Saturday morning after having a great breakfast at the Fairfield Inn, Rick and I took a walk around the little neighborhood close to the hotel. It felt good being in a new country, and we loved the humidity in the air. After the guys got the cars and had a failed attempt at retrieving our luggage (the plane was delayed) we decided to get some lunch across the street from the hotel at a taco joint. Skylar got his first V Margarita of the trip and loved that the glass was covered in sea salt! We all enjoyed our Mexican meals and laughed and had a good time.
Yes, we are all wearing yesterday's clothes, except lucky Kendra:)
After a couple of hours (it took mostly the whole day) we were able to get our bags and get ready to leave the hotel. I am thankful that we all got a late checkout at 4:00 because that is exactly the time we left the hotel.
The drive to the coast was really nice! We crossed large bridges that towered over large canyons of jungle. Costa Rica was just ending their rainy season and everything was beautiful and green!
When we got to the Tarcoles River we had to stop and check out the crocodiles just under the bridge. I think there was only one on the west side and three on the east side.
As we continued toward Playa Hermosa we caught a beautiful sunset over the Pacific.
After a bit of driving around and getting through the guard gate we found our rental home at 16 Opera Salvaje. The front courtyard was really nice and I really loved the setup of the home. It was fashioned in the Spanish style with large exposed beams and brick archways as well as large windows that let in a lot of light. It had two big front doors that opened into the living area with two more big glass doors on the opposite side of the room leading out to the pool area. When entering the front doors there was a nice big kitchen and dining table down a couple of stairs to the right. On the left was a nice big living area with a huge comfortable couch and some chairs. As you exit out the back doors there was the beautiful huge pool as the focal point. Our ensuite rooms were to the left of the pool so each of us had a walkout room to the pool. We each had nice rooms and enjoyed the beautiful view of the pool and yard that had many flowering trees and palms.
Morning comes early in Costa Rica with sunrise being around 5AM. That means that the bird chirping gets started quite early. That tended to be a problem for Sarah as they woke her up quite early every day. Overall, we all loved the home and were very comfortable there.
After getting settled we drove back towards Playa Herradura to the Auto Mercado grocery store to get the groceries for the week. We spent $330 dollars, and Sarah thought we would NEVER eat that much stuff but with breakfast every day, a couple of lunches and one major dinner for all six of us, we pretty much got rid of everything we bought. We ended up ordering pizza from Pizza Pata in Playa Hermosa that night, because it was getting late, and it was really good pizza. Even though the day started out not so great with lost luggage and all, it ended on a good note and we were excited to be there!
The next morning we got up early because church was an hour away in Quepos, and it started at NINE! We found the chapel without any issue and were able to enjoy a cute primary program. Rick translated for me which really helped! After Sacrament Meeting we tried to get on Zoom to see the Boman kids' Primary Program which was being held the same day at home. We missed Brady's part completely but were able to hear Scout's part. Unfortunately we heard about two words from Rafe and then the Zoom went off:( That was a bummer but our hearts were consoled by the tres leches cake that was brought out by the primary presidency who was having a party for the primary kids after their program.
I didn't think to get a picture of us by the church so we don't have record of that but we drove back to the house and had a nice sandwich lunch. Then we all opted for naps:) After Rick and I woke up we took a drive up the canyon, just past Tarcoles, to Bijagual. It is such a beautiful drive! We stopped on the way up because we heard some screeching parrots and wanted to see them. Lo and behold as we were searching we found the parrots but also found us a TOUCAN! Our first one of the trip:) Bijagual is a cute town at the top of the mountain. It was a nice drive. We caught the sunset again as we made our way back to Playa Hermosa.
After returning from our drive we got started on dinner. We had shish kabobs with veggies and chicken. Rick also grilled up some sausages. We had salad and some tres leches for dessert. It was all really delicious!
That night we sat around and talked a bit and then pulled out the games. We played Think n Sync, Catch Phrase and then Code Names. We played a couple of rounds of that and then called it a night.
Monday morning we got up early again to catch the 10:00 boat ride on the Tarcoles River to find us some Crocs and birds.
Next was the hike that I opted out of. Rick and the others drove up to the Manantial Falls trailhead while I drove over to get a massage and facial. I think I got the bettered of the deal.😀
The hike was very difficult, about 2 miles each way, but everyone said that getting to the falls was worth it. It was very muddy and slippery and steep. Rick was the only one who got into the pool but they ALL got soaked when getting close to the falls because of the whoosh of air and water.
I met them at the top of the trailhead and they ALL said that they were glad that I did not go. It would have been far too strenuous and muddy for me. While it was such a difficult hike they were all glad to have FINISHED it!
Tuesday morning we left around ten to drive back down towards Quepos again. We were excited to get into Manuel Antonio Park. Well, unfortunately the park was closed! Wouldn't you think that the park would be open on a Tuesday of all days? We should have checked the schedule because they were most definitely closed. Apparently, every Tuesday it is closed for maintenance.😐 We decided to make the most of our day down in that area, so we decided on a beach day at Manuel Antonio Beach just outside of the park. It actually turned out to be one of the funnest days of our trip. A fellow by the name of Marcus acquired some chairs and an umbrella for us. I also brought my beach blanket so that was good, too. We set up camp and enjoyed time in the water. We were getting hammered by the strong waves, so Rick took me a little further back (outside the wave break) and it was nice with rolling waves not breaking ones.
Throughout the day we ordered some chips and guacamole and a delicious quesadilla all delivered by Marcus. He also picked up our plates to return them. Brach found a ripe coconut while beach combing and figured out how to open the thing so we all enjoyed some wonderful fresh coconut! Skylar and Sarah ended up getting a couples massage, and we all enjoyed the nice beach day. Rafael, a salesman from the Guanacaste area of CR, came around selling wooden bowls. I got a very nice one for $40 to display in our basement travel room.
Rick and I decided to go on a parasailing trip just off of the beach. It was really beautiful way up in the air and I felt very safe and not scared at all until......the landing! Everyone had been landing in the water seemingly without too much trouble. When it was our turn, as we entered the water I got a face full of sea water and coughing and sputtering I couldn't get my harness unlatched. Rick reached over and got one of them unlatched but couldn't get the other one. At that point the fellow on the waverunner, who came to pick us up to take us back to shore, jumped into the water to get me unlatched. I was very happy to get back to solid ground after that.
We stayed until sunset. It had been overcast most of the day so we didn't see the sun actually go down but it did turn the sky a beautiful pink!
We drove into the town of Manuel Antonio and stopped at a restaurant that Skylar had seen online called El Avion. The food and drinks were fantastic and we all enjoyed our evening.
Then we had the long hour drive back to the house. We were all glad to get back after a long day.
To be continued.......
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