Trip's End

Our plane was only about 15 minutes late.  We boarded and settled into our seats, preparing to rise into the air.  Take off went very smoothly, but the pressure changes definitely did not help Bryan feel any better.  He slept most of the flight back, but we both did watch The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Bryan also woke up for lunch, which was composed of a really nasty ham and cheese sandwich with fairly good potato salad, and an wonderful custard for dessert.  There was a fair bit of turbulence, but our pilot got us back to Houston in good time.  I called Dad on our way to customs, and then called my cousin Joseph, who said he was on his way!  Hooray for cousins!

Of course, as we were standing in the customs line, Jill called back and revealed that Joseph had forgotten about picking us up until I called.  I sure am glad I made good use of my phone!  It all worked out though--customs took the longest that I've ever experienced, so it gave them plenty of time to get up to the airport.

After finally emerging from customs, we went to the baggage claim, where we had to ask which conveyor our flight was assigned.  It had yet to be posted on the electronic board.  Nevertheless, the airport employees (well, the second set) were very helpful and guided us to the correct place.  We had picked up our bags and were almost through the "exit customs" line when Joseph called to say that he and Jill had just pulled up outside.  Talk about timing!

We got through the line, found their car, loaded our things, and were out of there!  We were on the way to Mom and Dad's house to pick up the girls when we decided that dinner was in order.  We picked Papasitos--as wonderful as Costa Riccan fare was, it definitely wasn't TexMex!

Joseph insisted on treating us--he's so sweet.  We sat talking with him and Jill for an hour or so before resuming the trip to Mom and Dad's.  We said thank you and good bye to Joseph and Jill, and then went in to see the pups.  They were sooo happy to see us!  I stayed inside with them while Bryan loaded the Santa Fe, and then we (all four of us) loaded up to head home!

The only excitement in the drive south was when the dogs decided to take a lap around the block upon exiting the car, instead of entering the house.  Other than that, we all arrived safe and sound, unloaded the car, and went to bed...our very own bed!!!  It was a wonderful trip, but it sure is nice to be home with the pups again!

EL FIN

Our Last Day

This morning we were out of bed by 6:15 AM.  We got dressed and packed up the remainder of our things that hadn't made it into the bags the night before.  Bryan started loading the car and I did a last sweep through of the down and upstairs, the bathroom and the safe.  I brought the AC remote downstairs and made sure the towels were in a pile in the bathroom.  We finished loading our bags into the car and were walking to find the owner's daughter when she found us.  She did a quick inspection of our room, at the end of which we handed over the keys and she handed over our safe deposit.  We said goodbye and thanked her for a pleasant stay.  We said goodbye to the bartender as well, since he and "Dog" (his rottie) walked up as we were leaving.  Dog is a good pup, even if his name is a bit redundant lol.

We went to see if Buen Appetito was open and Gia (I finally asked for her name) was just arriving.  She set us up an outside table and served us our batidos de fresa, pina y agua, and my fruit bowl with granola and yogurt, and Bryan's fruit salad, even though she and her staff were still going through their opening procedures.  She is so nice!  We ate, paid, and said goodbye.  I ran back to give the cleaning lady a tip for the week and then got into the car.  The security guard opened the gate for us and off we drove, leaving Tamarindo behind.  Hopefully, we'll return one day.

The drive to Liberia only took about an hour, even with a construction stop and a couple of stops for cows to cross the road.  Bryan's gotten really good at Costa Rica driving--he was passing other vehicles right and left!  We stopped to fill the tank about 12 km fro the airport, and arrived at Avis.  The car return went very smoothly, as did the whole rental process, but I think if we come back we will probably rely on the shuttles for transportation.  They are very convenient, well-run, and significantly cheaper than renting a car.  We took the tram to the airport, paid the $26 a person exit tax, and then tried to check in to the wrong airline.  We sorted that out, got through security and have been in the waiting area since about 9 AM.

We should be boarding in about 30 minutes (it's 11:10 AM now) but we're still waiting for the plane to arrive.  This is a pretty nice open-air airport--fairly clean, and the employees are very friendly and helpful.  There's a nice breeze right now, Bryan's reading, and it's a beautiful day.  I'll write my last entry for this trip later tonight, once we're home safe!

Volcanic Hot Springs...mmmmmm

After waiting for quite a period of time, the bus back to the tour starting point arrived.  We all loaded aboard and prepared to leave....right as another group trudged up the path from the river.  Our bus driver decided to wait for them, so we had to sit tight for another 10 minutes while they put up their tubes and claimed their clothes.  One gentleman in a speedo stripped on down and changed clothes right in front of God and everyone.  Listening to the reactions of the other people on our bus was hilarious--they ranged from shock and outrage to heckling lol.  The other group finally squeezed on board and we headed back to the start point.

It was decided that it was too late for us to do the waterfall part of the tour--no big surprise as we had been running late all day.  Honestly though, most of our group was tired enough not to mind.  We did get to see that one waterfall at the beginning of the river rafting run and frankly, after my three flips, I was more than done with being immersed in cold water!

At the start point, I stood in line and bought a CD of all the pictures and videos from our group's day for $40.  We split the cost with Hunter and Amber, and we'll make them their copy when we get back home.  Then we loaded on the tour bus--we were the last ones on--and trundled up the road to the volcanic mud and hot springs spa.  We decided we didn't care to go in the saunas and so we headed to the last of the three hot springs.


We got in slowly to adjust to the incredible heat.  Once we were acclimated, it was wonderful!  Amber had to get out first, but Hunter, Bryan and I stayed in a bit longer.  A Canadian family with a baby--Astrid--came down and we all shared travel stories.  Astrid's dad stayed out of the water with her--it was way to hot for her, and he, like Amber, wasn't a big fan of the high heat of that pool.  We continued soaking until a LARGE group of French folks came down.  At that point, we decided to relocate--there were definitely more people than room.  We went up to the next hot spring, which was cooler but muddier.  We had this one all to ourselves until we decided to go to the mudroom.

We all thought the mudroom would involve getting into tubs of mud or something similar, but we actually got to paint it on ourselves!  One of the spa guys helped us get our backs.  Bryan skipped the mud, but took some pictures with Amber's camera.  I painted all over and so did Hunter, while Amber was a bit more restrained.

After so thoroughly mudding ourselves, we went back to the second hot spring.  We were worried about dirtying the spring further, but the Alabama folks encouraged us to go ahead and use it to rinse off since the spring was already so muddy.  By this time, the mud was fairly well dried on so it took some serious rinsing.  Then we had to rinse off the sediment from the hot spring in the outdoor shower--which was FREEZING!  After being in the hot spring, the cold water did feel nice, at least until the wind picked up!  At Bryan's urging we hurried back up the path (where we saw a scorpion) to the bus--we were the last ones on board again.  Ooops!


We apologized and quickly got settled for the trip back to Tamarindo.  I was a bit sad we didn't get to see the lava glow, but maybe that was only for the other tour to the Arenal volcano.  Oh well.  As with Bryan's dive trip, that's something for next time!  Exhausted and achy, I dozed while we were on the rough road, and then passed out when we got to the pavement.  Bryan was coughing pretty badly, like the night before, so I woke up occasionally for that.  He also woke me up to see the glow from a huge fire, but other than that I didn't wake up until we entered Tamarindo.

When we were dropped up at La Palapa, we immediately went to the front desk.  It occurred to us that Cherri was gone and we hadn't mentioned our early check-out needs to anyone else.  We spoke with the owner's daughter (who is part owner herself) and she was shocked at Hunter and Amber's departure time (which WAS super early--3:45 AM--especially for a small, privately owned hotel as opposed to a chain hotel that normally has a night desk clerk, but they did have to catch the shuttle back to Tamarindo).  She recovered quickly and was more than willing to oblige them.  She was a bit happier with our check out time.  She told the bar tender, who also opens the place up, and he pretended to "shoot" Hunter and Amber for making him get up so early.  I thought it was funny, but they seemed to miss the joke.

We all showered, navigating the challenges of sharing a wall and the inherent water pressure and temperature fluctuations with the skills developed over the past week.  We then headed to CopaCabana for our last dinner in Tamarindo.  Bryan had Mahi Mahi in white wine sauce and a Coke, I had the Crusoe salad again and the same wine as before, Amber had two appetizers--shrimp and nachos--with red wine, and Hunter had tuna and a pina colada.  It was all delicious!

Afterward, we ran to the upstairs supermercado, where Hunter and Amber bought some snacks for their trip home and Bryan and I bough coffee for folks back home.  Once back in front of our rooms, we all hugged and wished each other safe trips back.  Bryan and I went in to pack up.  All the souvenirs went in with the dirty clothes (and the few clean ones left) and all of the wet and damp things went into the extra duffel that we packed for that purpose.  We left out what we would need for the morning, stumbled up the stairs, and fell deeply asleep around 10:30 AM.

Adventure Day: Tubing!

At the tubing starting place, we stuffed our unwanted clothing into bags that were provided and got a brief demonstration on the appropriate way to sit in the tube, where our handles should be, and what to do if you flipped.  Bryan paid more attention than I did.  Then we carried our tubes down a very steep switchback path to a calmish part of the river.  On the right was a beautiful waterfall that someone was Tarzan swinging through.

We got into the river, got situated in our tubes, and embarked on our hour-long river rapid adventure!  Hunter flipped first, but he was ok.  I went next, managing to flip at the beginning of a rapid set.  Come to find out, I should have paid better attention at the beginning, because I was positioned incorrectly in my tube, with my handles behind me instead of in front.  So, over I went.

I held on to the tube, which technically we weren't supposed to do if we flipped.  However, I was smack dab in the middle of a rapid set with no guide nearby.  Using my tube and life vest, and relying on childhood summers of rapid riding at the Llano, I was doing ok.  I almost made it through the set without getting too banged up, but the second significant drop had what I call a BFR (aka a Big Fucking Rock) right past the bottom.  I cracked my left shin against it, right below the knee.  It hurt so much!  I scrambled along a bit further until the water slowed down and shallowed up.  Then I got back into my tube--the correct way--and was ready to go again!  I flipped once more, but there was nothing but deep water below that rapid and Turi was there to help me back into my tube (not that I needed it--I managed just fine on my own).

Hunter, Amber and Bryan were a bit in front of me, and Hunter actually flipped a second time in the same spot as my second flip.  Amber flipped once and took one of the Alabama guys with her--both emerged fine WITH both their sunglasses and Amber's camera as well!  Amber also got a charlie horse in her calf that hurt so much it set her to screaming loud enough that I think the people back in Tamarindo might have heard her lol.  Raphael helped her and Hunter strech out her leg and get the muscles to unlock.


All in all it was a wonderful river run, flips and my tendency to get caught in dead spots in the current aside!  The canyon the river ran through was beautiful, and we even saw white-face monkey high up in the trees!  At the end of the run, Turi held my tube back from the rest.  I should have figured out what was going on (he was waiting for a photographer) but I was busy being confused.  Turi flipped me out of my tube!

I came up spluttering, and told him "You'd better run!"  I then switched to Spanish and shouted "Corre!".  He tried to get away, but I chased him and dunked him back!  He came up spluttering and we had a good laugh.  He let me carry his tube, which was much lighter, back up the hill while he carried mine.  We were laughing the whole time, and he made the sign of the cross over Bryan, blessing him for "putting up" with me.  Lol.  It was wonderful.  We got to the top, stacked the tubes, and reclaimed our clothes.  We waited for our bus for quite a while.  While we were waiting, Turi brought me the see of un arbol de Guanacaste (the state of Costa Rica we've been in) to take home with me.  It was a very sweet gesture.  Once again, I find myself extremely grateful for my Spanish--it made Turi and me friends, if only for a brief time.

Adventure Day: Horseback Riding

As I finished reapplying sunscreen, everyone else in our tour group filtered over to the start point.  From there, we followed a guide down to the stables.

With our first horseback ride having been so spectacular, I was really excited.  Unfortunately, this trail ride proved to be quite a let down for both Bryan and me.  First off, we had to wear helmets, which did carry over to the river tubing later, but which didn't really fit, and were more of a nuisance than a true safety measure.  There were also more than 20 people on the ride, so the trail got pretty crowded.

  I rode a mule named Cubana who, while very sweet and patient, was way too old to be doing trail rides in the heat of the day.  I also felt like I was a bit too big to be riding her.  She only wanted to walk, and was so tired that she was quite the stumble bum.  She would break into a trot, but only when the head rider would come alongside us whistling and swinging his rope.  I enjoyed the brief bursts of speed, but I felt really guilty the whole time.  Bryan's horse wouldn't go above an amble either.  According to the Scottish lady, her horse was in its mid-twenties, and most of the others were older as well.  Overall, it was not a pleasant or relaxing ride though it was a beautiful trail that wound through the forest and passed through several water crossings (which Cubana maneuvered through like a champ).

Our first ride was definitely much better.  I spoke with the Scottish woman at the end of the ride and she was very distressed over the horses' conditions.  Most were too old to be trail horses all day everyday and many were too skinny, even taking into account the difficulty of keeping weight on a horse in that heat.  Their conditions were the complete opposite of Colorado, Palomo, Negro and Tita, who all had decent weight to them.  The beautiful trail did not make up for the unfairness in the way the horses were being treated.

Adventure Day: Zip Lining!

We were up and in front of La Palapa by 6:30AM.  Bryan and I followed our regular morning routine--sunscreening up and packing some things we thought we might need--so Hunter and Amber beat us to the waiting spot again.  So, we waited.

And waited.

About 6:50 (after we and the Alabama group who was waiting with us started to get nervous) the van/bus came trundling down the road.  The delay was due to two people not showing up at their hotel, which dropped our number to 16.  The drive to the Rincon de Vieja tour spot was approximately an hour and a half.  I think it was supposed to be a bit longer--closer to two hours--but out driver booked it!  His driving style made me feel slightly nauseated, so I slept most of the way.  I did wake up for our stop in Liberia for gas and again for the last 30 minutes, during which we were on a very rough dirt road.  It reminded me of the koliche roads in the Hill Country.

Once at the tour stop, we loaded off the bus and were loaded into our zip lining harnesses.  We drank glasses of watermelon juice (jugo de sandia) and took some pictures before heading to the base of the first platform.  A wonderful Scottish couple was in front of us in line.  The live outside of Toronto, Canada and are both police officers.  The husband was in INTEL (which consists, in his words, or catching psychos and rapists) and the wife is in INVESTIGATIONS.  She's a detective now, but back in Scotland she was a mounted officer who broke up bar fights by riding her horse straight through the crowd!

We started the zip line after a brief wait and it was SO MUCH FUN!!  I was so proud of Bryan for zip lining too, and he seemed to think it was pretty neat!  On the third platform we met Turi, who was actually present with our group most of the day.  The workers there really got a kick out of the fact that I speak Spanish, so we were talking most of the day.  The first three zip lines were all through the canopy, but the fourth and fifth zip lines were over a canyon!  On the fourth, we had the option of going upside down--which I did!  What a rush!  Bryan went right side up, and went in front of me to get some pictures as I flew along upside down, watching the canyon river rush along beneath.

In between the fourth and fifth zip lines there was a straight drop-down into the canyon itself via a rope and pulley system, which I also did upside down!  Then we got to Tarzan swing across the canyon to the base of the opposite side.  Or rather, we got to make several attempts with the spotters pretending to catch us and then "missing" and grabbing our feet, only to send us spinning back across the canyon.  They loved it lol.

Into the wall on the opposite side of the canyon they had affixed rock-climbing hand and footholds.  Once we actually landed, we had to climb up.  I admit, with my wrist and elbow, I was pretty worried.

Luckily for me--and the people waiting behind and below me--when I started faltering after the first third of the way up I just had to use the foot and handholds to stay attached to the wall!  The guys at the top literally pulled me up the rest of the way, except for the very last few feet, which I did manage myself.  At the top there was a nice jug of cool water from which I got a much-needed drink.  Then came the fifth zip line, at the end of which we got to climb sideways across the face of the canyon wall on stake-grips for a few feet to another Tarzan swing.  This swung us across to another set of stake-grips that let us climb up to the platform that started the last few zip lines.

The whole experience was so exciting!  The combination of flying and swinging, falling and climbing was exhilarating and gave us an amazing view of a beautiful canyon.  That said, we all looked forward to the zip line portions--they helped cool us down!  At the end, we were all tired and more than ready for lunch!

We trekked back to our starting place, were divested of our zip lining gear, and crossed the road to the restaurant.  Lunch was delicious and relaxing.  We sat at a table with Hunter and Amber, the Scottish couple and another couple from Seattle.  There was water and fruit juice to drink, a delicious chicken soup and a nice salad bar.  The lettuce was the spindly kind as opposed to big leaves, but it was still very good.  For the main meal there was a variety of options--chicken, beef, vegetables, rices and spaghetti with alfredo sauce (which is what I chose; Bryan had chicken, rice and vegetables).  For dessert there was an amazing rice pudding.

We all ate and chatted for a bit, relaxing in the brisk breeze that swept through the restaurant.  A guitar and wooden xylophone were played and a beautiful team of some sort of oxen came by for pictures.  They let people sit on them and were very sweet and soft.

I started reapplying sunscreen at the restaurant and finished back at the starting point.  We all got ready for the next portion of our day--horseback riding and river tubing! 

Resting Up

This morning was so much fun, but we were more than ready to go get some lunch and relax for a bit!  We went back to Buon Apetito, which is quickly becoming our favorite lunch/breakfast place.  Bryan and I both had batidos de pina, fresa y agua (water, pineapple and strawberry shakes).  I ordered the Buon Apetito sandwich and Bryan ordered that atun (tuna).  We each ate half of our own, and then switched :-).  They were both amazing.  After the sandwiches, we had some gelatto.  Bryan ordered a cone with a scoop of coconut gelatto--which he promptly dropped on the floor!  It was just like a movie:  one lick, and SPLAT!  We got him another one--this time in a cup with the cone on top lol.  I had a scoop of vanilla under a scoop of black cherry gelatto--delicious!  After lunch, Bryan and I headed back to our room.  He laid down on the padded sofa seat downstairs and I jumped in the shower.  After I got out, he was still asleep, so I decided to start reading Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead.  Bryan woke up when I sat down and decided to jump in the shower.  With all the steam from both of our showers, the room was feeling a bit stuff, so I headed out to one of the beach chairs to read and enjoy the view.

Amber and Hunter went down the beach to the left, facing the ocean, but also sat in the beach chairs briefly and collected sea shells from the beach to the far right.  They've decided to swim across the mouth of the estuary tomorrow to gain access to the far beach without having to drive a long ways.  I tried to caution them against the idea--the estuary is technically still brackish water and there have been incidents of the crocodiles coming out to the mouth--and suggested taking a boat across.  I don't think either of them took the warning all that seriously.  They said they'd be careful, but the only was to truly be careful is to NOT swim in the estuary--the water visibility does not allow for the keeping of a crocodile lookout!  Hopefully nothing untoward will happen and my worries will come to nothing.  At least I expressed my concerns.  Oh well.

Bryan came out from the room right about sunset.  We sat together reading for a bit and then decided to look for dinner.  We walked down the beach to the left to tell Hunter and Amber we were ready to eat, since we had originally planned to eat together.  However, we ended up going on our own because Hunter still needed to shower and Bryan was still feeling bad enough to want to eat early and go back to the room.  We ended up going up to one restaurant, but as we'd had a late and fairly substantial lunch, we were looking for a good salad option, and that particular place did not offer very many.

So, we left the beach and started walking down the street.  We came to the shop where we bought our sunscreen and Hunter's and my floppy hats.  Yesterday I had seen a pretty green stone pendant with silver beads hung on twine.  I had really admired it and (according to Bryan) had mentioned it several times since I had seen it.  He, being the sweet husband he is, bought it for me and helped me put it on!  The green was a nice color with my pretty brown sundress and my sandals.  I love it!!

Afterwards, we came to a restautant called Copacabana.  Looking at the menu posted outside we saw a salad called "Crusoe" that was compiled of oranges, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, avocado slices, corn, lettuce, crushed pineapple and small boiled shrimp.  It was served in half of a pineapple with a mayonnaise-based herb and honey sauce that had a bit of a kick.  It was delicious--filling and healthy AND fresh and light all at the same time!  There was also complimentary garlic toast on the side.  Bryan had a Coke to drink and I had a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile (misiones something) and water.  We ate on the "indoor" part of the open-air restaurant, facing the beach as the light faded.  It truly was a wonderful meal.


I have been very glad of my Spanish today, as neither Ronal nor the horse lady spoke good English.  That let me help get everything set up until Charlie took over.  His English was fine.  Even then though it was fun speaking Spanish to Colorado and to the two dogs who followed us on our horseback ride.  Other than that, I am a bit worried about Bryan still.  Taking the Ibuprofen and getting a good nap today has helped, but he is still coughing a lot.  I'm glad he canceled his dive trip, even though I know he's a bit disappointed about that.  As he pointed out, better disappointed then diving unable to clear and dying.  Good point.  Tomorrow will be a good day for him (and me too of course!) to relax some more, and when we get home, he'll go to the doctor.  There's a farmacia (pharmacy) right across the street, but he wants to wait until we get home.   

Anyway, we'll go back to Copacabana for breakfast tomorrow, or at least that's the current plan.  After dinner, we returned to the room where we watched parts of various TV shows and movies (hooray channel surfing in two languages!) and I read my book on the small couch downstairs while Bryan laid on the longer section.  I dosed off there at about 8:45 PM--Bryan woke me to come upstairs to bed, which is where we are now.  Time for sleep!  Tomorrow will be time to enjoy our last day on this trip NOT waking up to an alarm!  And once we do wake up--relaxing, souvenir shopping, and seashell hunting!