Costa Rica days 1-3

 The Easter activity was Saturday and then we left for Costa Rica Monday at 12pm. It was busy doing laundry and packing but the kids did all of their own stuff and the only thing I forgot was bug spray so we did well with the little time we had. We drove to the airport and made it through security in plenty of time to get an early dinner before we got on the plane. Our only option was McDonald’s, which I think is gross on a good day but the airport version was even worse. Kind of a disappointing start to our trip but we figured at least the food could only get better! Our flight to Panamá City went very smoothly with the kids occupied by their own tvs on the seat in front of them. They served dinner and my kids all said it was so good and that they love airplane food, which I think is hilarious. It was good though and I would definitely fly Copa again.

The Panamá city airport is huge though and we had to book it to get all the way across it to get our flight to San Jose. The kids were awesome and we made it in time. By then we were getting pretty tired and with no tvs on the second flight I was grateful that it was only an hour. Costa Rica is very welcoming to foreigners and we had no problem going through the passport check and we were greeted by a guy from the travel agency we used who then showed us how to get to our hotel shuttle. It was all very easy to navigate but we were tired so it was nice to just follow the guy. The people were so nice and there was actually a guy at the airport whose job is just to welcome travelers and help them get to where they need to go, either with the right shuttle or a proper taxi. Our hotel was right by the airport since it was now 11pm CR time (1am here) so we just crashed, excited for the next day. 

Emma and Brandon were in our room (we let the big kids have their own for the night) and they woke up early so I was pretty tired but we had breakfast and then our driver picked us up and drove us to La Fortuna. It was about 3 hours and a very beautiful drive through the rolling green hills. Our driver was super friendly and chatted with us a lot; Josh of course had a lot of questions. Our resort was right by the volcano and it was nice without being fancy, which was perfect for us. We went to lunch at a restaurant across the street while we waited to be able to check in and then we went swimming. There was one larger pool and then three smaller thermal pools, which were so awesome. We took a taxi and went into the little town for dinner and I got cosada, which is very traditional CR food and it was so good! Rice, beans, salad, meat, plantains, and a tortilla. Emma and Brandon shared one too and liked it. Our rooms there were spacious but we didn’t have a good gathering space. It was two bedrooms so Curtis had his own room, Josh and I and then on the other side of our bungalow the girls shared the king bed while Brandon got his own room. It was nice to have space and the ceilings were so high so the rooms felt huge. 

 

We got to sleep kind of early because the sun sets and rises at the same time every day there. They don’t do day light savings and they are close enough to the equator that it just doesn’t vary much so at 5:50 am it was bright and by 6pm it was dark. Every night we talked about what we were grateful for and we did scripture study and prayer and I feel like that makes a big difference in how our trips go. 

The next day was probably my favorite. We had breakfast at the hotel every morning where they had a great buffet of pancakes, eggs, fresh fruit, rice and beans, pastries, hash browns and an omelette station. Then we went for a hike through the jungle that was part of our resort's property. It was a nice walk and the foliage was so cool and I felt like we were in Jurassic Park, minus the dinosaurs. :) We walked down this rocky hill that was called the Sloth Trail and at the end there is a little indigenous village where Josh talked to a lady and we saw their traditional instruments and had a little drink. Right by the village we spotted our sloth though! It was so awesome. It was a juvenile so lighter in color and easier to spot, plus it was down at the very bottom of the tree just hanging out. I did climb back up a bit and become harder to see but for a good few minutes it was right in front of us! We also walked down some scary steps to the river and then we had to walk back up the very rocky and steep hill and we were all quite sweaty and tired by the time we got back to our room. 

    

   

 

We went swimming for an hour to cool off and then we got picked up by the nicest tour guide, Natalia. She took us to the cocoa plantation where we took the coolest chocolate tour. We got to pick the fruit off of the tree and crack it open and try the slimy stuff that is on the beans. Then we tried just the raw beans, which were pretty gross. Then they walked us through the whole process and we got to sample the bean at each step. Plus we saw toucans and a poison dart frog nicknamed blue jeans; the plantation was just cool. Then we got to grind up the prepared beans and just eat the powder and that was so good. Then they gave us the liquid chocolate and let us add flavors to it, which was super fun and delicious. I liked adding vanilla, Sea salt and the ground cocoa beans. I also tried orange with almonds and one time chili pepper. It was all so good. Natalia was so nice and answered all of our questions and just kind of hung out with us on the tour. 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards she took us to the La Fortuna waterfall. It is the largest one around and we walked 500 steps down to it and got in the water to swim around a bit and climb on rocks. The water was chilly but it was so pretty and fun. Then we had to walk the 500 steps back up but it wasn't bad. She dropped us off in the little town and we had another delicious dinner complete with fresh fruit juice smoothies and then took a taxi back. It was Holy Week and the whole country was off school so it was a bit crowded in the little town but other than having to wait for taxis, it didn't affect us much.