Settling In

We didn't really do much today. Spent most of the day doing laundry (have to hang it up to dry) and unpacking (there are not really any shelves or drawers to put things in). The house is large with 3 bedrooms and each has it's own private bath. There is also a 1/2 bath in the house and another outside by the pool.

The boys went swimming twice. Once with Dad after breakfast and again with mom in the late afternoon. Around dinner time, we walked to the grocery store. It was roasting in there! No air moving at all. That about did it for John, he wined all the way home about being thirsty and why didn't we buy him a water there?!?? We also stopped at the fruit stand to get another watermelon a pineapple and some other things.

Once we got home and unpacked, we walked two blocks to the ocean. It is beautiful! Not a white sandy beach, but a beautiful cove with mountains jutting up and palm trees. The water felt good. Not too cold, but definitely refreshing after the heat of the day. The boys played and played. Building sand castles and digging holes.

Trip to Playa Potrero

We have reached our final destination (or destiny as John says). Today we went on a 5 hours shuttle ride to get to our "beach house" in Playa Potrero. It was a dizzying experience to say the least. Fast. Stop. Go fast! Slow way down. Now pass that truck. Oh wait, here comes a car the other way. Slam on the brakes. Slide in behind the truck.

Traffic was busy going back to San Jose as many people were returning from the beach to be home for Easter and then back to work on Monday. The country side was pretty but brown. It's at the end of the dry season so I'm guessing our trip back will be much greener.

We passed ranches, farms, cemeteries and dried river beds. Went up and down the mountain. Interestingly enough, they have red clay looking dirt that made us feel right at home. :-)

Good Friday Processional

Today is Good Friday. It is the day we remember Christ dying on the cross for our sins. Costa Rica is primarily Catholic so Good Friday is an import day. Many churches have what's called a processional. It's a walking re-enactment of what happened that day.

Don't know what church we went to (it was close, took a cab). John made a friend (as he always seems to) and found the whole thing "pretty cool." He also stated while watching, "it isn't real blood" and "it's ok Mommy, they are just pretending to hammer into Jesus." Glad he knows the story but can also understand the difference.

Here are some photos from the processional:

The Fundazoo!

What do you do with 2 kids in a foreign country? Go to the zoo of corse!

We went to the fundazoo in just outside San Jose. It features native birds, snakes, frogs and monkeys. The setting was lush and tropical looking (I know, what should I expect? But our zoos are so much concrete.) The plants, flowers and mural art were as interesting to look at as the animals.

The trip to and from was an adventure too! They drive almost as bad as they do in Mexico. Looked like we were going to clip a few cars (and people too!) but we made it without incident.

First full day in San Jose

So the boys were up early at 5:00 am (7:00 am our time). We tried to put the to bed at our "normal" time - two hours later then they are used to. Didn't matter. They we up and at 'em! We tried to keep them quiet and went down to breakfast promptly at 6:00 am.

We wanted a day to recoup and just hang. So we watched Discovery Kids on TV (in Espanol, of course). And went to the pool. Later we took a quick ride to Walmart for a few essentials we forgot to pack (i.e. razors) and some snacks.

And we're off again!

Ok. Today is the day. We are really going to San Jose.

Got up and waited for our taxi. He was late (not too bad though). We get to the airport and the international check in is busy! Deep breath. Don't panic. We arrived later than expected and the line is longer than expected but there is nothing we can do.

Daddy waited with the luggage and boys off to the side as Mommy waited in the ticketing line. We eventually get pulled out of that line to another line, because our flight is going to go and they need everyone checked in.

But hey, we get to our gate, got on and we're off!

We arrived in San Jose! HURRAY! We had to go outside and wait for our shuttle to the Hotel. We're staying in San Jose for 4 nights. 

We get to our room and decide to walk to RostiPollos for a late lunch. While the menu primarily in Spanish, there is enough English and pictures to easily point and order. Where we are the most confused is there is a service tax and we're not sure if it's the tip or a tax and then are we supposed to tip or not? We later learned don't tip. Not expected.

Next stop was the pool here in our hotel. It's outside (of course) and only 3 feet deep all the way across. Wonderful for the kids. It also feels good to get in. The sun in warm and life is good.

The Day of Waiting...

Got to a hotel around 3:00 am. 12 hours since we left home and not out of the country yet.

We went to bed and got up just in time for some breakfast. We could see the pool while we ate so of course, with 2 little boys, next stop was the pool: outside on the second floor.

After a short nap, we took the bus to a mall. A fun one hour trip. The water fountains are "Awesome!" according to the kids. In their defense, they did shoot up 3 floors. Pretty cool. Ate dinner, got balloons and a hat, walked around, gave the balloons away (couldn't take on the bus) and took the bus back to the station. Walking back to the hotel saw 2 homeless people settling in for the night. We are not in the best area of town.

Oh well, going to San Jose tomorrow (if we're lucky).

In front of the koi pool and a cool statute.

And We're Off!

We made it to the Atlanta airport, checked in and went through security with no troubles. Then the waiting began. We were flying to Ft. Lauderdale and making a connection there to San Jose, Costa Rica.

We waited. First, we ran around with other children. We waited some more. Then we quieted down and colored a while. We were board. And we waited some more.

Finally we were able to board our flight. We were supposed to have just enough time to make our connection...

But we didn't! Oh no! The next available flight is Tuesday, so we "get" to spend two nights and one day in sunny Ft. Lauderdale.