Well, I've battled the evil forces of inertia & married bliss and have set off once again to explore the world. This time, I headed off to Costa Rica, adventure sport locale extraordinale!
Honestly, this trip really came about because I entered into the frenzy of wedding planning and singlehandedly planned a James Bond themed wedding in Las Vegas with accompanying bachelor and bachelorette parties, spa day and reception, and then a 2-part honeymoon in Moorea, French Polynesia, and Harbin Hot Springs in Northern California. After the planning was over, I was still revved and wanted to carry on with the frenzy; thus I planned a trip to Costa Rica!
However it came about, it was a fab idea. I spent Christmas eve with hubby and the in-laws, including our adorable nieces, and then flew down to Redondo Beach on Xmas morning for a day with my fam. At 10:30pm, my dad dropped me off at LAX to catch my 12:45am flight to Guatemala and then San Jose, CR. The trip did not start auspiciously. First, the interior of LAX closes down at 11pm. By the luck of the German-Czech-English-Scottish-and Irish, I managed to be the last person allowed in line at Starbucks, which was the last place still open to sell water. Hordes of thirsty travellers tried to form a line behind me, only to be turned away by the barrista. Inevitably, someone decided that it was pointless to opportune the barrista and that they should focus on me. I ended up buying 10 bottles of water and giving them out as Xmas gifts to the poor thirsty masses.
On the flight, I was fortunate enough to be seated both behind, before, to the right and to the left of infants! Wow! How do I get so lucky? Well, the 7 hour flight passed, though not comfortably. I also had the wonderful experience of being told by the parents of two of the crying infants that I was unbelievably inconsiderate to use my reading light and that I needed to turn it off. Rather than inform these poor deluded people that contrary to their apparent belief, they were not in fact my ideal traveling companions either, I shut off my light and rethought my resolution to procreate. :)
All was well once we landed in SJ. I snuck off the plane ahead of the childer and breezed through Customs and Immigration without a hitch. My bag was one of the first off the plane and my shuttle was waiting for me where they said that they would be. After a 20 minute ride through SJ, I arrived at my lovely lovely hostel.
About that ride, I have to say that this city is a bit shocking. There are blondes riding around in new Jeeps on streets that are partially blocked by impromptu rubbish heaps. The rubbish heaps each tend to have one or two people picking through the garbage for anything usable and scrawny looking dogs are roaming throughout. The houses are small and made of cement, with painted cement floors. The windows and doors, and often the entire front of the house, are covered with metal bars. It is a powerful sight and a good reminder to be grateful for all that I have and to be as generous as I am able to be.
The hostel is one of the best I've ever stayed at. There are loads of great, fast computers with free internet; a rooftop restaurant/bar; a pool; murals; a pool table; Xmas decorations; a tour desk; a TV room; and fun fabulous people!
I wanted to try traveling with a friend this time and my friend Nicole Farrar decided that she wanted to visit CR, too. Yay! My flight got in much earlier than hers, so I chilled and took a nap 'til she arrived and then we got together with our two dorm-room-mates, Monica Aguilar and Tara Rudolf, and hit the town. We rambled toward the main square and did some shopping before stopping for dinner at a really nice little cafe where we lingered for at least an hour and a half, being attended to by a cute waiter. Nice. I had my first Costa Rican Costa Rican coffee (as in, not imported) and it was yum yum delish!
Next was going to be dancing, but after stopping off at the hostel to drop off/pick up some stuff, we decided to check out the rooftop bar and found it hopping. We settled in with beer, tea and fresh pineapple with rum (that one was mine) and chatted about life, careers, world affairs, and...what else would four ladies discuss? Oh yeah, MEN!
All in all a wonderful day and I can't wait for tomorrow and our trip up to La Fortuna and Arenal. I really am a traveling stone. :)
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1 comment:
Hei Christine,
it is nice to read your travelling blog again. You have been several days now at La Fortuna y Arenal, but hopefully you will come back from there.
In summer we have been near the same locations, although not in the same month. I worked whole June in Düsseldorf, in Rheinland, having my family with me. Once we drove a car over Autobahn to see a friend at Bayern near the Chech border. It was a nice month. It was warm and sunny in Germania.
Since then I have been once alone to Seoul, and with my family once to Sankt Peterburg and once to Kyoto. But mostly I have been happily at home.
And who am I? My name is Pekka Korhonen, I met you briefly on a boat in Guilin, China, in September 2007, and I wrote a few comments on your Chinese travel blog. http://users.jyu.fi/~pkonen/
Just wanted to see how you are, and found your blog without any difficulty. Safe return from your river journey, and happy marriage.
Pekka
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