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Published: April 5th 2007
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Sunset
Happy hour sunset awaiting the arrival of the geckos. This does not suck. Semana Santa comes with a halt in all bus traffic around the country for four full days. Where better to buckle down and stay for a few days than Playa del Coco courtesy of Brennan (thanks again), and thanks to Curt for getting us in touch. Playa del Coco is on the Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
We arrived a day earlier than we had mentioned to Brennan, so we opted on a hotel for the first night. As we stepped off of the bus, there was an nice Austrian man recruiting us to stay at Hotel Austria about 1.5 miles from the beach. Private baths, two seperate rooms, and AC. We were living in luxury. Well there was the smoked fish smell, the sewer smell, and the random pictures of our new Austrian friend in his speedos with large fish he had caught all around the house... including in our bedroom. Nothing says sleep tight like a half naked man with a big fish 😊
It was our lucky day!! As we walked to get a bite down at the beach we were met by a couple who was handing out scratch tickets
Studying Hard
Adam studying for his dive tests. for free wine, resort stays, or flights. I got the three toucans!!! Not one, not two, but three...a free resort stay...it didn´t mean a whole lot in the end. We were then whisked away in a taxi to the next beach town up, Playa Hermosa. Where we entered the world of all-inclusive resort travel. Villas del Sol was gorgeous and alluring. I have a feeling many people who stay here don´t really leave to get to know the area they´re staying in, but everyone has their own method of travel. Adam and Andrea pretended to be a couple (Jill pretended not to be pissed off) because they wanted you to be 28 to be eligible for the free prizes. Did someone say free?? Jacqueline and I had a nice relaxing day by the pool.. well for awhile. The time share demonstration had sucked Adam and Andrea in, and Jacqueline and I rushed around the resort trying to find them. When we finally did, it turns out that Drea was buying a Villa!!! Well she was buying a time share at the Villas (she later cancelled it) and we were all running terribly late to meet Brennan.
Thankfully, Brennan rescued
Bringing Sexy Back
Jacqueline and Brennan heating up the joint. us from our fate of Hotel Austria and certain time share temptation with a welcoming smile, and much improved free lodging.
We stayed there for almost a full week. The majority of this time we stayed in his family´s gorgeous home overlooking the bay. The home was one of the most beautiful we have ever been in. It has made its way into a couple of architectural magazines down in Costa Rica. Our bed was set so that the first thing we saw when we woke up was the stunning bay of Playa del Coco. The entire side of the house that faces the bay is glass and the windows and doors slide open, virtually erasing the wall. So much so, that Jacqueline and I both ran into the glass where it was normally left open while staying there 😊 The back side of the home was built around a giant boulder that was left in tact, visible in many rooms of the home. The elements of nature throughout created such a peaceful, relaxing atmoshere. Hence, why they normally rent it out for 3-5k per week. One of the elements of nature we could have done without was the
Who says there is no free lunch?
Free dinner at Villas del Sol, courtesy of the three toucans (noted in our story). second scorpion of our trip. This one was conveniently located in the shower. We followed the tried and true method of Jill screaming and Adam killing it (travelers 2 scorpions 0). Jill helped in the killing this time by turning the light off while Adam was right next to it in the shower. One of our favorite things was that every night at sunset about 10 geckos would come out of their hiding places to sit above us next to patio lights and keep us company (they eat the bugs and this makes Jill very happy).
Adam and I decided to take SCUBA classes at Rich Coast Diving since we would be stationary for a bit. Adam already had his open water cert, and Jill had always wanted to give it a shot. Why not? A very sweet Dutch couple Brenda and Martin ran a small dive shop where we got our testing done and arranged for some dives. Adam got his advanced certificate taking courses in deep diving, under water navigation, dive boats and computers, and photography. Jill got all her tests done, but after her first open water dive had sinus problems that prevented her from equalizing
her pressure under water (which Adam is blamed for by using the AC at night), and could not finish her certification 😞 We saw some amazing stuff though and had a great time. We saw huge manta rays, sting rays, spotted rays, several types of eels, sea turtles, white tip sharks, massive schools of fish, and one sunken fishing boat. Well at least Adam saw a lot of these. Jill saw the fish.
With thanks to Brennan, we had a wonderful Semana Santa in Playa del Coco. We enjoyed fine dining (that we cooked), beautiful sunsets, good times, great company, and one damn fine place to rest our heads.
Sadly, leaving Coco comes with Jacqueline´s departure from our trip to head back to work. We´re off to Panama City next to explore the massive engineering feat of the Panama Canal......
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Holly
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oh and...
i looked like adam saturday after my tanning accident.. ha ha!