Relaxation Station

Just when you think there couldn’t be anymore travel drama is when it really makes you think twice. 

Since we are now enroute back home with a bit of a stop over in Costa Rica we figured we were “coast is clear”. We did our research to ensure their wasn’t any requirements to get into Costa Rica as a US citizen and we were free and clear. At least that’s what we thought. We were at Cuzco airport plenty early and with a short layover in Lima we figured we would try and get on the earlier flight. With a little luck and some puppy dog eyes we were able to get to Lima 2 hours early. We had to exit the airport again, go back through customs, and everything seemed peachy. We even celebrated our getting closer to home with TGIFridays in the Airport(it was the only restaurant, if you know me, you know I despise chain restaurants). As we were going through the gate to board the plane the guy asked for our yellow fever vaccination cards, like “hmmmm no why do we need those” gate agent “per Costa Rican government you need to show proof of yellow fever to get into their country”. In my head, (Let me tell you we did extensive research to ensure we did not need anything which is why we decided on Costa Rica, as Americans we do not need to show proof of anything, and I confirmed again on the website.) Nicolette has yellow fever, I do not. We were holding up the gate checkin line so they moved us out of the way and another agent came over and said we could change flights at no charge once we figured out the yellow fever debacle. Again we said “there are no requirements for US citizens” and we started recognizing multiple other passengers get pulled off to the side for the same reason. With nearly all the passengers boarded on the plane, all the gate agents yelling back and forth in Spanish (really wishing now I paid attention more in Mrs. Ewing’s 8th grade Spanish class). Again I looked at the Costa Rican website, and read thoroughly the entire entrance page…… at the bottom in small print it says, “if flying from the below countries (Peru listed), a yellow fever shot is required to enter the country” How did I miss this. I looked at Nicolette and said “we better make another plan” and showed her the phone. As she finishes and looks up from the phone in disbelief and horror the gate agents grabs us, scans our tickets and pushes us on the plane. Stunned, baffled, shocked, you name it were didn’t have words, we buckled up and the flight took off minutes later to San Jose Costa Rica. Nic and I didn’t talk about it until about an hour from landing and she said “what should we do if they don’t let us in” I said “let’s not make a plan and jinx it, let’s just go with the flow, we should be ok”. Everything was ok, until we were going in for landing and they called us off and we circled over San Jose for more then an hour. Flight attendants and everyone speaking Spanish we had no idea what was going on, we both started thinking we might have to land in another airport, and finally the plane dipped through the clouds into a torrential downpour of rain (which I’m assuming why we circled) and landed with a screeching Halt. Nics anxiety now was spiking again about going through customs and the whole yellow fever thing, but we de-boarded went through customs and the only thing customs security asked was “how long are you here, and where are you staying” and we entered Costa Rica. Wow wow wow wow wow wow what happened how are we here. 

It is well known that taxi drivers in other countries (especially 3rd world) take advantage of tourists, so we did our best to get an Uber. After waiting and searching for an Uber it never connected, So we had to resort to a taxi. Didn’t take long to find one, but we ended up being crammed in a little Toyota with 2 other elderly folks and the trunk was too full so we had to put our luggage on our laps. The traffic was horrific due to the pouring rain and the drivers defrost wasn’t working so we had to constantly be cleaning the windshield with a rag to defuse the never ending fog. We came close to rear ending multiple vehicles but the driver at the last second crammed his brakes and left us squished even further like a can of sardines. Good thing this only lasted like 1.5hrs and I didn’t have any money because the atm at the airport wasn’t working so he stopped by an atm so I could get money. Finally at the hostel glad to be on stable ground, we settled in for the night. 

I asked the hostel front desk where a decent spot to eat was close and she pulled out a map, circled everything to the left of the hostel and everything to the right of the hostel and said, “these areas aren’t so nice try to avoid them” then circled a place just a few blocks south of the hostel and said “this place might be open, it’s ok” and then said “we also serve pizza here if you want to just eat here”. So we shared a small pizza. 

The following morning we were meant to get a bus to Tamarindo but I couldn’t get a solid answer on where the pick up point was from the hostel reception so I walked to the nearby bus station in hopes to get a better answer. Again, no one at the bus station could give me a overwhelming yes, but I was assuming this had to be it. Back at the hostel we ate breakfast and packed our bags then walked back down to bud station. At 1130 when the bus was meant to leave someone grabbed our bags and pushed us on the bus, without checking our tickets or asking where we were going so we took a seat and hoped in 6 hours we would be to Tamarindo. The drive was slow, so slow that at hour 6 (which is how long the trip was supposed to take) we weren’t even close to tamarindo, but finally 8.5hrs from when we left San Jose we arrived into Tamarindo. Tons of surf shops lined the streets and people in swimsuits and bare feet walking everywhere on the unpaved streets. We located our hostel and jumped in the pool to relax after the multi hours of sitting on the bus. 

The week of planned relaxation was mostly just that; we walked the beaches, took surf lessons, and surfed everyday 2 times a day, read books (nicolette finished 2 Harry Potter books), ate incredible food, yoga classes, massages on the beach, met lots of other travelers at the hostel, and sat at the hostel pool. 

We did get stuck in a torrential thunderstorm while raining cats and dogs on the beach trying to surf. Drenched we walked back in the rain and had to catch a boat across the river because of the crocodiles in the water. The boat that picked us up was filling with water and made Nicolette’s anxiety spike thinking we were going to sink and have to battle the crocs to shore. 

We also took a river boat tour and saw the crocs in their natural habitat as well as monkeys, birds, iguanas, and termites (no snakes thank goodness). 

While watching the sunset one night we saw a croc in the ocean close to where we were surfing earlier that day. Not only do you gotta worry about sharks here you also have to battle with the large reptiles of crocodiles. Luckily we had no run-ins with either. 

The amazing food included one of my favorite deserts, churro ice cream. We also discovered the best hot sauce I’ve ever had Algo Picante (which you can buy on-line) and is made locally in Tamarindo. We bought some online and can’t wait to have it in our fridge. Most of our favorite food came from the local food trucks and off the beaten path local shops, absolutely not the beach side resort restaurants that littered the coast. 

Being close to the jungle we got to experience multiple bugs/animals in our room:

Small Scorpion

Crab

Massive Toad

Multiple Centipedes 

Cockroaches regularly

Which I always ended up being on pest control. 

The week was incredible but for me a bit too much relaxation. Could have been shortened a few days but Nic said she enjoyed every second which you know what they say “happy wife, happy life” so if she enjoyed it that’s all that matters. One thing that caught us by surprise was how expensive it was. Most prices were as much or more then what you would see around South Dakota. Costa Rica became the second most expensive part of our trip after Croatia, could be contributed to us being in a coastal tourist town but still caught us by surprise. 

Enjoy the minimal pics we took due to rarely carrying our phones to the beach.