Saturday, August 25, 2007

Costa Rica..... First 3 days

Saturday 8/25
I woke up this morning, talking with Amy and she was talking about what we were going to do on Sunday and next week. After that, the conversation went like this:

Amy – “I thought on Sunday we would go to….swim, come back, etc. etc.”
Me listening to what Amy said after that – “wah, wah, wah, wah, wah”.

My brain could not absorb that it was just Saturday. It felt like Sunday already (not that I am rushing it) and without clocks or a schedule, I totally lost track of time and I have only been here for just over 24 hours.

I am totally lost in tranquility. When we arrived on Thursday night, we headed straight to the Marriott Courtyard and right into bed. We were all exhausted. After showers, grooming and re-packing Friday morning, we ate at the restaurant downstairs in the hotel. We were treated to a fabulous breakfast of rice and beans, taquitos, scrambled eggs with ham (which Xander had 3 helpings of because he loved them so much), an omelet and waffle bar, fresh fruits and local juices, the works. It was delish!

We picked up our rental car and met another couple from NY that was also headed to Dominical on vacation. They had arrived the night before and been the victims of the dreaded tire slashing (in hopes that the robbers will be able to get their belongings once they pull over to fix the flat). That is a common occurrence here and so after we drove off in our rental car, I was very wary of every person on motorcycle that passed. Thank goodness, thus far in the trip, we have not fallen peril to such activity.

Our drive through San Jose, San Pedro, Cartago, San Isidro and finally into Dominicalito (little Dominical), was absolutely breathtaking! We drove right through the rain forest and to the top of the highest point on the Pan American Highway spanning from Alaska to Panama. We were lucky enough to not have any rain on our drive; it was actually quite beautiful, sunny and little humidity. After about 4 hours, we finally arrived at the door to our wonderful friends the Zbel’s. Storm, Amy and their 2 boys Xavier and Aidan treated us to dinner at the Bar Jolly Roger, where they are local proprietors of the establishment. The wings are some of the best I have ever tasted and the burger was 5 star. Amy, the kids and I headed back to the house while Bob stayed behind to lose all but $10 of his money in the regular Friday night poker tournament. He had a great time and it was good for him to get some guy time in with the locals.

We did meet a family from San Diego who were looking to buy some property and maybe move on down. It seems that while the ticos are the locals, the American’s aren’t far behind in the buying up the land. The squatters aren’t too happy about it so there is some unrest and conflict but for the most part the ticos are friendly and receptive to the gringos trying out their Spanish. I know just enough to get me in trouble, lol! Hannah has really embraced the culture and is already greeting everyone she knows in Spanish and returning the greetings in correct Spanish as well. I am very proud of her and our gardener Lucas will be too.
I spoke with Maureen today to wish her a Happy Birthday and to check on the house! All is well at home and it is late here so I will close for now. This is a wonderful adventure and I feel so blessed to be here. It is always a good day when we can wake up and see everything that is right before our eyes no matter where we live!

K & B

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