Costa Rica

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Costa Rica now ranks in my TOP 10 if not my TOP 5 vacation destinations of all time.  I LOVED IT!

Not only was Costa Rica awesome, but the couple (later to be referred to S&A) that Charlie and I traveled with were pretty darn super!  To say we did a lot of laughing on the trip is an understatement. 

Only one negative I can think of that came from the trip was the boot on our car when we got home.  Yeah, we were booted, for a parking ticket that I PAID TWO YEARS AGO.  In fact the City of Chicago OWES ME $122 because I PAID THE TICKET TWICE.  But enough of the negativity…lets talk vacation.

We left at the ASS CRACK of DAWN in the middle of the night to get to the airport for our 5:45 AM departure.  All I can say is THANK YOU Charlie for booking us first class.

Seven hours later we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica.  We met S&A at the Hertz Rental Car location and after a quick stop for lunch (S&A were hungry..they flew coach, you know where a pretzel will now costs you $5) we were on our way.  Our first destination was La Fortuna, Arenal. 

And FINALLY we made it to Tabacon.

After the slowest check-in process known to mankind, we made it to our rooms.  With night falling upon us, we decided to hit the Hot Springs and relax.

The Hot Springs, which we enjoyed every night of our stay, were FANTASTIC.    Hot water and no sulfur smell was BLISS I TELL YOU, BLISS.   After a hot soak, a few cocktails at the swim-up bar I was EXHAUSTED.   

I did manage to get dressed and at eat dinner that night.

The next morning would be the start of many vacation adventures.

We started the day with a typical breakfast (eggs, rice  & beans, fresh cheese, a sausage) and nectar from the Gods, Coffee.

 Bellies full and bodies caffeinated, our first stop was a hike around the Arenal volcano. 

After a great and slightly challenging hike (including several stairs to climb), we stopped off for an afternoon snack and what would become the beverage of choice for the trip, Imperial.

Fully recharged, we made a pit stop at the hotel to get our bathing suits so we could hike down to the La Fortuna waterfall.

The water at the waterfall was the opposite of the hot springs,  it was cold cold cold, but refreshing. 

 

 

 

 

THUMBS UP!!!!  Three awesome days in Costa Rica….and we have FIVE MORE TO GO (yeah, if your think your tired from reading this post, image how tired I was from the execution!)

The next day we slept in, till 7am!  We were on the road by 8 to Monteverde but not before stopping for breakfast.  Heaven forbid I miss a meal or anything, I might starve to death.  And as a proponent of eating road side food we made a few stops along the way to check out the local roadside fare.

A delicious juice bag of mango.

Coconut everything and Palemetto Cheese (sort of like really salty string cheese)

The drive to Monte Verde was long but the scenery was beautiful.  

It was also a bit treacherous at times. 

But after several hours we did make it.  On our drive up the mountain we booked our tours; a night hike in the forest, a canopy (aka zip-line) tour and a hike on the hanging bridges.  

The night hike was AWESOME. Who knew that the highlight would be seeing a sloth pleasuring himself scratching the inside of his right leg, a rat and an the ass of an armadillo.  

 

We did also get to see a tarantula, that was cool.

 

And then there were lots of bugs, lots of bugs

 

To say our tour guide worked hard  pointing stuff out for us to look at for nearly two hours is an understatement.

After our tour d’ bugs we had a nice dinner and then hit the hay.  

The next day, we were up and on our way to Selvatura Park by 8:00 AM.  After some technical difficulties actually finding the park (1. people in Costa Rica give horrible directions 2. THERE ARE NO ROAD SIGNS IN COSTA RICA) we made it in time for Zip-Lining.

IT WAS AWESOME!!!

16 lines that covered over 3 miles

With a Tarzan Swing Ending!

After my daily dose of adrenaline we set off to hike the hanging bridges.  I must say, it was really beautiful above the the treeline. 

After nine bridges, 98 Stairs, and a $50 BRIBE TO A COSTA RICAN POLICE OFFICER (note to any tourist in a rental car, OBEY THE SPEED LIMIT) , we were made it to Samara Beach. 

Samara Beach is an amazing beach town that can be described as a hidden tropical paradise.  We stayed a really cute little hotel with 4 beach huts and 2 other hotel rooms.  It was the perfect charming place to stay in this sleepy beach town.

While there, we all took surf lessons.  We all were able catch a few waves, stand up on our boards before drinking a salty ocean cocktail. 

In between the surfing and swimming there was a lot of relaxation. 

I was sad to leave Samara Beach and I was sad that my vacation in Costa Rica was ending. 

The last day Charlie and I headed to Tamarindo while S&A headed back to San Jose. 

We spent one last lazy day in the sun, headed into town to do a little souvenir shopping and then watched our last sunset on the beach.

 

 

We woke up the next day and headed to the airport.

ALL GREAT VACATIONS MUST COME TO AN END