¡Costa Rica!

I made it to Costa Rica okay. Yesterday we woke up at 4am and headed to the airport. Running on two hours of sleep, it made for a long travel day. Luckily, the trip was broken down into 2 1/2 hour increments. We flew from Chicago to Ft. Lauderdale, had a two hour layover, then flew to Costa. On the plane, they showed a stupid Diane Lane/Richard Gere movie, but at least it made the time go by fast. We arrived in Costa and had to fill out light paperwork to go through immigration and customs. I never knew you had to fill out paperwork. When we got to San Jose, we were greeted by hilly terrain, palm trees, and dried grass. Everyone in Costa speaks both Spanish and English, but I have this "when in Rome" mentality. I took a couple of years of Spanish in college, but have sadly forgotten most of it. I've been frantically writing down the words I don't know and looking them up. I just don't want to be a tourist, but I know speaking broken Spanish isn't good either. The chick at immigration started to speak to me in Spanish, but I had no idea what she was saying. The currency they use here is called "colones." The exchange rate is about $1 for every 500 colones, so it's a bit daunting at first when something costs like 5000 colones. It's been hard to get to get use to gauging things in Celsius and kilometers. We stopped at a convenient store and bought a six-pack of beer for $1. Unbelievable.

So, at the ripe age of 31, I've finally gotten my first passport stamp. It feels pretty good to have finally accomplished something. The next step was getting our rental car. At the rental agency, the guy told us he'd lived in Chicago for 24 years before moving to Costa. Even in a foreign country, it's still a small world. For some reason it took almost an hour to get our car. They were pretty slow at the place. We rented a SUV with GPS--something I'd never used before. So far it hasn't failed us but I don't really trust it. We checked into the Adventure Inn hotel. There's nothing special about it. At least they had computer stations with internet (we also have a laptop). Even in the rental car place they had free computers for patrons. We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant, which was decent. Restaurants seem to serve most entrees with a side of veggies and potatoes. We then went to bed fairly early, exhausted from the day. I couldn't sleep very well at first. It was hot and I kept having restless dreams. And I swear there were bugs buzzing near my head. Ick.

We woke up early today and dined on their free breakfast. One of my fave things about staying in a hotel is free breakfast...and I'm not talking Continental breakfast but a full-fledged meal. A typical Costa Rican breakfast consists of fried eggs, rice and beans, fresh fruit, and tortillas. They served guava juice and plantains--not a fan-- and starfruit, which I like. The original plan was to stay three nights in San Jose and then go to the all-inclusive resort, but we realized all the sites we wanted to engage in involved driving for at least three hours one way, so it made more sense to stay in a different area. San Jose is just very industrial and unimpressive. We checked out of Adventure Inn and headed to Fortuna to see the Arenal volcano.

It was about a three hour drive through the jungle. I must say Costa Ricans drive recklessly, especially down two way highways. Our journey was met with winding roads, verdant vegetation, stalled cars, trucks, narrow bridges, steep drops, rushing ravines, and at two different times, parts of the road had literally sunken in. There was always some sort of restaurant or bar off the side of the road or someone selling furniture and/or produce. The side of the roads were also littered with colorful houses and ample landscapes. Needless to say, it was a beautiful and adventurous drive. By the time we had arrived in Fortuna, the weather had turned cloudy and humid. My hair is extremely frizzy. I should’ve brought some anti-frizz hair products. We checked into the Volcano Lodge, a much nicer, quieter and more expensive resort. It’s nestled not to far from the volcano and is filled with lush flowers and plants. There are two pools with a Jacuzzi and spa services. The wireless internet doesn't work in our room but works outside. There's also free computers in the hotel lobby. Being here is such a contrast from the city. Earlier tonight, jungle sounds were taunting us. I have no idea what's lurking in the dark forest. Tree frogs? Cows? Insects? I've already been bitten by mosquitoes. It sounded like one of those "Sounds of the Jungle" recordings people listen to in order to relax and/or fall asleep.

Tomorrow we're planning a full-day of adventure. First, free breakfast and then maybe pool bar and then we're taking a hiking tour of the volcano followed by a visit to the hot springs. The boyfriend really wants to do the canopy--basically playing around in the tops of trees in the rain forest. This doesn't appeal to me at all, so I might skip it--although I'll be worried the boyfriend might fall and break his neck. At this point, I'll just be happy to get to the beach portion of our trip. I'm so much more of a beach girl than a play around in the trees kinda gal. I just wanna lay on the beach and drink fruity frozen drinks. Even though I'm suppose to be on vacation, I'm still trying to manage emails and focus a little on work. I just can't turn that part of my brain off. Maybe someday I'll learn to completely let go.

I still can't believe I'm in Costa Rica. It's slowly beginning to sink in. It's sure a nice change to be away from the city. Chance of snow, 0%. Chance of being attacked by monkeys, probable.