Costa Rica Baby!

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Bye Bye Skiurlaub Tirol, Hello Pura Vida!

I wanted my first entry to be about my trip to St. Johann, Austria where I enjoyed some skiurlaub tirol with a bit of business on the side but while I was there I did not have time to sit in front of a computer.

So, here I am currentyl staying at the Barcelo Palacio hotel overlooking the part of town called La Uruca and only minutes away from La Sabana which is where the company I work for has its headquarter located.

I arrived in Costa Rica today around noon Costa Rica time. The small airport they use was pretty easy to navigate thru even though I had some problems meeting one of my co-worker who was waiting for me with a small 10x10 inch piece of paer with my name on it once I got thru immigration.

I must say that the costa Rican airport really leaves a bit to desire and once you step outside the terminal you really feel like you are in a third world country since as soon as you see the transparent glass exit doors you see a mad crowd of locals all shouting and screaming in imperfect unison trying to get the attention of family, friends and possibly even clients.

Going back to the main topic, there I was, looking like a complete tourist with a large suitcase that is as big as I am and and briefcase waiting for my knight in shining armour to rescue me from the agressive taxi drivers that kept asking me in broken English whther I would like to use their services.

I finally found Joe, who is to be my "handler" while I am in Costa Rica who like a gentleman took my suitcase and led me to his SUV.

After a very interesting ride on the highway (don't these people have driving laws in Costa Rica?) we took an exit ramp and after a short drive thru the streets of Escazu he took took me to my hotel, the San Jose Palacio also know as the Barcelo.

I must admit that the hotel was very nice looking even though it seemed kind of out of place since its a grand type of hotel next to a small quiet neighborhood.

Check in was a breeze. Even though my company is paying for the accomdations and all that I still had to pass my credit card for them for who knows what.

After I settled in my room on the 5th floor and cleaned up a bit, Joe took me to the BlindMonkeyMedia headquarter which is located in La Sabana.

There, I met the bosses and my mentor who was also with me on the St. Johann, Austria trip and they took me to this quaint little restaurant for some typical food that is located right in front of the Sabana Park. I believe it was called Soda Tapia. You can consider it a 24 hour dinner Tico style.

There, I opted for the casado which is a local Costa Rican term to describe a meal for lunch which always includes rice and beans, a salad( 3 pieces of lettuce and a couple of tomatoes with a lime on the side) and either a pork chop, steak or chicken.

The meal itself was ok but I felt satisfied.

Then it was back to the office for some Q&A

I wont bother you with the boring work stuff but afterwards, I ate at the hotel sicne I was feeling tired and now I am back in my room.

My schedule looks simple enough. I will be here in Costa Rica for a month and half so I get weekends off which will give me plenty of time to do the touristic thing. I also need to lookf for short term, furnsihed apartment but my company knows people who can help me with that.

Until next time,

Allie

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Comments

[Ursa Major]

st johann
Hi Kim Sorta neat bumping into your blog about St. Johann. Two years ago we were on our way from Germany to Slovenia and picked St. Johann in tirol as a place to spend the night (had never heard of it) This was in spring time and we had a b&b with great views of the valley! Ciao Joe