Mind of Migg

We woke up early on day 5 since we had crashed before 9pm the night before. It was nice to take in the view from the back porch and front porch of our little bungalo before leaving. We didn’t have much free time since it was a travel day back to San Jose, but we made the most of it.

We headed into La Fortuna for breakfast. We found a little soda (small, roadside mini-restaurants. I have no idea why they’re called sodas) that was recommended by the front desk of our hotel. The funny thing is, the place we were staying was full of older, American or European people who chose the spot because it had standard food and was away from the locals. They seemed surprised that we wanted a simple, local meal.

The food at the soda was solid, but the best part was the coffee and the juices. All natural blended juices from all kinds of fruit is standard fare there. After breakfast, we walked around town, getting in all of our souvenir shopping and then taking in the town itself.

We even ran into Anthony and Vivian walking around town too. We grabbed a few snacks for the drive back and then stopped off at the soda for another blended juice before heading back to the hotel. We packed up, took some more pictures to kill time, then had a quick lunch before leaving.

I was a little nervous about the trip back. On the way up, we were on the inside of the steep narrow roads, but heading back meant we would be on the outside, where we saw random sink holes that dropped all the way down the hill. Fortunately, I think our driver was thinking the same thing, because we took a different road back, that had less steep, narrow sections. It was a nice drive, taking in even more of the countryside as we went along.

We reached our destination, the Holiday Inn Express next to the airport, around five in the afternoon. We were a little bummed to be there. On the one hand, it was nice having normal amenities and a quiet room. On the other, we had grown used to the buzz of the jungle and the occasional bug in our room. Our trip was pretty much over by that point. We went for a swim in the evening, and stayed up late packing and getting everything ready. We also stayed up late to monitor our flight. Our TV had a local Denver station and the newscast showed all kinds of snowstorms. On top of that, our flight wasn’t listed on the departures screen in the hotel lobby. We triple checked the airline website and official Denver website to make sure our flight wasn’t delayed our cancelled.

Fortunately for us, it wasn’t. We left our hotel at 4am and were on our way. We were lucky that Denver had cleared up the night before, so it was freezing, but clear and sunny. The flight there wasn’t bad, but by the time we boarded for LA, I just wanted to be home. We landed with the usual relief of being home combined with the sadness that our trip was over. It was a great vacation and Costa Rica is a beautiful, amazing place. The people are super friendly and the sights are awesome. I can’t wait to go back someday.

Day 4 in Costa Rica felt almost like 2 days because of how it was broken up. We woke up, packed up our things, went and had breakfast, and said goodbyes to people who were leaving. A large group of us planned to drive up to La Fortuna, next to the Arenal Volcano. Janiva didn’t mention until we arrived that it’s actually one of the most active volcanoes in the world, making it a little uncomfortable knowing that our planned hotel was next to its base.

After our morning goodbyes we did some shopping, buying some organic coffee as we checked out. We hopped on our bus and then took the hour or so drive into La Fortuna. Everyone was moving a little slowly though, so by the time everyone got checked out, figured out the shuttle situation, and finally left, we didn’t sit down for lunch in La Fortuna until nearly 2pm. I think our group of about a dozen overwhelmed the little restaurant next to the hotel a few people were staying at. It took a while for our orders to come out, but it was good food.

The shuttle dropped us off at our hotel, since it was the last one on the way, and then took everyone else to the hot springs. We were shocked at how nice our hotel was. Violet had booked online, where there’s not much description or pictures. We were mostly looking for a decent price, and the place was actually cheaper than the Holiday Inn Express next to the Denny’s and an engine rattling distance away from the airport. The hotel, Lomas del Volcan was a mile up a small dirt road and right at the base of the volcano. It was a resort style place with an open air bar and restaurant that opened to an amazing view of the volcano, and private, bungalo style rooms. I only wish we had been able to spend more time there.

We quickly changed and took a cab to meet up with everyone at the hot springs. The hot springs had a series of pools, going from one that was freezing, to lukewarm, all the way up to hot tub levels. It was so cool because it felt like they built the park around an already existing river. The river flowed down a waterfall into the top, warmest pool, and out into the river below the lowest, lukewarm pool. The guy at the front told us to make sure and switch pools regularly and not stay in any one pool for too long. There was one small pool that was boiling hot, but it was out of the way. The highest pool had the waterfall and some cool water shooting out from above, so it wasn’t bad. We spent most of our time in the lowest pool because it was easy to move back and forth from that one to the cool one.

Unfortunately, a large part of the group didn’t get to spend much time there since they were heading back to San Jose for flights the next day. We were able to stay later though, as were a couple of others who had additional travel plans. The jungle trees surrounded the hot springs, and a group of monkeys moved around above us. One of them even had a little baby on its back. It was so cool lying back in the water and watching the monkeys hop around from branch to branch.

When it started getting dark we decided it was time to go. Another couple, Anthony and Vivian, had also stayed behind so they joined us for dinner back at our hotel. Since it was dark, you couldn’t really make out the volcano in the distance, but it was still a beautiful night to have dinner on the patio.

Day 4 was so relaxing and a great way to come down from the high of the wedding and partying. We went back to our room after dinner and collapsed.

Day 3 was wedding day. There was definitely an excitement in the air as we walked to breakfast that morning (another amazing meal). The best thing was, the ceremony didn’t start until later in the afternoon, so we had the entire day to lounge around.

After breakfast, the wedding party had all kind of things to tend to so I was left on my own. I went down to the pool, along with most of the other guests not in the wedding. I’m not much for swimming, so I just lounged around, listening to the rest of my Doctor Who audiobook. I made the mistake of falling asleep though, and woke up when someone told me I looked like I was roasting. I went back to the room and realized that I had the darkest farmer’s tan in history.

I met up with Violet for lunch and then headed back to the room, with all kinds of plans to be productive. What would I do? Maybe some more writing, maybe some reading, maybe just take a walk. The only problem was, the sounds of the jungle are so soothing. You’d think it’d be annoying to hear constant buzzing and chirping, but it’s actually the opposite. I fell asleep and woke up two hours later just in time to get ready and head down for the ceremony. They were still taking pictures when I got down there. When they wrapped up, Violet was ready to start.

The ceremony was really cool. It was so simple and so moving. There was live music playing as everyone walked in, and one of the other guests, Pam, sang a song. The jungle in the background made it a perfect setting.

After the ceremony, everyone headed up the way for the reception. Awesome food again, and awesome speeches. They were so heartfelt and emotional, it was a really special moment, I’m sure for Janiva and Ricardo, but also for everyone else there. The best part was, each speech was said in English and Spanish, so we toasted so many times, we flew through the champagne.

Once dinner was done, we moved all the tables to the side and the party got underway. There was the usual first dance, father-daughter dance, and mother-son dance. And of course, cutting the cake. Then there was dancing…a whole lot of dancing. There was a live band who drove in for the reception. Their van actually broke down on the way, and it was already dark, but by some good fortune, an empty taxi, with enough room to fit them all drove by and gave them a lift. Things like that happened all weekend; good karma paying off for good people so that everything could come together.

Normally, I’m hesitant to dance, and that hesitation makes me a worse dancer than I already am. This time, though, everyone was dancing and there was plenty of wine to go around. So not only did I dance, I picked up the steps much more easily than I ever had before. At one point, it started raining and a group of us ran out into the grass to take it in. It was such a moment of peace and clarity. Looking up at the sky, feeling the cool rain come down, watching others dance in the rain, and seeing all the smiling faces of everyone at the party was a moment like no other. I can’t describe how good it felt to be there at that moment.

The band wrapped up and people slowly started to trickle to their rooms for the night. Fortunately for us, there were still some bottles of wine left and we were a large group of Claremont College alumns. When the music stopped, a group of us, including the bride and groom, moved the party to the swimming pool. It was actually a little cool by this point, so I wasn’t really up for a swim. There was also a hot tub though so we tried it out. Unfortunately, it was a solar powered hot tub and since it was such a hot day, the water was near boiling and there was no way to control the temperature. That didn’t stop a few people who had a few more drinks than I did from jumping in. I could barely keep my legs in for a few seconds and there they were swimming around in it. By the time one a.m. rolled around, Violet and I were both ready to call it a night. We walked back to our room and collapsed. What a wedding.

We woke on day two fully refreshed and ready to go. After some more fresh fruit and coffee, we packed up our bags and headed over to the Holiday Inn Express near the airport where we waited for the shuttle. The shuttle pulled up already nearly full with wedding guests. A large number of guests were also Claremont College alum, some I hadn’t met and some I hadn’t seen since graduated. It was a fun drive.

It was also a beautiful drive. It was such a diverse landscape of open green fields, small towns, and rain forest trees.

We made a brief pit stop, at a gift shop, so everyone was able to start their souvenir shopping. After that we were on our way again, crossing a bridge and then briefly getting lost because we missed our turn. We made a quick u-turn and then were on the little dirt road to Finca Luna Nueva Lodge.

Finca Luna Nueva is an organic-biodynamic farm that has only recently been opened to the public. Violet was so excited about the food we were going to have over the weekend and she was right. Every meal is prepared fresh from food grown on the farm. It may have looked like simple pasta with marina sauce and salad, but I was in love from first bite. The salad consisted of at least five different types of lettuce. It felt like we were eating whole plants, but very tasty plants.

After lunch and getting our room settled, we were able to take a tour of the surrounding farm and forest. I saw how pineapple grew for the first time, plants with vines, and even plants that would uproot themselves and move to find sunlight.

We also got to walk through parts of the farm. They grow things all together rather than growing just one plant in large amounts. It’s better for the soil and for the plants apparently. Our guide gave us a sample of all types of herbs and plants. As the sun set, we sat around an outdoor lounge area, listening as the jungle came alive with noises and a slow sprinkle of rain started. It was so peaceful and relaxing. We had another amazing meal and a few drinks while listening to live music played by a guy named Human (pretty sure it’s not his real name. by pure coincidence he was there this time and was also there playing music when Ricardo proposed to Janiva at the same spot).

The wedding party went through a brief rehearsal and then more planning, so I called it an early night, listening to the first half of my second audiobook, Torchwood: Another Life (read by none other than the great John Barrowman). Day 2 was amazing.

Day 1 is always the longest day of travel. That’s because travel time counts as part of Day one. Since we were taking the red-eye to Costa Rica, our day started at about 5pm on Wednesday. We had a scheduled flight from LAX to Denver, and then a flight around midnight that would arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica at about 5:30 am. The last time I flew previous to this trip was from DC after our Europe trip in 2007, so needless to say I was a wreck. I tried to stay calm and focused, and also limited myself to just one double drink before boarding. Nevertheless my knees felt like they were going to buckle and I wondered which would happen first: me passing out or my heart bursting through my chest because it was pounding so hard.

I was a little more calm once we were airborne. I felt all the familiar feelings and was relaxed because there was satellite TV and the Suns game was starting. Unfortunately, my TV (of all the TV’s!) stopped working. Fortunately, the coping skills I’d been preparing to use this time around came through. I stayed calm and switched to my iPod audiobook (Doctor Who: The Stone Rose). With David Tennant effortlessly switching from Scottish narrator to the Doctor, I was home free until we landed in Denver.

I always feel such a rush when landing, perhaps because I’m so stressed for the duration of the flight. I felt good after the first leg of the trip and happy that I didn’t suffer as much as I have in the past. The Suns had also won their game, so that helped. We had some time before departing for Costa Rica, so I was able to get a big glass of wine before boarding again. I will say this: as well as I can handle flights now, sleeping is near impossible unless I’m on a larger plane. On a one aisle, six seat across plane, there’s no chance of that. The flight attendants seemed grumpy and the lights were on for a good portion of the shorter than scheduled flight, so I fit in maybe a ten minute nap before landing in Costa Rica at 5 am.

It was cool seeing San Jose and the volcanoes in the distance as we landed. We grabbed our stuff, wandered around the airport trying to find a currency exchange location since the one next to baggage was closed, gave up, and found a taxi to get us to our hotel. We were staying in Alajuela, just north of the airport and just outside of San Jose our first night before heading up North for Janiva’s wedding. Our hotel was the Hotel Pacande, a little place that would easily be missed with the way every building blends into each other in the small town.

When we showed up at the door at 6 am, the night manager of the hotel gave us a confused look, but let us in. He was making breakfast, which was typically ready for guests at 7 am. We sat in the outdoor dining area taking everything in. Despite our lack of sleep, we were riding a high from the travel and excitement at being in an entirely different part of the world. We chatted until 7 and then had some of the freshest tasting fruit and coffee I’ve ever had. It’s so amazing how great the food was on our entire trip in Costa Rica. We pay a premium for awful, bland, processed foods, while they eat all natural, homegrown items that are so delicious.

While the hotel didn’t look like much from the outside, the inside was beautiful. Besides the outdoor dining area, our room was fantastic. It was above the dining area, accessed by a cool, twisting staircase. We were lucky enough to get a larger room, with one bed in a loft area and two beds below.

After breakfast, we both realized how tired we were and that we’d crash as soon as we let ourselves take a break. So we quickly showered and found a great zipline option with the help of the friendly hotel owner. Ziplining is a popular thing to do in Costa Rica. It’s basically a large metal rope hung between two trees in the forest. You are harnessed in, hold on tight, and get to fly across the treetops in the rainforest. It sounds insane, but it was super safe and the instructors were really cool and knowledgeable not just about ziplining, but also the surrounding rainforest plants and animals. The location were it was based was beautiful.

We got our equipment on and were ready to go. The first route was directly over the large lake in the picture. I thought that was the final one because it was so long and looked high. I had no idea what we were getting into, but it was amazing. Some went fast and some went slow. Some had cool views and some had ridiculous, “I can’t below I’m so high above the treetops, let alone the river below,” views.

They had a photo option and for just an extra $20, one of the guys brought a camera and took pictures and videos of us. It was a great deal because there was no way for us to get the quality and angle of pictures he was able to get. The package also included some general pictures of the location and an amazing video. The last run was over 200 meters long (about two football fields) and went really fast. This video gives you a first person perspective of what it was like (you may need a Facebook account to view it though), although it doesn’t capture the sense of flying by the trees that close and being so high off the ground when you look down.


http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=547399215554&ref=mf

After a few hours of ziplining, we had lunch, which was included in the package. It was soooo good, yet so simple, just some meat, beans, and rice. We took the shuttle back after lunch and that’s when the day finally caught up with us. We crashed for a few hours. I woke up so confused and had no idea what time it was. Since it was still light out, we decided to walk around town and exchange some of our cash.

The town of Alajuela is kind of like Venice Beach. It’s got character and is a fun place to walk around. There was a cool plaza next to a church and a bunch of little shops and restaurants. Once it got dark though, the shops closed with a bang and the streets cleared out, hence the comparisons to Venice Beach. Even the restaurants closed. We were hungry and suddenly had second thoughts about venturing out into the city to find a place to eat. Fortunately, there was a spot across the street from our hotel, Bosco’s Restaurant. I wound up ordering the same dish I had for lunch, which is apparently the Costa Rican “daily special” dish. It was still great. We had some fruit juice for lunch too and I have no idea what kind of strange fruits they were made of, but it was typical fruits and it was always delicious.

Once we finished eating, we crossed the street back to our hotel. Our room had a balcony, so I sat outside while Violet did some reading, listening to the sounds of all the different birds, and all the different languages coming from our hotel below and the hostel next door. I did a bit of writing and a bit of reading, and then we called it an early night. Day one in Costa Rica was complete.