The morning began with the alarm going off just before seven thanks to the previous occupant of our hotel room. Although, considering we were in bed around 10 the night before, I wasn’t too upset.
Day 2 in Costa Rica was all about getting to the Hotel Luna Azul. Getting there, in fact, proved to be an adventure.
First there was the matter of getting the rental car. We were supposed to meet someone in the lobby at nine for the shuttle to the rental office. 9:15 came. 9:30 came. I had read in the travel book that time was something of a suggestion. People run late in Cost Rica. The more I travel to relaxed places–Hawaii, Spain, and now Costa Rica–I do think that America’s blood pressure would decrease if we weren’t so focused on being on time. Evan seemed only slightly annoyed. He was much more annoyed when the final quote for the rental car came in at twice the price he had expected. They never include insurance in the online price quote.
We did eventually get to the office-after two phone calls.
Once the car was checked out, we were on the road, GPS in hand. At first the GPS was as useful as a blind man with a map. Let me explain.
In the days leading up to this trip, I had been reading travel guides about Costa Rica. I was reading about little towns on the Nicoya Peninsula. These little towns sounded like so much fun and seemed like they would be easy to get to. But the GPS didn’t seem to know many of these towns or places. That seemed odd. And that was clue #1.
Then we got in the car and started driving.
The first 20 miles or so were great. Sure the road was narrow, and people were not heeding to the speed “suggestions.” But the road was paved and mostly two lanes. I was frequently amused when the GPS would ding and alert us to a “dangerous bridge.” It did also point out the school zones, of which there were plenty. Good to see Costa Rica has lots of schools.
Then we turned left. And that was clue #2.
Abruptly, the pavement ended. The road was a mere hint to what is literally a road by most standards. To call this a road is to imply that a skein of yarn could function as an anchor line for a cruise ship. It was dusty, rocky, filled with pot holes and ravines. I then knew that zipping up and down the coast was no longer in our plans. And I knew, without a doubt, we were in a third world country.
The little towns we drove through were even smaller than the little one road towns in the states. I was pleased to see that each had a school. I saw quite a few little girls in white blouses and blue skirts that looked like school uniforms.
It took us about two hours, but we made it to our destination, the Hotel Luna Azul. Here’s a view from our room.
The hotel is simply amazing. We have an outdoor shower which is too fun. Although there was a giant bug in the shower, and the hotel owner told us, when we showed it to him, that isn’t the largest bug we will see. Hmmmmmmmm.
I’ll go on more about the hotel later. Again, it is amazing.
Ok, so then we gathered up some beach stuff and went into “town.”
On the way we stopped at a black sand beach and found some dead baby turtles. 😦
The town was tiny. I can’t really describe it any other way. And all these little towns have soccer fields. We ate rice, beans and chicken with the beer of choice in Costa Rica, Pilsen. Then it was down to the beach.
The beach was a small cove filled with fishing boats. By the sand was soft and the sun was warm. We spent most of the rest of the afternoon there swimming, hiking, and watching the sunset.
Shells and coral we all over the beach and made for some colorful spots along the white sand.
This boat and the green tree seemed like a pretty picture. I liked the colors. And I liked this house too. Or ruined house.
The fishermen were very busy while we frolicked on the beach. I thought this was a fun shot with the boat on the shore.
And Evan got cute on the beach.
The fishing boats were also very cool sitting in the little bay. I really liked the way the light looked at the sunset.
And finally, there was the sunset. It was pretty magnificent.
And now we are back at the hotel, sitting in the common area with Roberto bringing us cervezas. We are being kept company by lizards, a giant frog and lots of bugs. But they are all friendly and quiet. We are up at 4:30 to see the sea turtles emerge from the ocean.
But that can wait until tomorrow.
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