Day 1: We flew into San Jose from Dallas. It was about a 6 hour trip total, and we landed in Alejuela - which is right outside of San Jose and got our rental car. Everyone warned us about how terrible the roads were going to be, and to get a 4 wheel drive. We were very pleasantly surprised that the traffic, drivers, and roads were all manageable. The GPS the rental car had was a real life saver! We packed a bag that was only devoted to sunscreen and electronics (chargers, cameras, ipod, and a gps) - our GPS did not end up working though. We drove about two hours to Jaco, and enjoyed our first Costa Rican meal (and beer) at Jaco Taco. We had a reservation at a little beach hotel about 40 minutes from Jaco in a town called Oeste Esterillos. We drove up and down the road (very lost) trying to find the hotel. Just as we were about to give up, and drive all the way to Rob and Jenny's we found it! Thank goodness, we were tired and ready to hit the hay.
Day 2: We woke up super early! We had no idea what time it was because our phones had not connected and reset the time. We were so anxious to get up and enjoy Costa Rica I think we were packed and on the road by 7:30 to head to Rob and Jenny's house. Which, if you know us is SUPER early.
The drive to San Isidro was beautiful and a little under 2 hours. We had so much fun checking out all the road signs, huge fruit trees, and listening to Spanish music. (Don't worry, I did try and sing along!) We stopped at a fruit stand on the way up and got bananas and watermelon. We also discovered our favorite restaurant on the way into San Isidro called, Soda La Pena. I could eat their pinto and beans for the rest of my life and die a happy woman. We got to San Isidro about 11 am and met Rob at the central park. It was a combination of 1999, and James Bond. We went to the park, called him from a pay phone, he was waiting across the street looking for us, spotted us and we met up and headed to his home. Gotta love a good pay phone park meet up! ;)
We went to Rob's farm and he showed us around, and talked to us about all the amazing trees, fruit, and plants he had started. It's going to be an amazing location for Sofia to grow up - and for Rob and Jenny to have their finca. Tom and I were both uber impressed with the swales, the permaculture, and hard work that they had already put into the farm.
That night Rob and Jenny had a couple of their friends over for dinner and their two children. It was really fun to be able to see into "their lives" for a night and meet their sweet friends. Their friends spoke French, so it was a big hodgepodge of language. The food and the company were awesome. Jenny, if you are reading this... can I have your avocado salad dressing recipe?
Day 3: We woke up and got around to go to the beach. We drove down to a local Tican beach called, Uvita. It was THE best - quiet, relaxing, not crowded, great shade. Rob put up and Tom ripped down the hammock. (photos below) I tired my first ceviche that day, and ordered it for the rest of the trip. It's so refreshing and yummy! I need to find a good recipe and try that. I discovered that Sofia has the most energy out of anyone I have ever met, and she could play for hours on the beach. We had a lot of fun!! The sunset there was breathtaking, and I think I could have stayed right there for the next year or two.
Day 4: We got up early, and we were definitely sad to leave Rob, Jenny and Sofia. Sofia is the sweetest little girl. She just jumps back and forth between English and Spanish - it is truly amazing how smart she is. We drove to Manuel Antonio which is about 2 hours North of San Isidro. We got to Hotel Parador and were greeted with a cold towel, and pineapple punch. Ahhhh- we had died and gone to heaven. We immediately got our suits on and headed to the pool swim up bar for a beer. We got checked into our room, took a nap and headed down to Quepos to load up on snacks, beer, and juice for the room. (We are efficient travelers, people) We had a nice relaxing dinner at Mar Luna. The Costa Ricans eat a lot of rice, beans, veggies, fruit, and mahi-mahi. We were really impressed with the fruit (specifically the pineapple- wow), and the juices. So refreshing and delicious on a hot day. Speaking of hot, we got really lucky with the weather, it only rained twice and it was while we were driving between towns, and the sun was always shining for us! Most days it was about 90+, but we were near the ocean or pool and could jump in to cool off.
Day 5: Talking about this day is when I start getting vacation withdrawals. I start to sweat a little, I find my way to the search bar and type in K-A-Y-A-K.com and start to plan our next trip to Costa Rica. I mean, this place is just amazing. Nice people, I could go on for days about the birds, plants and animals and not to mention the breathtaking beaches and sunsets. It really is paradise. We signed up for the Manuel Antonio National Park tour, and jumped on a bus bright and early to head to the head of the trail. We had a great guide who led our group of five people. It was a beautiful park. We walked forward with anticipation expecting some exotic animal around each and every bend. Never was the word "disappointment" used. Around every corner there was some new and exciting animal with a background story always eloquently narrated to us by our tican guide. We saw sloths, monkeys, tucans, lizards, birds, iguanas, raccoons, and much gorgeous flora.
(Tom takes over the typing/storytelling... here.)
The trail ended at one of the five Manuel Antonio beaches. It was a smaller beach, but beautiful nonetheless. Libby chased monkey's for at least 30 minutes which was very funny. We saw a pair of raccoons expertly execute a snatch and grab on someone's bag. We then walked along a beach path to two of the other beaches and ended up at the end of the main road in the town of Manuel Antonio. Near the end of the walk the guide found a sloth sleeping in a tree 15 ft. above our heads. Very awesome!
We then rented a couple chairs at Mary's on the beach and chilled for a couple of hours playing in the water and catching some rays. The waves were pretty crazy there. Then we went back to the resort where I surprised Libby with a couples massage. They gave us some champagne, cheese, and fruits after a great massage. After that we ordered some eats off of the lunch menu. The whole day was fantastic.
Day 6
On day 6 we got up early and decided to do yoga. It wasn't intended to be, but because of the ambient temperature it was very much "hot yoga." It was about an hour long and our teacher was very strange. We slapped our whole body and more. I was sweating the whole time as it was very hot. We stared off into a peaceful jungle while we went through our poses.
We then went on a 5 hour catamaran cruise. We took off from the dock and cruised around the bay surrounding our resort. We found a pod of dolphins and followed them for a while. They swam with the boat for a while and Libby cried... pretty special. :) We got off the boat and snorkeled a bit, but the water was too dirty. We just saw one type of fish. Some girls were jumping off the top of the boat while holding hands and one of them dislocated her finger - ouch! We then sailed off into the sunset and had a light dinner while enjoying each others company. The water was calm and the night was beautiful.
Day 7
We got up slowly as we realized we had to pack and drive towards San Jose. It was pretty sad that we had to leave our resort and head towards home. We hopped in our rental and drove towards San Jose. It poured down rain, but we eventually made it. The GPS took us to town square in San Jose where there was some sort of crazy concert going on. It was a mess, but we eventually found our way to our hotel. It was a bit sketchy, and we had to share a twin bed. We drove down the street to a local pizza joint to grab a bite to eat. It was delicious. Then we found our way back to the hotel and braved the cockroaches, radiating light from the ping pong table behind our room, and 85 degree heat, to get some "sleep."
Day 8
We awoke early to head to the airport. We got there and proceeded to travel back to our home, safe and sound. Overall, we loved the trip and can't wait to go on our next adventure!!!
(I apologize... I can't get the photos to display correctly for the life of me.)
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