to hang around until dinner. We had recommendations from a man in San Jose that there was really good sushi there. It was a tourist beach town with a hippy flare. Not only where there tourist of all ages and classes but I saw many backpackers and several hostels. It is also known for mild surfing that is great for learners. Hendrik surfs at home on the lake behind his boat so he was anxious to take a lesson. I lounged in a chair and read as he took his lesson and learned the ropes of ocean surfing. He got up and did great the first few times and then he said he started getting aggravated and tired so after a two hour lesson he was pooped. We walked around some more and then had an early dinner at a sushi restaurant that was hidden down a stone passage between to souvenior shops. It was really good sushi although different than we were used to and the atmosphere of the restuaruant was so relaxing and secluded from the happenings of the street. That night after returning from Tamarindo we crashed in our room to rest for our sun filled day ahead.

Day 6- Thursday March 13th

Thursday was our last full day at the beach before heading into the city so I wanted to do an activity and as you've probably figured out the man who wanted nothing but a beach vacation gets bored at the beach easily...I think if I want a lay in the sun and read all day type of beach vacation that is going to be a girls trip. LOL After breakfast we headed back to Tamarindo so Hendrik could rent just a surf board and try it out on his own since he had the lesson the day before. I think he enjoyed going out into the waves and figuring it out and he did great. Around noon we headed back to our hotel because I had booked us a snorkel trip on a catamaran for the rest of the day. A car picked us up around 1:30 and took us to the bay area where all the boats anchor. They don't have docks so water taxis took us out to the catamaran. We sailed out for about an hour and half, had drinks, visited with each other, and just enjoyed being on the ocean. Once we hit our snorkel spot we got our gear and off we went. It was pretty windy that day and the current was pretty strong as well but we held hands and snorkeled and saw lots of neat fish and sea creatures together each taking turns pointing out stuff to each other. We snorkeled for about 45 minutes to an hour before swimming back to the boat to have a light lunch and more drinks. On the sail back to the bay we struck up conversation with a couple from Rhode Island. We loved talking to them and learning things about their state and also comparing our Costa Rican experiences. Note: they had a VERY similar situation with their rental car so it is just that way not a one time incident with us. After we returned from our snorkel trip our light lunch had worn off so we decided to try a restaurant we had seen while walking around the area near our hotel. We got fish, rice, chips and guacamole, and I had a salad. We really didn't like the food at this restaurant and I pretty much ate my entire salad and sent the rest of my plate back pretty much untouched. We went back to the hotel to crash after getting a lot of sun that day and I stayed up in the bathroom all night long with a horrible horrible stomach ache. I chocked it up to the salad since every time I eat salad out of the US I get disentary. The salad was also the only thing that I ate a lot of and Hendrik didn't everything else had been the same and I also had been drinking tap water the entire trip so that couldn't have been it.

eating popsicles to cool off

it was a hair raising day

Day 7- Friday March 14th

We checked out of the Flamingo relatively early after breakfast because we weren't really sure how long it was going to take to drive from the coast back to San Jose, especially since I was still very sick with my stomach ache. We headed out about 9:30 and we arrived at our hotel in the city right at 3. We checked in and decided to head to the rental car office to return our car. We had originally made plans to return the car the next morning at the airport but seeing we weren't familiar with the area and the man we were meeting spoke strictly Spanish we felt more comfortable returning it the day before to the office where we rented it and then taking a shuttle to the airport. Less confusion and also less stress at 4 in the morning. What would normally take 15 minutes took an hour and half due to bad traffic. The workers in the city get off at 4 so it was right in the middle of rush hour. Once we got back to the hotel we walked the pedestrian boulevard which is full of shopping and things to see right in the city center. We had to do all this at night since it took us so long to take the car back but we did get to see city life. I also have a confession about this night....due to my stomach bug and not eating anything for 24 hours I really didn't want to risk getting sicker and flying the next morning so I was a complete American and even made Hendrik participate and we ate McDonalds for dinner that night:( I know shameful but I had been comlpletely emersed in Costa Rican culture for the past 6 days and I really didn't want to chance it. We turned in to our hotel around 10 and I did get a bit of sleep that night even though the bathroom was frequented.

Day 8- Saturday March 15th

We woke up dark and early at 3 to get checked out and a shuttle to the airport. It is a good thing we got up early because even though we had to wait around an hour before boarding the security lines were pretty long and we also had to pay a tax before leaving. We left San Jose around 6:45 Saturday morning and arrived in Phoenix for our connecting flight around 11:45. We got my checked luggage and made the trek through the airport and waited in the most ridiculous security line that I've ever been in in my life....lets also remember I would fly into Baghdad, Iraq and it wasn't this bad. We were definitely not impressed with Phoenix's airport. It was crowded with equipment, set up was not functional, it was outdated with contributed to the first two gripes and just all around a mess. Our outbound connection was delayed 30 minutes due to cleaning the ancient airplane we got on which then made us late arriving into Dallas...about 3 hours late. Since we were late leaving Phoenix that means we didn't miss the mega storm that hit Dallas. DFW was shutdown and our plane got diverted to Austin where we sat (ON THE PLANE) for 2 hours waiting on DFW to open. finally around 7:15 we go word that we could take off and we arrived in Dallas around 8:45. The Marriott shuttle picked us up and took us to the north hotel where my car was parked. Boy after long travel days and detours we were exhausted. Hendrik was also looking forward to eating some non fast food but by the time we got out of Dallas into somewhere that had eating joints it was after 10 and too late. We hightailed it home without stopping at at 11:30 that night I was making spaghetti noodles and pesto for supper. My belly needed the carbs and it was good, let me tell you! LOL

Costa Rica Part 1

If you don’t know then shame on you LOL

only joking but seriously if you don’t know then Hendrik and I went on a week long ~~road trip~~ vacation to Costa Rica.

We had 2 completely different vacations in a week’s time since we wanted to experience all that Costa Rica had to offer.

Let me preface this by saying that the week leading up to vacation was HORRIBLE! I was in school, he was working and finishing up jobs and lining everyone out for the week he was going to be gone, not to mention it was the first week of the month so that meant closing out February and opening March. YIKES! I’m pretty sure I was at work BY 7 each morning and 3 days I didn’t even break for lunch….there literally wasn’t enough hours in the day. I’m such an organization freak that I was wound tighter than a 8 12 day clock…as Elizabeth would say. I didn’t pack until 5 that morning.

WHEW!

Anyways Friday night after we got off work I made it to MV around 8 and we were on the road to Dallas. By the time we got gas, stopped by our parent’s houses and were in Dallas at the Marriott it was close to 11:30. We checked in, got our parking pass for the week, and hit the hay to get a few hours of shut eye before our 3:15 AM wakeup call.

Day 1- Saturday March 8^th

Our flight left around 6:30 from DFW to Charlotte, North Carolina…don’t ask I have no clue why there aren’t direct flights or at least connections more southern than where we started but either way we loved the Charlotte airport. They had a ton of restaurants, it was easy to maneuver, and had all these potted trees and white rocking chairs that travelers could rock in while waiting for their flights. It was a huge Southern front porch. LOL We had Genghis Grill for lunch then hopped on our 5 hour flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. We arrived in San Jose around 2:45, got our luggage, and were escorted to the rental car office about 1 mile away. I had never booked a rental car before and man after these shenanigans I’m not sure I ever will again…it was a HUGE ordeal. Long story short after 3 rental offices, $1500, 5 hours, a ton of tension, and lots of F bombs we were on our way to the rainforest with our 4X4 Montero and a GPS! As soon as we left the rental office we stopped at a very local dive on the side of the alley type streets and had a local Costa Rican dinner for about $10 total.

I was praying on this drive that the rest of our vacation wouldn’t be as stressful. With this incident on top of the week I had already had my little self wouldn’t have been able to take any more before having a complete breakdown. After driving on paved and unpaved roads, all Spanish signs, and hair pin turns we finally arrived at the Rio Celeste Hideaway Resort at 11PM. About an hour before we arrived Hendrik and I completely quit speaking…we were tired, aggravated with each other and the situation and just really ready to arrive at our destination. Check in was painless and we were escorted to our private bungalow. As soon as we walked in and dropped our bags I headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower and hit the hay but not before Hendrik sweetly told me I make him more stressed than a week of him running his own business ;) after that all the tension of the day dissipated and we were able finally relax and go back to our normal selves.

WE HAD MADE IT!

Day 2- Sunday March 9^th

After our long work week and long travel days we were super exhausted and slept in until 10 that morning. A plus to traveling to Costa Rica is it on the top of Central America and still in our Texas time zone so no jet lag! After we woke up we decided that we were going to hike we got out our tennis shoes and headed to breakfast. This was the first time seeing our resort in the day light hours and it was so pretty. The pathways were lined with vegetation and all sorts of tropical flowers and the pool and entry looked just like the pictures I’d seen on the internet. We were seated at our breakfast table which sort of became “our table” over the next few mornings and the waiter presented us with a choice of a traditional American breakfast with eggs, bacon and such or we could chose a traditional Costa Rican breakfast. We both chose Costa Rican…when in Rome! It was so good and different. We both got fried eggs, a piece of cheese, Costa Rican sausage (which is sort of like our hot dog) and rice with black beans and cilantro mixed in. It never occurred to me to spice up dry rice with things but I will definitely be using this recipe next time I make a Mexican dish.

Open air dining area

Costa Rican breakfast

Lobby

before our hike

After breakfast we asked the front desk clerk how far the national park was and she said just walk out the drive way, take a left and it was 1.5 KM down the road. Ok easy enough we decided instead of driving we would just go ahead and start on our hike and walk to the park. WRONG answer. We walked 2 KM to where we “thought” we needed to be then decided we better walk back the same way and get the car seeing we weren’t really sure where the park was. The directions seemed easy enough but there are Rio Celeste signs everywhere all meaning different things so we really had no idea where to go. After hiking back to the car and I mean hiking because we were on unpaved roads with hills that were, I’d say, sloped more than 55 degrees with huge rocks as ground cover we got in the car and headed to find the park. We drove past the detour we had previously made and there it was easy peasy.

my honey when we were just starting out

Rio Celeste

after our wrong turn

our view the entire first 3 days in Costa Rica

We checked in at the park office paid $20 and we were off. Hiking the Rio Celeste National Park was so beautiful and even though it was a really REALLY tough few hours physically it was so rewarding and a great way to kick off our vacation. We hiked a total of 6 KM inside the park and saw a big, beautiful waterfall, a blue lagoon, and visited a lookout point. We hiked back through the mud since it was raining pretty good and learned quickly that all is fun when you are going downhill but it’s a pain to then remember in Costa Rica what goes down must come back up. LOL It was a running joke with us the remainder of the trip. You weren’t supposed to get into the water areas in the park so after our hike we hurried back to the hotel to change into our suits and go down the hill from the resort to swim in the Rio Celeste.

The water was pretty chilly but we sucked it up and even got cut feet on sharp slimy rocks all for the sake of adventure! We returned back to chill in the hot tub to warm our toes after that chilly water then to our bungalow for a nap before we dressed for dinner. We had enough driving for a while and since our hotel was so nice we decided to eat dinner in the hotel restaurant. The hotel had a professional chef on hand and our food was really good. It was expensive for the overall feeling we had about the food but we enjoyed dinner non the less. After dinner we went to the community area of the hotel and played several games of chess. We both know how to play and don’t have a board at home so we took full advantage of the board the entire 3 nights we were at Rio Celeste. I won the first game easily which only made Hendrik want to play more games. We played 3 games total our first night with a 1-2 final tally (Hendrik winning). On our way back to our bungalow Hendrik insists we get a nice board for mind challenging games at home!

tuna tartar

fish ceviche

salmon

a great mind

Day 3- Monday March 10^th

We woke up at our normal time on Monday and headed over for our Costa Rican breakfast. I had seen on the internet during my research that there were hanging bridges in the area so I asked the concierge where and how long it would take to get to them. She said it was about 40 KM away and wrote down the name on the piece of paper for us. We headed out and had to stop at a gas station to get the name of the actual town they were in. We plugged it in to our best friend , the GPS, and we were off. The really sucky thing is that it was literally only 4 miles away as the bird flies but once you throw in the Costa Rican terrain it ended up being about 50 miles away and a 2 hour drive down unpaved roads. The plus to this is that we saw so much of real Costa Rican life, got to check out huge pineapple fields, snag an orange off a tree, and break in to some poor soul’s pasture to nab two very green bananas. We arrived in the town of Bijugua and paid $17 each for the easy hike which contained a total of 3 hanging bridges. Compared to the day before this hike was super easy. It was supposed to take people around 2 hours and we completed it in 45 minutes. After our hike we stopped in at the restaurant on the grounds to get a coke and enjoy the view. We still had a good portion of the afternoon left so we headed back past our turn to the hotel and into a small town to explore and maybe find a restaurant to eat at later for dinner. We didn't find a restaurant but we saw the daily lives of the people of that town and also had a good view of the nearby volcano. Once we had seen all there was to see of the small town we headed back to the hotel to swim in the pool and play a bit of chess before dinner. Since the town was small we didn't find a place for dinner so we had dinner at the hotel again. I had a really creamy pesto dish and Hendrik had steak. We left for our room stuffed.