Tag / Costa Rica

Awoke early this morning at 6:30am. Quickly preparing for the day, headed out for breakfast at Mitra buffet. A large open air room is setup to feed the hoards of hungry tourists. A large spread of items with many traditional dishes (omelets, bacon, and pancakes) mixed with many local favorites (rice with black beans and chicken fajitas with tortillas). The cafe con leche definitely hit the spot. Feeling well fed, we headed off to our primary activity for the day…a morning at the spa with 9am appt for deep tissue massages. With a quick check-in and welcome, we were led to the men’s locker room to change into our robe and slippers. We were met in the waiting area by two women who led us to our individual therapy rooms. After taking my place on the massage table under the sheet, the therapist commenced her routine. First one leg, the another. Wow, calf deep tissue hurts. Then back, arms, shoulders. Rollover…arms and shoulders. It was definitely working out the kinks. With the double ring of the bell. The session was over. Felt like jelly as I stood up. Very relaxing and rejuvenating. With the massage, we were invited to enjoy the facilities. First stop was the hydro-pool. Nice hot water with multiple jets felt good. Second stop was the steam shower…but how to turn it on? Third stop, the outdoor jacuzzi and cold plunge pools. This area was next to the beach with a bamboo canopy over the pool to block most of the hot sun. Taking turns going from hot to cold was quite exhilarating. An Iguana on a nearby wall provided some entertainment watching him patiently catch his breakfast of passing insects. Hummingbirds buzzed and chirped as they sucked the nectar from nearby birds of paradise. The gentle roll of waves in the distance provided just the right amount of relaxing sound. I could soak here all day…especially since we had it to ourselves…but hunger eventually provided the impetus to dry off and leave our spa sanctuary behind.

A quick stop off at the room, and we made our way to Spirula…the “Italian” restaurant with pizza and pasta. Settling down at the open air terrace, we ordered a couple of pizzas to satiate our hunger as well as a couple of mojitos. Digging into our lunch, we were soon joined by a troop of Coati eyeing our tasty plates. We were half expecting them to jump on the table and help themselves, but they kept a safe distance…though they work that “feed me” look quite well. With the temps and humidity soaring, we headed back to room to take a short rest and then swim. That idea didn’t make it past the planning stage because the dark clouds descended and the rain commenced…lots of rain and thunder. Since our afternoon plans were thrown off, we walked umbrella in hand to the lobby to get photo copies of our passports and have a drink at the lobby bar. The lobby sits at the highest point with a sweeping view down to the ocean and beyond, but today, only the gray mist of air was visible as rain continued unabated. Perfect excuse to try a few libations…melon mojito and a sexy coffee (Baileys, espresso, and something else).









Still watching for a break in the rain, we gave up waiting for it to abate and walked back to the room to rest and change for dinner. Our reservation for tonight was the Asian-fusion restaurant, Bamboo. Dinner was delightful with spring rolls, chicken satay, and chicken with green curry and rice…finishing with fried banana and vanilla ice cream. We are definitely not suffering in the food department on this trip. Full and happy, we headed back to our room to pack and get some zzzz’s before tomorrow’s big adventure…

As dusk descended upon SF, Paolo and I readied our bags, ate a simple nibble, and awaited departure to SFO. Outside, a full moon was rising casting a glow over the city. John whisked us off to SFO…flying American for the first time in many years…United airline status definitely ensures loyalty. The benefit of foregoing status was to experience the newly renovated SFO Terminal 2 at SFO. It is smaller than United’s terminal…much more cozy. The ceiling is warmed by wood wrapping down the ticket hall. A quick check-in depositing our bags and getting our seat assignments, we made our way to security. The lines were non-existent in late evening, so we whisked thru…only to be slightly delayed by an older couple that clearly have not flown in awhile. They were stymied by having to remove hats, scarfs, bots, shoes, and not being able to bring a bottle beer thru. The husband quickly chugged the bottle and went thru the scanner. Very humorous! Settled into a nice red leather mid-century Arne Jacobsen Swan chair at our gate to await boarding. Though things at the airport were definitely winding down, last flights were boarding for the east…NYC, Chicago, etc. When our seating group was called, we boarded to take our seats in 15E/F. The plane is a very new Boeing 737-800 with sweeping designs, rounded edges, and mood lighting. We settled into Exit row…thank goodness for extra legroom…and a power outlet! Smooth flight mostly, but Texas brings a few bumps…hmmm.

Landed at DFW about 5:30am. Made our way quickly on the monorail to D gates. With 5 hrs to kill before our next flight, we did the loop of the concourse checking out our options for breakfast. Most choices were still dark, so we settled down in a couple seats in front of the large departure screens to view options on exotic locales that we could depart. No European options. One to Seoul. One to Tokyo. A few Latin America options. Honolulu caught our eye, but we’ll stick with Liberia. Looking up after our dream break, the airport had started to come to life and fill up with early morning passengers. Time for breakfast. Our first choice was oddly still closed at 7am, so 2nd choice and old faithful TGIFriday’s will do. Getting our fill of two warm coffees, French toast and an omelette, we made our way to D20 to await boarding. The crowd awaiting was lite…so hopes were for no one between our aisle and window seats. That hope turned out to be true, and we were off with a flight time of 3:47hrs. Liberia here we come…

Smooth sailing leaving Texas until we reached a front of storms over Mexico that made for a bumpy 20min. Focusing on my digital magazines on my ipad while glancing at the Star Trek Enterprise movie provided the necessary distractions. About an hour to go, and the requisite immigration and custom forms were handed out. Two…one per household and one per person. The custom form is tiny print and tiny boxes. Red-eye flights make it a lot tougher to fill these out. A few confusing questions, but I think we filled them out adequately. Descending…a whole new country awaits!

Border security was a quick scan of the passport, stamp, and taking the entry form. Our bags were already awaiting. Of course, they were soaked since it was raining. Our transit service was waiting for us outside customs. Us along with 3 other couples were corralled with our bags, and we all dashed out to small van. On our way, the guide gave us welcome, tips, and answered numerous questions on the hour drive to our home for the week…The Westin Playa Conchal. I learned that over a quarter of Costa Rica is a park or reserve.

Arriving at the main lobby of our hotel, we were quickly checked-in and whisked off to our suite in a small open air vehicle. Our suite is in a small two story building nestled amongst the greenery as the land slopes down to the ocean. We are a short walk to the main pool, spa, and restaurants. After a quick change in resort wear…aka, shorts, tee, and flip-flops, we walked towards the pool to grab a late lunch at the Mitre Cafe. A nice meal of mahi-mahi hit the spot along with a cool beer. Since the rain hadn’t subsided since landing, we cozied up under a thatch-roofed open air bar next to the pool to enjoy happy hour cocktails. Most of the guests seem to be couples on their honeymoon. Definitely a good romantic spot to enjoy wedding bliss. We spotted our first wildlife near the pool when three raccoon-like creatures, Coati, emerged from bushes near the pool to dart in and out of a garbage can to see what tasty morsels might have been discarded by guests. They look cute and seem to keep a safe distance from humans. I’m sure we will see a lot of them. After a stop back at our room to freshen up into evening clothing, we headed out to our reservation at the French restaurant in the lobby building. Since this is an all inclusive resort, all food and drinks are included in the room rate. What a great deal! We both enjoyed two more fish dishes…red snapper and mushroom risotto with tilapia. Finished up with chocolate and banana mousse. Since it was still early after dinner and Saturday night, we walked over to the Abalone lounge bar and night club to listen to music and have drinks. The music was predominately local latin music, and the couples twirled on the dance floor with what looked like salsa dancing. Even one of the bartenders got in the action and offered his services to a woman who needed a dance partner. Dancing with the stars…Costa Rica edition! Though the party raged on, it was definitely dream time for us. Long day! Time for much-needed rest…