I've been back from my vacation for just over a week, but things have been so hectic i'm just getting a chance to post about it!
As many may or may not know, this trip to Costa Rica was almost 10 years in the making. When my sister first bought her bungalow I got my first passport specifically to make a trip there with her. We just finally made the trip, and my passport expires in 3 months!
With all the drama the last couple months with my job's company change over (and not getting approved for the trip until 1 week before we left!), the "issues" that were revealed about my ex, and trying to pack to move out of his house and into my apartment, it was difficult to get excited and ready for the trip. Then 3 days before we left Tissi got out of the hospital with renal failure and a long list of supplements and I.V. fluids she had to get daily! I was so nervous about losing her on top of everything else. Thankfully Tim was going to pet sit for me, and he had experience in giving his dog I.V. fluids. That eased my worries some. I knew I would have my laptop, and I could check in daily to make sure she was doing ok. So I was FINALLY set to go!
I absolutely LOVE flying. I know that is unusual, but i've always loved the whole experience of it. What I am nervous about however is small private planes. Well, guess how we had to get from the San Jose airport to Quepos? You guessed it! A small plane that seats 12, and the pilot has to climb over everyone to get to his seat! I took a Xanax in preparation for the flight. The last thing I needed was to have a meltdown in the middle of a 20 minute flight! Thank goodness it wasn't as bas as I thought it would be. Well, either that or it was the Xanax talking! Either way we got there safe and sound.
We got to the bungalow in the afternoon. I had seen many pictures and videos of it and the property it was on so I knew what to expect pretty much. I was ready to unpack and forget the worries of the real world! We got changed and headed into town for dinner. I was immediately exposed to the rainforest weather with a downpour while we walked down to the bus stop. Nothing like being broken in to the culture right away! I had a traditional Costa Rican meal, casado especial con pollo (picture shown above). It was fabulous! We then headed down the street to a restaurant where a friend of Dawn's was playing with his band. We only stayed a few minutes since we were tired from all the travelling that day. Then we headed back to the bungalow for the evening to rest up for the beach the next day. It thunderstormed all night, which was relaxing for a good night's sleep!
The next morning we headed to the local beach (the pic of me above), and had lunch at a beachside restaurant where I had some more Costa Rican food. Can you tell enjoying the local food is one of my favorite parts of vacation? LOL That evening we headed back into town and had dinner at an Italian restaurant. We had some awesome pizza (which became lunch for the next few days with the leftovers) and some awesome gelato. Before we had dinner we went to a bar popular with the fisherman to hang out and have some drinks. To our surprise and pleasure they had a 2 for 1 happy hour! We made sure to enjoy this deal more than once during the trip!
Day 3 we headed to Manuel Antonio's national park. There is hiking thru the rainforest with lots of wildlife, and also some gorgeous beaches. We hiked to an overlook and got some awesome pictures. We also got to see a toucan, some iguanas and a couple sloths. Unfortunately no monkeys! That night we dressed up and headed to Gaia's rooftop bar for drinks and tapas and to watch the sunset overlooking the ocean. The second we got off the elevator I heard this banging on the metal roof, then felt some vibrations. It was an earthquake! It lasted almost a minute. I felt no fear at all, but instead immediately couldn't wait to find out what the magnitude was that I experienced, lol. It ended up being a 6.0 and was centered about an hour from Quepos. Unfortunately it was a very rainy night so we didn't get to see much of a sunset! But the view was still amazing, and so were the drinks and tapas. I had a drink made with guaro, an alcohol made from sugar cane that you can only get in Costa Rica. Yummy! Then we headed down the street to see 2 of Dawn's musician friends play acoustic at another restaurant.
The next day we walked into town for the farmer's market. It was amazing to see all the fresh produce and homemade cheeses and such! We stocked up on supplies in town for a cookout at the bungalow pool that evening. The rest of the day we just hung out at the pool and bungalow. That night we had fresh snapper and tuna on the grill, mango salsa and pico de gallo, and I had local rum and mango juice with slices of fresh mango to drink. Fabulous! I also got to enjoy a shot of some premium tequila with Dawn's property manager and his very hot Costa Rican partner. :-)
Sunday we headed back to the local beach. That is the day all the locals hang out there, so there was good people watching. That night we headed back into Quepos with Dawn's property manager for happy hour and an all you can eat sushi dinner! While we were there a thunderstorm started. I have never seen rain so hard in my entire life! Take the hardest rain you've seen in KY and double it. It rained this hard all evening and most of the night. I wanted to get a video because it was so amazing, but it was too dark.
Monday was my last day. That morning we slept in and had some fresh fruit and homemade banana bread for breakfast. Before we got out of bed the resident monkeys finally came to the bungalow! They used to come every day, but the construction behind the property has kept them away. I couldn't leave Costa Rica without seeing a single monkey!! Then I headed to a hotel down the street for a massage. It was one of the best massages i've ever gotten, and it was about half the price of one you would get here! Then I wandered around the hotel gift shop and got some souveniors for people and myself. Then we headed back into Quepos for dinner that night. For my "last meal" I requested the casada especial again. I wanted to end my trip with local flare!
I had to catch the bus at 4 am the next morning into San Jose. I was by myself with all locals that spoke only Spanish, so it was interesting! I had a VERY long wait until my flight left. Thank goodness I got to fly first class on the way home thanks to my tons of miles I earned flying to China twice!
All in all the trip was wonderful and much needed! I was able to clear my head and completely forget all of the issues and drama back home. When I got home I had a fresh perspective on things and don't feel as overwhelmed by everything. The best part of the trip was being able to experience both a different culture and different climate. I've never experienced culture shock, even when I went to China where their way of life is completely different from ours! I enjoy observing how other countries live their everyday life and how they do the same mundane daily activities completely different from us. I also love seeing how my body reacts to different climates. When I was in the desert 10 years ago my hair lost all of it's frizz, I drank water 24/7, and I had daily nosebleeds, lol. In the rainforest of Costa Rica the first thing I experienced was the discomfort of the heat. My feet and ankles swelled the first 2 days and hurt like crazy! Thankfully this went away as I got more acclimated to the weather. You body also gets used to the heat/humidity, and after the first day or so it didn't bother me. Unfortunately my hair did not fair so well in the rainforest! It was a constant poofy frizz ball! Picture Monica on the show Friends when they went to the Bahamas. That was pretty close to me without much exaggeration! LOL
I will definitely be going back now that I finally was able to make it there after a 10 year wait! There was so much that I didn't get to see and experience. Plus next time I would like to have some more time to just stop and relax. Now i'm ready to tackle my work issues, and most importantly my move to my new apartment finally!!
Love it!!!
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