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So….It’s been a while since I’ve written. Sorry folks. I have to write when inspiration hits!

How many places are on your travel bucket list? Ours is pretty extensive and it seems like as soon as we cross one off, we add two more…at least. Costa Rica was one of our bucket list places and we finally got to go in March 2019.

Pura Vida! And….pure exhaustion! Long over-night flights aren’t my favorite, but we do get to enjoy a full day once we land! We took a red-eye out of Seattle to San Jose, Costa Rica in early March. Once we landed, we took a shuttle to our first hotel, the DoubleTree Cariari. Gotta admit, pretty nice place! Any way – our room wasn’t ready yet as it was still early morning so we bell checked our bags, changed our clothes and went to relax by the pool. It was warm, sunny and surprisingly windy. As we laid there dozing in and out, all of a sudden we heard a loud *CRASH*! We both jumped, sat up and realized the poolside bar tiki top had crashed down due to the wind. Unfortunately, there were two gentlemen underneath. One was injured – bad enough that the hotel staff called emergency services. He seemed “ok” later that day so I hope it doesn’t ruin his trip! We finally got all checked in about 3:00pm and really didn’t do much – had dinner then fell asleep – super exciting first day!

Day 2 brought us a day trip adventure into San Jose, the capitol city. After a taxi ride into the city, our first stop was the Teatro Nacionale (National Theater). It was built in the 1800’s and is simply magnificent. The architecture and history are amazing! Construction was originally funded by coffee growers but they eventually decided not to fund it. So, the government implemented a tax for all citizens and the construction was finally completed. Historically, the building was used by the very wealthy for birthday’s, weddings, funerals and Quinceaneras. Overtime, it became too costly and now it houses the Costa Rican Symphony (we got to hear them practice!!) and diplomatic events. The interior is filled with marble from Italy, Romania and France. Side note: San Jose, Costa Rica was the third city in the WORLD to have electricity behind New York and Paris. How cool is that??

We also visited the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum. The museum was filled with many historical artifacts – not just gold pieces! Gold is not indigenous to Costa Rica. It came to the country through trade, mostly from Columbia. In fact, Costa Rica doesn’t have any natural “resources” such as gold, silver, gems, etc…

Once we were done touring museums, we wandered through the city and saw some beautiful architecture and parks. We finally decided to grab a taxi and head back to the hotel…and here was another adventure. Our taxi driver (God bless him, he tried!!) didn’t speak any English…and our Spanish isn’t great. He didn’t understand where we needed to go – even pulling over and asking a friend of his! In playing with my phone, I discovered that google maps can be switched to Spanish! Google saved the day! Our driver had a great sense of humor and he got a good tip for all his troubles!

The next day we just lounged around. This, if you’ve been paying attention to previous posts, is out of our norm. But we’re trying! We hung out at the pool, went for a long walk, took a nap and just kicked back. It was lovely!

So ends our first three days in this Amazing Country! Stay tuned for adventures in Tamarindo, Monteverde and Arenal!