costa Rica 🇨🇷
Weds July 28
I went to Costa Rica with some so and realized I never really blAaaghed about it. So here I am. 2 months later.
What a trip.
Before going we had a few 'planning parties'. And by 'we' I mean those of us who weren't busy during the day in the summer (✋) and people who work from home. I had a good time getting organized and getting all the deets together. I like planning. #teacherlyfe
We had a group of six. Three men, three women. I just realized that's my golden ratio. 😂 #Allensiblingzzz
What a trip.
Before going we had a few 'planning parties'. And by 'we' I mean those of us who weren't busy during the day in the summer (✋) and people who work from home. I had a good time getting organized and getting all the deets together. I like planning. #teacherlyfe
We had a group of six. Three men, three women. I just realized that's my golden ratio. 😂 #Allensiblingzzz
We left town on a Weds. I drove to the airport with my brother. The original plan was to have everyone carpool with him, but everyone else wanted more time at the airport to they left earlier. I still went with my brother, and I got to spend time with *one of* my favorite siblings. 😁
Some of us bought toy dinosaurs to take pictures with on the trip. We're definitely children at heart.
Fortuitously I ran into a piece of the Costa Rica gang *right* after going through security. So I think I played all of my cards right in that situation. :) We rendezvous'd as the french say... and then headed to the gate to embark. Emphasis on the bark. JK. That's weird. (It's currently 2am in Finland and I can't sleep. Don't judge 😅).
On our travels we had a layover in Dallas. We were anxious to meet up with our friend, but we didn't end up seeing her until *just* as we were getting on the plane.
Our last friend wouldn't arrive until the next morning.
We landed around midnight, got some CASH 💸💰💱💲💴 at the airport and then headed out. Even at midnight there were lots of people looking to taxi customers to their destination. That was something I was stressed about. So when a man asked me if we needed a ride, I quickly said 'yes!' without consulting the group. 😅
I don't speak Spanish. That's hard for me to say. In Spanish that is, because I don't speak it. Our taxi driver, Jorge was giving us a lot of tips about things we should see, but I had to leave the understanding to the pros. #gaveupthecontrol
There was a little confusion at the gate to get to our AirBnB. They didn't have my name on a list of people staying. 😬 Luckily, Jorge was patient and talked them into letting us in.
We settled down for the night, dreaming of all the cool things we were about to see.
I don't speak Spanish. That's hard for me to say. In Spanish that is, because I don't speak it. Our taxi driver, Jorge was giving us a lot of tips about things we should see, but I had to leave the understanding to the pros. #gaveupthecontrol
There was a little confusion at the gate to get to our AirBnB. They didn't have my name on a list of people staying. 😬 Luckily, Jorge was patient and talked them into letting us in.
We settled down for the night, dreaming of all the cool things we were about to see.
thurs july 29
The next morning we asked if Jorge would come back and taxi us to get our rental car. That's where our final companion awaited. "Nine companions"🧝
JK there were only six of us. But I had to side in a LOTR reference, even if it wasn't applicable. 😂
JK there were only six of us. But I had to side in a LOTR reference, even if it wasn't applicable. 😂
A big part of what made this trip so fantastic, was the people. I don't want to write about then on the internet without their permission... But, just know that they were stellar. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Of Heavenly origins. And, just like with siblings, when there was one I wasn't jiving with (yes, I'm from the 30's #jk90skidalltheWAAAYYYY 😅), I could hang with another.
Where was I? Oh ya. Rental car. My really good friend, Juan (so much for not writing about my friends on the internet 😂) drove the whole time. He grew up in Guatemala so he knows the roads of Central America. He also knew the best places to get food, and he has some *fancy* taste. Earned him the nickname 'first class'. Or... It was probably the fact that he flew first class that earned him that nickname 😅.
Where was I? Oh ya. Rental car. My really good friend, Juan (so much for not writing about my friends on the internet 😂) drove the whole time. He grew up in Guatemala so he knows the roads of Central America. He also knew the best places to get food, and he has some *fancy* taste. Earned him the nickname 'first class'. Or... It was probably the fact that he flew first class that earned him that nickname 😅.
He also LOVED the Costa Rican motto "Pura vida" 🤙. The locals were all about the 'it's okay, but also it's really important that you take care of the planet'. It was (is) a really clean country.
Our first stop? Walmart. We loaded up on groceries and then had breakfast at a cafeteria there. Then we hit the road (drove actually) to our second / first AirBnB. We stayed in the La Fortuna / Arenal region first. It was BEAUTIFUL. Costa Rica is very lush and green. The weather was fantastic.
Our first *touristy* destination was the waterfall. La Fortuna. It's a hike down a bunch of stairs to a really powerful waterfall. We would get to see it from above the next day when we were zip lining.
We spent some time playing in the water and soaking in (pun intended 🙃) the reality of how beautiful it all was.
We spent some time playing in the water and soaking in (pun intended 🙃) the reality of how beautiful it all was.
After La Fortuna, we had dinner at Tiquicia. It was so good. So good. I think it was the favorite place we ate on the whole trip for a few of us. Good food. No walls. River nearby. Lizards on the ceiling. It was great.
I can't remember if it was the first or second night in Arenal that four of us had a late-night chat by the pool (it wasn't that late, I'm just an old soul 😅). That chat was really meaningful. One of the trip highlights for sure. Without getting #tooreal I'll just say this... It's nice to spend time with friends who seem to really want to get to know you.
friday july 30
Friday was the ZIP LINING day. It was one of the things I pushed for at our planning meetings. I'm still unsure if everyone was just being nice or if they were all super excited for it too. 😅 #youdonthavetoworryaboutthatwhentravelingalone
It was SO fun. I was a little nervous, but actually not as scared as I thought I would be. We selected the package that included 11 lines. It's good do do a few practice ones, you enjoy it more once you're more comfortable.
It was SO fun. I was a little nervous, but actually not as scared as I thought I would be. We selected the package that included 11 lines. It's good do do a few practice ones, you enjoy it more once you're more comfortable.
There were amazing views of the waterfall (La Fortuna) and the volcano (Arenal).
After zip lining, we headed to the El Salto rope swing. Got some roadside meat and rice pudding, then explored a little. I enjoyed people watching from the top. Needed some alone time and I didn't want to wander off #gotintroublewithfriendsfordoingthatinGlacier 😅
Our last adventure for the say- Mistico Hanging Bridges. It was really beautiful there too #surprise 😁. We got to see the cloud forest up close and personal. We were expecting to see a lot of animals there, but we didn't even see birds :/ . We saw what we think was a coati near the entrance though, so that was cool.
We ate at El Novillo del Arenal. Another really great night of food. We all got fruit milkshakes (smoothies) everywhere we went, and we all passed our food around the table to share. That's how I like to eat. We made a good team. 😊
The plan was to come home and roast dinner fruit over the fire to eat with ice cream... But we ended up boiling fruit in butter 😂. I had a good time in the kitchen though. Lots of laughter. Lots of my friend calling me 'chef' which stroked my ego everytime 😅.
We had some dessert, did some chocolate tasting (different candy bars we found at the grocery store) and then I headed to bed.
We had some dessert, did some chocolate tasting (different candy bars we found at the grocery store) and then I headed to bed.
saturday july 31
I woke up before everyone on this day. It was a little rainy outside, I went and sat by the pool, wrote in my journal, and played volleyball with myself. Yep.
On this day we drove to the Manuel Antonio area. We stayed in Quepos. On the way down, we ate at Brisa de la Montaña Cafetería. Which, I'll always remember as the place we tried to see Mickey and Donald Duck in the opening scene of 'The Little Mermaid' 😅🧜♀️
We stopped at a gas station and there were a couple of shops. We all tried some lychee. It was pretty good! Tasted like a grape 🍇.
We didn't get to our AirBnB until after dark. Luckily we caught the sunset at the beach *just* as we were driving into Quepos. We stopped to take pictures before heading to our last AirBnB.
The last of the AirBnBs was definitely my favorite. The front porch was huge. Lots of seating. Fun to hang out in. 🌴
We wanted to get a quick dinner to bring back to the AirBnB. We found a restaurant that was part of a resort. I can't remember the name of it... But it took them over an hour to get our food 😩. We had planned to celebrate Harry Potter's birthday that night. 🪄 One of our friends planned a whole 'Bertie Bots' taste test / make wands / watch Harry Potter night. I feel bad that we were so tired that night 😟. We tried a few every-flavor beans and then hit the hay.
sunday aug 1
We spent the day in Manuel Antonio. It was one of my favorite days. We hiked a little, say a sloth, 😍🦥, saw lots of Capuchin monkies 🐒, and then spent many hours on the beach.
Because it was Sunday, we had a discussion about Jesus. It was awesome. One of our friends had arranged for us to find pirate medallions buried in a chest in the sand. 🏴☠️🦜🧰
|
|
We had a night hike scheduled, but the forecast was lots of rain, so that was cancelled. It started POURING. We sat on the balcony upstairs and listened to it for a few minutes. Then we went down and frolicked in the rain. ☔ A couple from our crew went to pick up dinner, and some of us filmed an amateur recreation of the gate keeper at the village of Bree scene from LOTR. 😂
#nerdalert.
#nerdalert.
After a couple of our men returned with our food, we sat down to watch Pirates of the Caribbean to celebrate our medallions (which we all wore while watching 😂🏅). We couldn't figure out how to stream Disney+ to the TV, so we ended up squishing on the couch and watching on a laptop. PPretty much everyone left / fell asleep, but I made it until the end 🏆. I'll say it again, Sunday was a good day 😊.
monday aug 2
|
|
|
We started the day off at Dominical. It was supposed to be the best surfing in Costa Rica. For two of our crew, I think that was their #1 thing, good surfing. Unfortunately, the waves weren't great 😐.
|
After wandering around, a local gave us a recommendation to go and visit a waterfall that you could slide down... Catarata Uvita. Naturally, we went. It was super cool! A few brave souls slid down (I wasn't one of them 😅).
We ate at the restaurant at the top where we parked.
We headed to Playa Hermosa, a couple of us wanted to see the Whale's tail, but we got there too pate. They weren't letting people on past 4pm. We headed back to our AirBnB to get ready for our night hike.
This was our last chance to see the wildlife of Costa Rica! We saw a lot of insects, and a tarantula. Which, I was NOT a fan of. I wouldn't even look at it. The night hike wasn't my cup of tea, but I know others enjoyed it 😅. Afterwards our guide took us to a frog garden. That part was pretty cool.
|
|
We grabbed dinner and grocery shopped one last time. When we got home, we took our over-the-phone covid tests. Those things made it so easy. I'm a fan.
tuesday aug 3
Our last day. Me and Dr Jones (😉) made breakfast and then we all packed. Our plan was to stop by a couple of beaches before heading back to San Jose. Our flight was around midnight, so we had the whole day.
The first beach we went to was only 20 mins from our AirBnB. Which turned out to be really lucky. As we were getting out of the van, we noticed we didn't have the keys. Also tender mercy that we have turned off the car because we wanted to leave the AC on and have someone stay with our luggage. After searching for the keys, we guessed that they might be back at the AirBnB?
It sounds less stressful now than it was in the moment... But we were stressed.
The keys were on the ground at the Airbnb.
It turns out they were set on the mirror and fell off when we backed up. Ummm WHAT kind of car let's you drive away without the keys inside? Send like a manufacturer's error.
The keys were on the ground at the Airbnb.
It turns out they were set on the mirror and fell off when we backed up. Ummm WHAT kind of car let's you drive away without the keys inside? Send like a manufacturer's error.
Anyway. We drove back to the beach. Biesanz beach. Apparently this guy from New Orleans owns the land but lets the public visit. It was a beautiful beach. 😊
|
|
Me and a couple of men went exploring in the jungle. I didn't mind 😉. We said goodbye to one of our dinosaurs and then headed back.
The lady from the day before told us NOT to visit Jaco beach. She said it was really touristy and trashy. We did stop by crocodile bridge though!
We drove back to San Jose. We met up with of friend of one of ours and his family. They were lovely. We went to dinner and then hung out at their house and ate ice cream and looked at travel pictures. We also watched a couple of homemade videos, which were pretty great 😂.
Well that's how our trip came to an end. It was a good trip. Different than my solo traveling adventures, in a lot of really good ways. There were a lot of hard things too, that I don't usually deal with when traveling. Some hurt feelings... But per usual, I'll maybe reference those, but I won't get into the dirty details online. Getting to know friends better, seeing a beautiful country, experiencing a different culture, was all in all, successful.
Friends trip vs solo trip you ask? It depends. I'm not opposed to either, a trip is a trip 😁
Friends trip vs solo trip you ask? It depends. I'm not opposed to either, a trip is a trip 😁
Trip overview
For those who don't want to read all the details and myy 2: random thoughts...
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 7:
Day 1:
- Flew from SLC to Dallas to San Jose
- Taxi'd to our AirBnB, took a minute to get in the gated community.
Day 2:
- Same taxi driver took us back to the airport to pick up Juan
- picked up car
- headed to Walmart for breakfast
- drove to Airbnb #2 (Gato House) had a pool
- La Fortuna Waterfall
- Dinner at Tiqucia
- Chocolate 'tasting' with gas station candy
- Late night talks
Day 3:
- Zipline
- El Salto (waterfall)
- Mistico (hanging bridges, nature reserve)
- El Novillo de Arenal (meal)
- Ice cream, fruit (star fruit from our tree) and more chocolate
Day 4:
- Leisurely check out, morning by the pool
- 5 hr drive to next Airbnb
- Lunch on the road at Brisa de la Montana cafeteria
- Stopped to take sunset pictures by the rocks
- AirBnB #3 super large patio
- Dinner at nearby hotel, got food to-go Moroccan / Israeli food. Ate back at the AirBnB and Bertie Bots for dessert
Day 5:
- Manuel Antonio (national park)
- Our own area of the beach with monkeys and jungle
- Body surfing / Come Follow Me discussion / finding burried treasure
- Walking through the rest of the park, spotting sloths
- souvenir shopping
- Back to Airbnb, night tour got cancelled because of the rain.
- Filmed LoTR scene while Juan and Les went for food
- Watched Pirates of the Caribbean with our new medallions
- Another chill morning
- Dominical for surfing, not good waves :/
- Uvita Falls, some slid down waterfall (recommended by a local)
- Night tour (frog garden was the coolest part)
- For dinner we went to grocery store and got snacks near the night tour. I got a smoothie at a restaurant nearby too
Day 7:
- Checked out of AirBnB and headed to beach
- Car key discovered missing luckily before we turned off car
- Drove back to Airbnb and found key on the ground
- 1st beach was part of resort so we skipped it. Second beach we took turns while someone in our group guarded the car. (Biesanz beach) it was a cool beach. 3 of us went exploring in the jungle a little
- Journey back to San Jose, stopped at crocodile bridge and shopped a little
- In San Jose we met JP's friend Tom for dinner
- We hung out at Tom's house and watched YouTube videos and had ice cream until it was time to go to the airport