Trish, Tori and I flew to Toronto on the red eye, then down to Costa Rica after a three hour layover where we also grouped up with Gerry and Silvia. Nothing beats ending a workweek with no ability to get a decent sleep.
Costa Rica felt welcoming, right from the moment the plane doors opened. Ahhh, that thick feeling high % humidity air and a temperature I haven't felt since summer. We had armpit stains on our t-shirts just from standing in line.
The customs in the airport is a model of efficiency, as well the Scotia Bank machine right in the luggage pickup area is all the banking I ever need to do in the country. Once we got all our luggage, the lineup to get out of the luggage area was enormous. They scan luggage through trolley based scanning machines before you can leave, but some practical minded employee took half the line, opened the gate to the left, took our last little paper full of official passenger details, and just let 50 people through. Outside past the gaggle of taxi drivers we found the guy with the magic sign for the Best Western shuttle, then stripped down to more comfortable layers of clothes (shorts, t-shirt, sandals). All the locals wear long pants and full shoes this time of year.
We easily found Craig at the hotel, and his/our new buddy Thomas Yip (Calgarian too). They had ridden earlier in the day to some questionable neigbourhoods, found a local mountain biker who took them to a shop, and witnessed rain hard enough that it set off car alarms... the joys of the tropics. While they (in their words) stared with saucer sized eyes outside at the unusual-to-them (or any dry climate person) spectacle, the ticos just watch them with amusement, for them it's just like any other afternoon. Witnessing that amount of rain "input" helps one begin to understand the tales of mud on the race course. It seems they're enjoying everything so far. I feel like being around people taking it in for the first time freshens up the perspective I'm able to take in as well... all the more enjoyable.
We grouped up at the bar out front of the hotel for a beer during happy hour, which, unlike home, was a free happy hour. Hard to beat that! We had a great group dinner, told tall tales, and drank some pisco. Our waiter liked Trish, and made an elaborate grasshopper by weaving some long leaves off a plant for a souvenir for her. Steve and Pat were supposed to arrive around midnight but didn't, they're en-route now but we don't know why their original flights weren't as scheduled.
This morning I opened the patio door then went back to snooze for a few more hours. Tori asked what it was like outside, and as I moved my arm in and out of the doorframe, my report was that there was absolutely no discernable difference between inside and outside. Ahh, the simple novelties of the tropics.
Just about to leave for Jaco - it's a beautiful day. We swam in the pool, had breakfast at Denny's, packed up, and are ready to depart.
I'm not feeling fast this go around, but I sure am soaking up the environment and the relaxation.
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