Day 8 - Costa Rica - Fly from Costa Rica to Phoenix through Houston

Saturday morning we got up early (4 AM), grabbed our bags and rushed out to meet the travel agency taxi dude. He was the same guy that took us from the airport on day 1. He was nice and took us on some back roads that got us to the airport quicker.

At the airport, we had to fill out some paperwork and then wait for our flight. We were sad to leave such a beautiful country, but eager to get home where we could sleep in our own comfortable bed and drive places without fearing for our lives! The driving experience in Costa Rica made us appreciate the wide roads, the street signs, the rules of the road, and the enforcement of those rules in the USA.

Day 7 - Costa Rica - Drive from Manuel Antonio to San Jose

It has taken me a while to finish documenting the Costa Rica trip. I've probably lost most of you by now, but just in case someone is interested, day 7 was a Friday. We basically just had a relaxing day at the hotel, with breakfast and beautiful views.

We went to lunch with Alicia's friend Krissy at a nearby spot that was basically a rooftop converted into a little cafe. The nachos were great and the views again were spectacular!

Soon afterwards, we had to check out of the hotel and begin the dreaded trip back to San Jose. Actually, the road back was quite good and didn't rain on us until we got into the city. There was only one notable incident that happened on the way back. A bus full of people was cutting people off, including me! This bus driver was crazy...he ran me off the road and then was passing cars and trucks on narrow roads. The whole time with a bus load of people! I don't think I will be taking the bus any time soon in Costa Rica!

When we got to San Jose, it was pouring! We luckily guessed the right street to take that took us right down into the middle and heart of the city. Since there were no street signs, we had to rely on the map and the landmarks. Alicia did a great job of finding landmarks, such as the hospital, cathedral, or town square and then counting the streets until we got to ours. The street that we turned onto was narrow and packed with cars, people and buses. Even though our hotel was only about three or four blocks from the turn, it took us forever to get there!

After arriving at the hotel, I dropped Alicia off and had to fill the car with gas. The car rental place informed me several times that I must leave it filled with "Super" (the type of gas, like Supreme). So, I got directions and in the pouring rain, tried to find the nearest gas station. I went in a couple of circles and had trouble finding a station, and then took a couple of wrong turns on the way back, but eventually I returned with a full tank of gas. Luckily, the car rental place came and picked up the car. The guy was right there at the front waiting. I was so relieved to be done with driving in Costa Rica!

I was starving, but we had no car and it was pouring rain, so I ordered Pizza Hut. They delivered and again we had a great meal! :)

Day 6 - Costa Rica - The beach and monkeys

Thursday we spent most of the day at the beach. There is a park on the beach that has trails and nice beaches, so we went there. It was a little peninsula that stuck out in the ocean with beaches on both sides and a jungle in the middle.

After relaxing on the beach for a while, we decided to head back and found a small trail that we hadn't explored yet. It was dark from all the trees and vegetation blocking the sun, and no one was on it, so it was quite eery. We kept seeing these bright colored crabs, orange and blue I think and we could also hear them scurrying in the bushes. As we went along there were more crabs and they were bigger, so we decided to go back the beach and go another way! :)

At the main trail to the beach a monkey all of a sudden jumped from a tree on one side of the trail to the other, which startled us! The white faced monkeys were right there. They came down and were looking around. I was standing right in front of one of the monkeys and I'll admit I was a little nervous, but I was getting some great video! :)

Later that afternoon while we were eating lunch at the hotel restaraunt, with a gorgeous view by the way, some squirrel monkeys were jumping and climbing around in the trees that were right next to our table. We thought after about ten of them that we wouldn't see any more, but there ended up being about thirty of them at least that came by. The squirrel monkeys were smaller and had a high pitched squeel....I think I would have thought their sound was from a bird if I couldn't see them with my eyes.

That night we met up with Alicia's friend Krissie, who lives in Costa Rica. She and her boyfriend, Jason, were very nice and took us to a local hangout spot in Quepos. We walked around the little town afterwards, which made Alicia nervous because it was dark and late and there were bums on the street. They also gave us a tour of Jason's father's house in Manuel Antonio, which was huge, with a great view and pool and rents for $10k a week! Bruce Willis and other stars have stayed there with their families.

Day 5 - Costa Rica - Drive from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio

Wednesday was a long and rough day. We drove from La Fortuna (Arenal) to Manuel Antonio, which took us about 7 hours. Most of the drive was in the rain and we didn't really know where we are going. The signs in Costa Rica have much to be desired, and the roads were wet, windy and narrow.

The best part of the day was when we got back to the Pan American highway, and then pulled off at a town and saw a Pizza Hut. We were starved and this medium pepporoni pizza was the best food we had the whole trip!

We were so relieved to finally arrive at Manuel Antonio and find our hotel, Si Como No. This hotel was very nice, but different than Tabacon. Manuel Antonio is next to the Pacific Ocean and our room had a spectacular view of the ocean! We had our own deck with big windows overlooking the ocean.

Day 4 - Costa Rica - Butterflies, Hike to the Waterfall

On Tuesday we ate breakfast and then headed back up the bumpy road toward the Arenal Observatory and Sky Trek, but this time we went past Sky Trek to the Butterfly Observatory. It was very humid and we were sweating a ton! The people working at the observatory were very friendly and told us all about the butterflies and showed us a poisonous frog that has a red body and blue legs. He said in Costa Rica, they say they have blue jeans on.

The butterflies were in these mesh tents, like greenhouses. We took tons of pictures and video and were amazed at the various types and colors of butterflies! Then, it was back into the Dihatsu.

We drove back to the Arenal Observatory and this time we walked on a trail down to a waterfall. The hike was only about 30 minutes, but was fun to get out into nature.

The rest of the day we spent back at Tabacon at the pool and at the hot springs. That night we saw the volcano lava go down the side of the hill. It looked like fireworks...it was awesome! I didn't realize you could see it at night until someone pointed it out to me. Then I spent the rest of the evening trying to capture it on my camcorder! :)