Lay your towel down and stick your feet in the coastal tide as I tell you about my latest adventure. Two cousins and I left soon after Christmas to go on a vacation and bring in the new year in Costa Rica. This was a journey that will be remembered by all and left us with a greater bond and memories to last a lifetime.
It began on the morning of Saturday, December 29th with our venture from Richmond, VA to Washington DC for our flights. Cousin one (the logistical one for our trips) had booked our flights, Airbnb and rental car back in September. We were to fly through Avianca. The check-in process for this airline in the airport was a confusing mess, but we made it through. Our first flight was to be from the states to San Salvador, El Salvador. This flight was the craziest flight I have ever been on. I don’t even have a guess for how many flights I’ve been on – and this was just wild. I would easily say about 85% of the flight was up and moving the entire time. Talking, walking, laughing, living… even the flight attendants couldn’t get through – nor did they seem to think this was unusual. We needed tres vinos, rojas. Stat.
After arriving in the San Salvador airport, we hopped into a little pub near our gate to grab a bite to eat and some local brews. From there we boarded our flight to San Jose, Costa Rica (short flight). After leaving the chilled air of Washington DC, the immediate warm air in San Jose was refreshingly thawing. Our rental car was with Economy Rental Car. Our representative there was one of the sweetest humans I’ve ever met, Surí. From there we headed out on our hour and a half drive west to Jacó. We were probably a mile out when yours truly (the passenger/co-pilot/navigator) had us do a wrong turn – when we corrected, we were nearly nailed by an 18-wheeler. Everything’s Fine. We joked, “Surí, we’ve only made it a mile, you have to come rescue us.” Next stop, Jacó.
Our Airbnb was at Croc’s Resort & Casino. Although this is a hotel resort, they have private residences, which is what we were able to Airbnb through. After arriving, when Lauren became La’Orange, checking in – with a quick question about asking if the water was ok to drink or not – there was hesitation, so we said ok, nope – in reality it ended up being fine. We crashed as it was about midnight at this point.
“Don’t let your dreams be dreams.” – Jack Johnson
When we awoke, we headed to the resort coffee shop where we got latte’s and empanadas. From there our plan was to head straight out to the beach. Jacó Beach is amazing – the sun was the most intense (equator maybe?), as someone who usually can get by without sunscreen, this was not the case – and I’d only ever been in the Pacific Ocean on the West Coast of the United States where the temperature is always cold compared to the Atlantic. The Pacific off Costa Rica felt amazing, not too warm or cold –perfect.
Reading our afternoon away, soaking in the salt air and sun rays, we made a game plan to head to the Más y Menos (grocery store) to grab snacks, beer and quick breakfast items. This grocery store was a nightmare – organization is not a thing and people literally taking you out with their bodies and carts. Finally getting into line and to the cashier, we learned many places won’t accept debit/credit without your license (everyone except the driver had left things we didn’t think we’d need in the safe in our room). Thankfully we had just enough cash.
From there we went to The Green Room for dinner. This was such a cool hole-in-the-wall type place. Really capitalizing on the culture and great weather – very open floor plan. There was a wait – reservations are a thing, everywhere. Cousin one went up there to put our name on the list and we were secretly sat immediately at one of the reserved tables right in front of where the live music was to begin. Cousin one didn’t catch on, but I instantly mentioned, thank goodness you’re pretty, that’s why we didn’t wait. We drank Rosé and I ate what was essentially a protein bowl but with local veggies, falafel, etc. and it was amazing. After dinner we went back to the resort and attempted to get drinks at the resort bar. I say attempted because this is when we realized all guests with the inclusive wristband are made priority. We sat there for roughly 30 minutes waiting to be waited on – even when the bartenders weren’t assisting other customers, they ignored us. I was pissed – we’re paying customers. We left.
The next morning was New Years Eve and I woke up feeling awful. My entire body was in pain and my throat felt so swollen I could barely swallow. We had fun things planned, and this was not going to prevent me from enjoying them. We ate breakfast in the room and got ready before heading out on our first excursion – a crocodile boat tour.
We arrived at Jose’s Crocodile River Tour, ready to go down the Tarcoles River with our guide, Exon. It should also be noted that Jose asked us if we were from Holland because we’re so tall – this perplexed us all, as two of us have indeed been to Holland and didn’t see the similarity or randomness. Because we’re all so tall, he wanted to know what we ate so he could feed his kids the same. Everyone who worked here had great humor, even 9-finger Jimmy.
We set out on our adventure in a boat that in my opinion sat a little too low to the river. Our warning was to keep arms, phones and cameras inside the boat – as crocodiles can jump out of the water… I can’t even begin to count how many different bird species we saw on this trip. It was about a two-hour experience from going to where the river met the ocean all the way into the mangroves. The crocodiles obviously being the highlight were wild. 9-finger Jimmy got out of the boat twice and fed two of them right before our eyes, the latter being 1,600 pounds. They have names for each crocodile out there and they’re quite comical – Nicole Ritchie, Miley Cyrus and Brad Pitt to name a few.
Following our excursion, we headed back to the resort. I was still feeling pretty bad, so I decided to take a nap in hopes of feeling better while the girls went to the beach. I slept for about 2 hours and then headed to meet them on the beach where we walked past a lagoon to where the ocean was crashing along the rocks and had a full photoshoot.
As this was New Years Eve, we had to decide what we wanted to do. Our resort was hosting an event, but we hadn’t opted in for the wristband services. We spoke with the front desk to determine if this was an option and worth it. We decided it was and got ready for the evening before us. Being sat for dinner was a bit of a disaster as we had to wait approximately 30 minutes since we had opted in just hours before, we weren’t on their list. When we were finally sat at our table, we got in line for the food (buffet style), got our drinks and watched the shows. The food wasn’t great, and the shows were interesting… They were all over the place, one being a Star Wars dance competition to Costa Rican cultural dances. Following that, we went out onto the beach to get prime seating for the fireworks show. This show was incredible. I don’t think they have the same laws that we do in the United States, because they were extremely close to those who came to watch. Overall, it was a beautiful show and I was happy to bring in the new year with those closest to me.
The next morning was a day that I was especially looking forward to. Although, I woke up still feeling rough – this was the day cousin two and I were to have our surf lessons. After breakfast at the resort (truly their best food), we headed to Tortuga Surf School. I highly recommend this place – for $50 you get a one-on-one 2-hour lesson with water and snack included. After going over group basics, I was partnered with Ricardo who I learned was from Venezuela, lived permanently in Costa Rica now, with a stint also in Brazil. Over two hours we became friends and he was an awesome instructor. I think in total over 2 hours, I only fell twice. I did not anticipate taking to this so fast – as I’d attempted the waves off North Carolina without much success. I didn’t think twice about not feeling well and was living in my element. I could have done that all day and did not want it to end. Cousin two’s experience wasn’t as great… being naturally sporty and competitive, she struggled with not being good at it. She and her first instructor clashed so she had a friendlier one for the second half. Overall, we enjoyed it and the whole-time cousin one was our personal photographer from the shore.
After surfing, we were bruised and exhausted. We headed back to the resort for lunch and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach. I began my first book of 2019. From there, we headed in to get ready for the evening. Cousin two was so exhausted, and sun burnt from surfing she opted to climb into bed at 7pm for the night. Cousin one and I headed into town for a bite to eat – it hadn’t occurred to us that with it being new years day (a holiday), many places were closed. We went to Señor Harry’s, where we enjoyed sangria, fresh guacamole, queso, and enchiladas. From there, meandering downtown we headed back in for the night as Wednesday would be a full day.
Waking up not long after sunrise, we ate breakfast at the resort, relishing the fresh fruit before our full day of adventure. We had purchased a full adventure package through Ocean Ranch Park ahead of time to include waterfall repelling, zip lining, ATV’ing, and horseback riding all in the jungle. Highly recommend.
“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop
The van picked us up and, on the way, we scooped a family of Canadians that were also headed there just for the horseback riding part (they’d previously done the waterfall repelling). Upon arrival, there was some confusion on what would happen first and clarification that we’d do everything we purchased but as the day unfolded – all was fine. We started with a rather large group for the waterfall repelling. We made friends with the employees who lead this. We waited to go last, and it was worth it. We went two at a time, so I hung back and photographed my cousins going down together and then enjoyed the waterfall by myself on the way down. I enjoy rock climbing, so I was thriving for this. I didn’t want it to end. I asked our South American leader if he did this every day, which he replied, yes. Can you imagine? My guess is it would get old day in and day out, but I’m envious as I type this from my work desk under fluorescent lighting.
Next was our zip lining adventure. In total we would do 7 zip lines through the jungle, with the last two being the longest zip lines in Costa Rica. We did these with a family from India – and there was so much miscommunication between our guides, them, and us, we were all in hysterics. We were taught a couple tricks we could do on the zip line, i.e. hanging up side down. This was a blast. The last one was incredible. I felt like Tarzan going through the jungle, over rivers, spotting animals, etc. I may have even let out a yell/roar. This Poseidon of the Sea was feeling his King of the Jungle oats. After zip lining came our locally prepared lunch – it was delicious. It started with freshly cut up pineapple for us, and then being the vegetarian of the group instead of meat, I was served grilled avocado and portobello mushrooms with beans and rice on the side.
Following lunch, we went on our horseback ride through the jungle. Finally, it was just us and our guide. I love riding horses and have always known the phrase of you and your horse have the same personality to be true – and sure enough it was for us this day. Cousin one (who wasn’t looking forward to this) got to ride Charlie, a calm and slow horse. Cousin two (who rides often) was given, Lightning, who gave her a few jolts of spontaneity. And I received, Orejas (ears in Spanish), who was somewhere in between the two. He never gave me any surprises but was constantly pushing Charlie along – we bonded.
Last on our adventure tour was ATV’ing through the jungle – this was simply four wheeling for anyone confused. This started off rough as I made the mistake of not bringing sunglasses – being behind everyone else, I had dust and dirt spraying me. Our guide saw this and we circled back for the owner to lend me a pair. Back on track, we went through rivers and jungle until we eventually made our way up a mountain to the highest part of the park to watch the sunset, underneath a toucan. It was beautiful!
What a day… we were disgusting!! Covered in sweat, jungle and dirt. We looked like someone tried to put makeup on us in the dark. Getting back to the resort, cousin one went up to shower, while cousin two and I headed directly into the ocean. It changed my life. I was so gross, the ocean just washed it all away. You may be thinking sunset/hungry sharks… whatever, I didn’t care. After our dip and a shot of tequila, we too went to shower before all heading out to Caliche’s Wishbone for some homemade sangria and pizza. Exhausted, we headed to bed for the night.
After our adventure day, we planned to have a relaxing day on the beach all day on Thursday and that’s exactly what we did. Between the pool, beach, snacks and drinks we were revitalized. We got ourselves cleaned up and headed out for what was supposed to be our last night. We went to Villa Caletas (which is also a resort) for drinks and to watch the breathtaking sunset over Coast Rica and the Pacific Ocean from their mountainside built-in amphitheater. Words truly cannot describe how amazing this was and of course we did a photo shoot.
From there we headed down to Playa Hermosa, to The Backyard – a bar we had heard about that’s owned by two Americans and to order a “milk” shot. This was essentially a shot made of coconut milk, vodka, and a third ingredient I didn’t catch. We sat in Adirondack chairs literally on the beach and enjoyed our drinks. This is when cousin two took a phone call and mistakenly walked through a nest of fire ants. I’m laughing just thinking about her reaction… she blew through that bar screaming to the bathroom to wash her feet and ankles. We headed back into town after that to find her some calamine lotion and do some shopping. We ate dinner at Amancio’s, which was delicious. We had wine and pasta – our favorite things.
We parked next door in the grocery store lot (that we’d parked in all week), and upon leaving dinner to get the car, they were locking the parking lot up. With a language barrier we were communicating that we needed our car and weren’t leaving without it. After minutes, they allowed only cousin one to go behind the building, out of sight to retrieve it. Blonde, American girl by herself at night. I was openly not ok with this and was counting to 60… if she wasn’t pulling up in that amount of time, I was grabbing cousin two, we were hopping the barricade and prepared to do a full rescue mission/survival fight. Luckily, she rounded the corner in car, and we hopped in. Deep breaths. We spent the rest of the night laughing, joking, and packing before bed.
“Life is short and the world is wide.” – Simon Raven
We woke up Friday morning, packed up our last-minute essentials, grabbed some coffee and hit the road. We were headed to Irazú Volcano for one last adventure, recommended to us from a new friend on the crocodile tour. I’ll also mention I woke up this day finally feeling ok, which was strange since I’d felt awful all week. Our trek up there was something else… I don’t know if it was the altitude adjustments or what, but I was going through wild stages of hot and cold and was eating everything I could find. We were above the clouds, going through towns/villages of people who live everyday above the clouds… like what? Blew my mind. We finally arrived and it was crazy windy up there, but after our hike to the actual volcano, it was beautiful.
Leaving the volcano to head to the airport is when our trip turns into a nightmare. Coming down the volcano/mountain, cousin one realizes the brakes in the car feel funny or are no longer working – understandably, she’s uncomfortable and panics. Cousin two is the most versed in automobiles takes over and we go a little further before she says yes, the brakes are gone. We’re going down the mountain and this point and use the emergency brake to pull off and come to a stop. Our flight is scheduled for that evening. We call Economy Rental Car and explain our situation – they say someone will be there in 3 hours. We are going to miss our flight. During this time, we’re trying to scramble new flights. We call back to try and get an ETA of the person coming, and never in my life have I had a ruder customer service representative. The nicest old man stops and tries to help – he doesn’t know any English and our Spanish is very limited. He and cousin two pop the hood to the engine and communicate. He points out the hubcap on the tire is zip tied on and is melting… Throughout this we’re also trying to flag down the police, three different police vehicles ignored and drove right past us.
Throughout this ordeal, every single check engine light comes on – we call Economy back to relay this information, still not feeling great, I begin to panic. We are in a foreign country, where we don’t the language, we are stranded, cell phones are dying, and the sun is setting. To keep myself busy, I gather all the trash in the car and panic pee in the ditch. With 20 minutes left until the 3-hour window is up, we call back again, this time in fear. The Economy representative hangs up on us. At the 3-hour mark exactly, our “savior” shows. He doesn’t know any English but we’re able to communicate that he was only told about the brakes, none of the other issues and that we’d need to pay additional money. No! He stays with that car and we take the one he came in. We’ve re-booked flights by this time and discuss the claim we’ll put in (trip insurance).
We arrive back into Jacó and head straight to Economy Rental Car, where luckily Surí is working. We like him, we want to speak with him, so we wait for him. I’ve never seen a more apologetic and broken man before – he felt awful about what happened to us. We went in there, ready to be a category 6 hurricane, but his demeanor changed our approach. He explained everything to us about what can happen next and knew exactly which rude representative had treated us that way. We were provided a discounted room at the Holiday Inn that was within walking distance. Checked in, I then call and cancel my flight scheduled the next day for Austin and re-book it for Sunday.
Defeated, we go to the casino next door to go to the restaurant inside for dinner. Our first real food of the day. From there, we head to our hotel room that I discover is infested with ants. We’re beyond shattered, we “sleep.”
“…life is an adventure, dare it!” – Mother Theresa
Saturday, we eat the hotel breakfast, show the front desk video footage of the ants everywhere and receive another discount. Packed and in the lobby, we meet a dear old man in his 80s from the DC area traveling alone, with a bucket hat that is covered in pins from every state and country he’s been to. He is thriving… and I want to be doing the same thing at his age – what a life he’s lived.
We get to the airport to immediately find out our flight has been delayed… we can’t catch a break. We fly to Newark and land about 11pm, grab our rental car and drive the hours to DC. We arrive around 4am and catch a 2-hour nap before they drive me to the airport at 6am for my flight back to Texas.
An update on that claim to get reimbursed for the additional flights, hotels, and everything in between proved to be a waste of time. Although, our liability claim representative gave us an impression all would be fine, they eventually came back and said they could only reimburse it if we had filed a police report… We were simultaneously pursuing Economy Rental Car for a full reimbursement of at least the rental car since they gave us a faulty one. Brake pads don’t wear out in days. We took this all the way to the top before we were eventually ignored, and they stopped responding. Our next step would be legal action, which we didn’t want to pay more out of pocket, so we accepted our losses.
Aside from the last 24 hours in Costa Rica, this trip was amazing. When I reflect on it, I don’t think of the bad. I remember surfing, and zip lining, and the warm Pacific Ocean, and bringing in the new year with two of my favorite people. 10/10 would go back to Costa Rica. Pura Vida, my friends.
“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag
The Narrative of a Merman 