The next day of our trip was Sunday. I was very happy to have a day of rest but we realized the night before that church would be starting at 9am in Orotina which was at least an hours drive away. We skipped our breakfast that morning (it was fast Sunday) and drove over to Orotina. We found the church but to our surprise no one was there. We were a few minutes early but we thought it strange that no one was there. Rick was able to get a little service on his phone and called the branch president who told us that they were still having meetings remotely due to Covid.😐 So our early morning was for naught. At that point we decided to drive back to the hotel and listen in on the Deseret Peak Ward Sacrament Meeting. They still have theirs broadcast each week. It was a good meeting:) I was secretly happy to be able to have a meeting in English, one that I could understand the proceedings.
Our Sunday was very laid back. We spent most of the time in our room studying, napping, or talking. We did take a little drive to get out a bit and then came back to an early dinner at the hotel's restaurant. It was a nice day to unwind after a busy few days.
The passion fruit smoothies are sooo good!
Here's a picture of the sunset from the "widow's peak" at the hotel.
Monday morning after our breakfast we drove across the highway to a place called Los Suenos Adventures. We had signed up for a three hour 4-wheel expedition. The day was really beautiful and the ride was so much fun!! After going around the practice course a couple of times to show our adeptness of riding a 4-wheeler, we headed up into the hills. Our guide, Christopher, showed us a very nice time. We were able to go up the mountain to a nice overlook. We could see down into Herradura Bay and even over into Jaco a little bit.
Christopher took us through the rainforest, through huge muddy puddles, through river streams and he even stopped to show us a few trees and told us a little about them. When the leaves of the week tree are rubbed together it creates a red dye. The indigenous people used the dye to pain their faces. He also showed us the heart of a palm tree and how it is edible. We even got to taste it.
At one point as we were driving down a river I looked back and Rick had gotten pulled over to the edge. He was able to back out and get our on his own. For me, there was one point where I was going up a steep hill but was in the wrong gear and I could not make int to the top. I tried lowering my gear but my wheels just kept spinning. Christopher ran down to me (he was ahead) and helped to pull me out of my rut. Other than that we did very well at handling the ATV's on a muddy, tree filled terrain.
Lastly, we stopped at a waterfall and enjoyed some time in the water. The water was running very fast and made me a little nervous. There was a lower falls and an upper falls and we were able to get in both of them! The water was refreshing and cool!
After our nice ATV tour we went back to the room and got in the pool for a bit and then I enjoyed reading poolside for an hour or so.
That evening before dinner we wanted to catch the sunset at . We were just a few minutes late to see the sun actually going down into the water but we did see the beautiful after effects of the sunset.
The next day was another day to just kind of hang around. We enjoyed a nice breakfast, drove over to Tarcoles Bridge to see the crocodiles again, spent some time at the room and in the pool, read, watch the birds and iguanas and just had a nice relaxing day:)
Here is another couple of pictures from the "Widow's Peak" at the hotel. These were taken in the morning on a clear day and the view was just incredible!
Something fun about this particular stay was that our room attendant, Mayella, would leave little towel animals for our fascination and enjoyment.
The next day we woke up with the birds. Rick went on a jog and I went on a walk. On my walk I was able to see a Yellow Headed Toucan up in a Palm Tree eating some berries. I watched him for a good 8 or 9 minutes and then got back on my walk. I came back about 15 minutes later and he was still there:) Kinda cool! After getting back to the room I hopped in the pool for one last hurrah and Rick got back and joined me. After our refreshing swim we went over for our breakfast and then came back to get everything packed up. As we were walking out of the hotel we were blessed with there view of a full rainbow! That was a nice way for Cosa Rica to say goodbye!!
We drove over through Tarcoles and stopped to get a few trinkets for family members and then headed back to San Jose. We wanted to find the temple. Rick did very well at following the GPS and maneuvering the roads of San Jose and we found the beautiful it. We could not get into the grounds because the temple is under renovation but we were able to get a picture just outside the front gate. I love how the Costa Rican flag is captured in the picture!
While we were waiting to board our flight to Dallas Rick got a message on his phone saying that our flight from Dallas to SLC was cancelled. They had rebooked us for a flight the next night. We wished we had known that before or we might have just spent one more day in San Jose. We decided that we would find some fun things to do in Dallas since neither one of us has spent any time there. We booked a hotel near the airport and got on our flight.
When we got to Dallas we couldn't land because of bad weather not the ground. We circled the airport for an hour and a half and then we started running low on fuel. The captain came on the intercom dn told us we were being rerouted to Houston. We flew the 40 minutes to Houston and landed but could not get into a gate. By this time it was super late so Rick found us a Marriott close to the airport to stay in. Jus after that occurred we got a notice that American Airlines were going to put us up for the night in a budget hotel close to the airport. So we cancelled the other and finally deplaned. There were only a few people in Customs so it took a while getting through that line. We were able to pick up our luggage then we had to find our way to the hotel shuttles. That was a nightmare! We had no way to know which way to go. This airport is NOT clearly marked. We finally found the shuttles with about 50 other people waiting. The shuttle came and only about ten people could fit inside. I could see that this was going to be a loooong process so I checked into getting a taxi. It cost about twenty bucks but we were able to get right over to our hotel and get checked in. It was definitely a budget hotel but we just needed some rest. We got to sleep around 2 AM. It had been a long day!
The next morning an Uber driver took us back to the airport where we rented a car for the day. Our plane was not scheduled to leave until 9:00 that night. We found a Cracker Barrell and had a nice breakfast and then drove and hour and a half South of Houston to Galveston. I had seen a brochure and thought it would be a fun place to go.
We first stopped at the Bishop's Palace, a turn of the century home. While Rick took a nap in the car I toured the home. My goodness! It was so beautiful! It had a very nice floor plan, a beautiful staircase and the home had many stained glass windows which added to it's beauty! There was even a catholic chapel full of stained glass windows of the apostles. It was added when the original family sold the home to the catholic priest who's church was just next door. I love touring old houses. This was one of the most beautiful I have seen! Here are just a few pictures. I knew taking pictures would be futile because the majesty of this home could not be captured through the lens.
Next we drove over to Pleasure Pier. This was the real draw to Galveston....only to find that it was CLOSED!! We were hoping to go on a few rides and eat some fun fair food but alas our plans were changed yet again. We walked up to take a couple of pictures and then walked down to the beach. We then grabbed a sandwich from Chic Fil A and then made the drive back to the Houston airport.
While the stop in Houston was unexpected, we were able to make a nice day of it. I think it would be fun to go back to Galveston during the summer months when the Pier is open. It would be a fun place to spend an afternoon.
We were able to catch our plane and other than being a little late we arrived and Gary picked us up and drove us home. It is always so nice to walk through the doors of the place we call ours!
Our trip to Costa Rica was filled with adventure, love, tropical birds, crocodiles, swimming and delicious food! We will be back!
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