We have now been in Costa Rica for 3 days. The weather is amazing compared to the negative temperatures that we were experiencing back home before we left. It is in the high 80's during the day and high 70's at night. The first day of our adventure we spent traveling- by the time that we got to our hotel in San Jose it was 14 hours after we had started in Denver. I LONG day for Simret- she did great and is becoming a seasoned traveler. No crazy fits on the plane- besides one small incident at the very end of 2nd plane ride that left me with a few less hairs and her in time out. Otherwise, she did great!
The next day we woke and welcomed the 80 degree weather. Our car rental company brought us the car to our hotel- showed us how to work the GPS (which we later found out probably saved our marriage) and we were on our way for a 4 hour drive through the lush vegetation that Costa Rica has to offer. The drive was a journey all of its own. Without the GPS there may have been a good chance that we may not have ever exited the city. The rental Jeep that we got also had balding tires and was more like driving a boat than a car. The streets had long stretches of nice pavement, just when you started to feel comfortable along came a pothole that was so large that it could probably engulf a small car with ease. On the highway there were also multiple bridges that one car could barely squeeze through with breathtaking views of the forrest canopy and rivers that transverse the mountain valleys that our poor little Jeep climbed in despair. There were also a couple bridges with huge chunks taken out of one side- if you weren't careful you would end up falling through.
We stopped multiple times along the way- mainly because Simret is learning to use the potty and announced multiple times- "need to pee Mama" "need to potty Mama". I wanted to just say "go in your diaper". Crazy huh, because for months I have wished for an end to diapers. I'm tired of doing the laundry they require, tired of her room smelling foul from the diaper pale, tired of caring around a diaper bag busting at the seems because cloth diapers are so bulky, and tired of having to wrestle with her to change her on a changing table.
We also stopped about an hour from our destination to buy groceries for our cottage. We are staying a place that has two guesthouses across the street from the beach- with a full kitchen that I plan to utilize to its fullest. We loaded up on fruit and liquor...the ingredients to a successful vacation. There was hip-hop playing the the grocery store and Simret found that to be great opportunity to show her dancing skills to the locals.
We did make it to our hotel in Cahuita on the Playa Negra beach- named for the volcanic sand that bathes the shores of the beach. The owners of the property that we are staying at are more than welcoming. The beach is surprisingly vacant. There are a couple locals that will walk their dogs by or ride their bikes by. Lance thinks that we have found home. He (of course) has been looking around and talking to the locals about buying property. He enjoys it here because there aren't many tourist and for its diversity of people. There are 40 different nationalities represented here. Just since we have been here we have met people from Switzerland, Canada, Africa, and Spain. It is refreshing to see so many people from various cultures mesh.
After we arrived, we spent the rest of the day on the beach where Simret fell in love all over again with sand. She rolled in it, gathered it up to make piles, rubbed it all over her body, and has even taken a few mouthfulls of it.
The second day to follow... I need to go make breakfast for my family and will write more about yesterday and today.
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