Costa Rica Day 4

November 16, 2015

Naitro was up quite early and I rolled out of bed at 7am. I prepared myself and we were ready to go around 7:40...pretty good. I will say that they have a ventilation issue as my towel didn't dry overnight and smelled a bit. If such an issue exists, fresh towels should be offered daily.

We packed the car as the driveway was full this morning. Eduardo was outside helping others and greeted us. The car packed, I returned to the reception to pay for my water I had drank from the mini bar. He didn't accept payment ...the least he could do. I would have normally had a strong discussion about my dissatisfaction with the interaction, assistance, and accommodation but I was still in pain and just didn't care to discuss it. I will email him.

One last trip down the road from hell! The tree had already been removed, surprising, once the 6..1 was finished, we went into La Fortuna before leaving. The shop with little boxed made in different shapes, from local wood species was open. Naitro really wanted one in the shape of a treble clef. We were lucky, it was open early as many other shops weren't. A drink and a snack from the local market and we were on our way.

Today we were going to try a different tactic to get us to the airport in San Jose we took the major cities (alternate route) in reverse, as there was no alternate route function on this ancient Gsramin GPS. We started with Ciudad Quesada, about an hour and a half. This is a major city and the drive there was quite uneventful.

We skipped Zarcero (next town) and set the GPS for Naranjo, about 30 km away. This trek was different. We crossed a mountain range and a steep one, it was. The fog was getting exponentially worse as we climbed. The visibility was almost nonexistent in some high altitude areas. It was very picturesque and very dangerous, I keep out little Daihatsu in 4WD that whole segment.

South from Naranjo was miserable, brutal, even. The number of hairpin turns, eighteen wheeled transport trucks, large busses, and single lane bridges multiplied the difficult factor as rain wasn't enough.

The Airport in San Jose was reached about 45 minutes later than expected. I'm so glad we left when we did and the route was shorter even with the challenges, I dropped Naitro off, gave her a bug hug good bye and we parted. Another great journey, we had.

I had a couple of hours and wanted to see the contemporary art and design museum so...into San Jose ( the Capitol) I went. Traffic was heavy but the GPS showed only 20 minutes to the destination. Now, I did make two wrong turns but the actual location and additional traffic encountered, required and hour to reach the museum. Ok...I'll have only 30 - 45 minutes. I've done that before and been worth the trouble.

I parked, not to hard, and walked by the Supreme Court to reach the museum. I walked in and the guard greeted me. I asked to visit the museum. He looked puzzled. I rephrased " Museo" and he responded " mañana". I was so upset as It is one of the best exhibits of art in Central America and the effort to get there was great...Ugh!

Disappointed, I walked across the street to Parque España and strolled it for a bit. The park is also the location of a statue of Christopher Columbus that was given to the people of Costa Rica in 2002, by his descendants, commemorating the quincentennial of the explorer's landing in Puerto Limón.

I returned to the car and plotted my return to the airport area, stopping to return my Hertz rental. The return was even more miserable/brutal than my entry into the Capitol. Gridlock traffic, causing me great stress. I didn't have an endless supply of time, I was aggressive with my driving manner and it did assist me in getting to the highway a bit quicker. Once there - keeping in the left lane, I made it to the Hertz rental drop off with more than enough time. They checked me and and it was quick and painless, Way to go Hertz!

I've driven almost 18 hours on this short trek, more than any other short duration journey ever! It did allow me to see a bit of three regions of Costa Rica. I may have been tired of driving but not tired of Costa Rica.

My airport check in revealed a first class return journey, both segments. I had been notified of my upgrade for Miami to Boston but this was a real treat. This made for 3 of my 4 segments being premium on this trip. Thank you, American" it's just what I needed, this trip.

Once through security, I stopped at a CR arts shop. Looking through the pottery, I found gold. It was a medium sized sculpture of a sea urchin, in light putty with dark ochre accents...had to have it. It was made by a local artist, Gema. My mother would have gotten one also but as it was a one of a kind. There were no more. The salesman told me that there was a trio, three different sizes in different colors. The other had sold and this was the remaining size. It was waiting for me as I will appreciate it. The salesman didn't know what it was until I explained but I am a fan of sea creatures.

I settled in at the gate and it was very quick that we boarded. I was second on the plane...I like this. Also, I had a glass of wine in my had before the coach passengers were boarding...nice.

I was able to write a bit end read some of my car magazines while relaxing in my big comfy chair I had a small but fresh, delicious salad, a cheese roll, and some type of cake in a sweet sauce.

Once landed,, again, being fist out has its privileges. I walked fast and made it through immigration in record time, maybe 10 minutes. Even my baggage was timely...maybe another 10 minutes. Security...is security, always miserable. My layover required a terra ride but that wasn't full so it was easy. Some of this ease may have been due to the time. My connection would be the last Boston flight of the night, so my arrival was pretty late, 7:45pm.

My gate time was relatively short. I checked email, voicemail, Facebook, and texts. I think that covers it lol.

Time to go!

This flight was different. The attendants really didn’t attend to us. I was surprised at that…I was hungry and hadn’t eaten with the expectation of a meal on board. Oh well, I guess this was first class (economy). At least I had extra room.

We arrived on time but late. This was a new lasted flight out of Miami. It was 9pm but now a 9:45pm is offered. You can leave Central America and the Caribbean later but you get in at almost 1pm. By the time I made it home it was after 2pm. Ugh!

Well, this is what it takes. I’ll do what it takes..I love to travel!