Advertisement
Published: November 25th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Peaceful courtyard at hotel
Our hotel has been perfect for us, with a kitchen, his and hers bathrooms (?) and a little courtyard with lime-like fruits and gorgeous yellow and red flowers all around. Yep, we're here. It's been just over a week and we are still pinching ourselves -- and just figuring out where we are. Streets are generally not named here, or if they have a name, no one uses them, so much of our attention has gone to learning how to get around in the neighborhood of our hotel -- find groceries, a playground for the guys, some twine, miscellaneous stuff like that.
The hotel is at the top of a hill from which there are spectacular views of green, lush mountains, usually with clouds over their peaks like pillows sitting on a plush couch. They are green because the rainy season is just ending. In fact, it has rained every afternoon since we arrived, except yesterday, which has actually been kind of nice as a built-in time to relax and stay inside during the day. When we arrived, it was pouring. The plane trip and immediate arrival here were rough. The pinnacle for me was changing Max's diaper (and clothes since they were soaked through) for the fourth time (2 for him, 2 for Marcus) on my lap as the van taking us to the rental cars slung us around
three peas in a pod
pizza with the bortmans in near darkness due to the rain, though it was only 4pm. I could see flashes of Max's face screaming, hanging down over my leg, and I thought, "Oh, god, what are we putting these kids through!" The planes were ontime, but absolutely tiny, and we had the worst seats on the plane -- last row where you can't recline right in front of the only coach bathrooms. Everyone was irritable, but not particularly at us (just the airlines), although we did create a fair bit of fuss with the boys on our laps the whole way. I couldn't even touch the floor with my feet. And as soon as we did arrive we got ripped off by the car rental agency. Instead of $52 for a week as I had reserved online, they charged $390. I raved at Frank about this since I was tending to the guys and luggage while this was going on, but later I saw that he didn't have much choice.
But we did get here, and we did find the hotel without a problem, thanks to the wonderful directions the Bortman family emailed to us before we left the U.S. At this point,
max flirting
trip to la paz waterfalls I would like to introduce the Bortman family as our guardian angels during this first week (and before). We "met" and only had email contact with them before arriving -- directed to their travel blog by a member of the Association of Costa Rican Residents who said they reminded her of our family. And they have been WONDERFUL! They invited us over for pizza the day after we arrived, which made all of us feel almost normal for a few hours. Their little girl, now in preschool, just loved to dote on the "babies," and our guys kept watching their older boy with admiration as he played computer games. Both the parents listened to our stories with calm interest and made great suggestions without acting like they'd seen it all, even though I'm sure nothing we said was new to them. They even let us come over and do a load of laundry when we found it would cost us $80 to do a load at the local lavanderia.
I have taken very few and very poor pictures this week, but I will include one of the Bortman family, one or two of the area around the hotel, and
one from our trip up to the La Paz waterfalls -- the one touristy thing we have done so far. The road up was like some kind of racecourse -- extremely narrow and windy, with people and animals sharing the two-way traffic. Frank handled it with grace, and the swerving lulled the boys to sleep. It was misty and beautiful up there and we saw several small waterfalls, some with Santa Maria shrines in them by the side of the road. We didn't actually go into the park because it cost $50 and would have been too much to carry the boys through, but we could see it from above at the restaurant, where we had a wonderful buffet lunch of beans, rice, chicken, pineapple, rice pudding, fries, etc. etc. The guys loved it, and Max was a hit dancing on his chair. (There was only one child seat in the restaurant.) Of course both guys flirted with all the female staff at La Paz (and everywhere we go), as you can see from the photo.
As far as Heredia, the town we are in, it is a mix of an urban and a bucolic feel. The roads are
The racecourse
driving up to la paz bad, as they seem to be everywhere here (you need a 4-wheel drive to get up our pot-holed street to the hotel); the sidewalks are mostly impassable with a stroller (though we still use it because it is the only way to move the boys long distances without the car); next to the bus stop, across from the yummy pastry and bread shop/stall (in a space 1/2 the size of a small garage), there is usually a goat and sometimes some cows and a bull right next to the traffic. In the town center, there is a plaza with a fountain, gazebo bandstand, and park-like atmosphere, and it is surrounded by bustling foot and auto traffic going to the covered market, the stores, etc. There are not, however, many public playgrounds or even spaces for kids to play. All the houses are behind bars, and the kids are shuttled to and from schools which are behind bars. Not what we had hoped for as a place where the guys could play with other kids.
So tomorrow, we are heading out to the pacific coast to see what the Uvita/Ojochal area is like. More on that in our next entry.
hey from frank
hanging out at the la paz buffet with the boys. Until then...... be good!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.068s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 11; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0275s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Just Jen
The Sheridans
Welcome!
We agree, the Bortmans are great and we're happy to consider them friends. If you need assistance in the San Ramon area ask the Bortmans about us. I hope you have a great time here! Jen