La Pura Vida

Day 1 continued....

I have to admit that when we finally pulled up to the house and realized that it looked like the pictures we had seen before we arrived, it was a big relief. The house was all lit up and there was relaxing music playing and candles and flowers everywhere. After the tour of the house and talking to Donald, the owner, for a bit about our tours and recommendations, we settled in for the night.

Day 2 (Sunday 10/4)

We went to a local bar across the road for drinks and to catch the Bears game. We had some pizza for lunch, which was pretty good for Costa Rica. Later that afternoon, we headed down the street and drove down an unpaved road to the beach...think windy curves, potholes, no shoulder, people passing with no room to spare. The beach was gorgeous and Kileigh absolutely loved her first time in the ocean. After the beach, we came back to the house and swam in the pool and then cleaned up for dinner. We went to El Avion, which has an old military plane inside with a bar where you can have drinks or eat in. We sat in the regular restaurant part overlooking the ocean for the sunset, which we caught the tail end of. We have some drinks and appetizers and then headed across the street to an italian restaurant for dinner. After dinner, we came back to the house and sat out on the upstairs deck to wind down for the night.

Day 3 (Monday 10/5)

Yesterday Kevin, his parents, and brother all went on a jet ski tour. I stayed at the house with Kileigh. I was able to interact with Jessica, the housekeeper, a bit and she really enjoyed playing with Kileigh. Kileigh really took to her quickly! Before I knew it, they were back at the house and we went swimming in the pool. We had sandwiches at the house and then Kevin and Pat took a siesta in the afternoon, before heading downtown to Quepos to do some shopping. We went to La Hacienda for dinner, which was set into the jungle. What a beautiful location for dinner! We feasted on chicken, shrimp, and snapper. It was absolutely delicious! We stopped at a local grocery store and then headed back to the house. They sat out on the deck, but I was exhausted so I went to bed early.

Day 4 (Tuesday 10/6)

Today was our tour of Manuel Antonio National Park. We picked up our guide at a local restaurant and then drove to the park. On the way, Gama had us stop along side the road, because he had spotted an iguana in the tree. We parked and set off on our tour. We saw some spiders, iguana, monkeys, raccoons, crabs, and caimans. After the tour, we spent some time at the beach. We left around 1pm and hit Cafe Milagro for lunch. We had some sandwiches and milkshakes. Then we went back to the house and went swimming for a few hours. Kileigh had a blast walking around the ledge in the jacuzzi, which was more pool water temperature. We got out and hung out on the upper deck watching the rain come in, while discussing our next vacation options. We cooked spaghetti for dinner and are going to play Apples to Apples.

Day 5 (Wednesday 10/7)

Sailing/Snorkelling tour

Day 6 (Thursday 10/8)

Zipline Canopy Tour

Day 7 (Friday 10/9)

Surfing for Kevin & Andy...Beach day

Day 8 (Saturday 10/10)

Return home

Greetings from Costa Rica

After a 2:30am wake-up call yesterday, we packed all our stuff in the limo and set off for O'hare. We were there by 3:30 for our 6am flight to Charlotte. Check-in went smoothly and Kileigh enjoyed walking around in the terminal. The flight to Charlotte was smooth. Kileigh struggled to get settled initially, but fell asleep for the remainder of the flight. Our layover in Charlotte went by very quickly. We had breakfast and explored the shops for a few minutes, before heading to the gate. As we settled in at the gate, they announced we needed to bring our boarding passes and passports to check-in. After doing that, they announced it was time for boarding and then we settled in for our 3 1/2 hour flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. Kileigh was awake for that flight, but was well behaved, and before we knew it we were landing. We went through customs, got our bags, bought some duty-free liquor, and then met up with our driver.

The first portion of the drive leaving the airport reminded off being in some third world countries with the houses and buildings. Shortly after taking off we stopped at a local spot for some lunch. It was outside, but a covered building. When we were ready to leave, it started to pour, but the rain didn't last long. After lunch, we drove through the mountains, up and down and around tight corners. The roads don't have the shoulders they way they do back in the states. It was a little hair raising at times. Halfway through the trip, we stopped at Crocodile bridge. There were probably 25-30 crocodiles swimming in the river or hanging out on the banks. We stopped at a local grocery store and picked up a few items for breakfast and drinks. Once we got back on the road, we noticed how dark it had gotten. There were lots of locals walking along side the road or biking with no sidewalk or much of a shoulder to walk on. Thank goodness we had a driver and didn't have to manuever our way in the dark with no street lights to guide us. When we arrived in Quepos, we drove through the downtown area and then headed to our home for the week "Casa Tranquila". When we arrived, we were exhausted from our travels, but thankful to have made it and be greeted with quite a sight.

Donald, the owner, was there when we arrived. We unloaded our luggage and groceries and when we came into the house, we were greeted with a "welcome fruit drink". Donald gave us a tour of the house. To be continued.