Advertisement
Published: January 31st 2015
Edit Blog Post
After our wonderful experience with Geovani we spent the remainder of the day having our laundry done and packing our bags. We ate at the hotel last night, finishing up our pasta and pesto.
Our shuttle arrived on time and sadly we were a bit rushed, not getting to say a proper good-bye and thank you to Anthony and Wdlivia for all their hospitality at Hotel Villa Fortuna.
The shuttle quickly filled with people as we stopped at various hotels and everyone was feeling the same misery about the rain! We drove around Lake Arenal and then turned up the mountain where, magically there appeared a line in the sky! One side clouds, the other brilliant blue and sunshine! You could hear the collective gasp from the riders and even the driver made a comment about how we have left the rain! We drove past Canas and stopped for a break at a restaurant. As we got out of the van we could see all these people with their cameras pointing up to a large tree in the parking lot. We soon had our camera ready as it was filled with macaws! After 15 minutes the driver found me
and told me we were likely going to have to change shuttles. He conferred with another guy and we were soon loaded into another shuttle and made the trip to Liberia.
We arrived at El Sitio hotel shortly after noon and were pleasantly surprised by how wonderful it is. The pool area is wonderful, surrounded by luscious gardens. Fortunately our room was ready early so we went up to our pool and garden view room, unpacked a few things and then headed for the sunshine because there was a lounge chair calling my name! We spent a lazy day catching up on our Vitamin D. As we left the pool there was a little boy, probably around 10 months old, who was mesmerized by Curtis. He just stared and stared, his head swivelling around to watch him as we passed. His mom was laughing and trying to get him to wave. We think he was taken by Curtis' rather long "walrus" mustache! After showering we walked downtown, exploring the shops and seeking out restaurants. There really aren't that many to speak of but we did find the Soda Los Comales where we enjoyed a delicious typical meal.
Our
last two full days will be quiet as we prepare ourselves for heading home to the cold. Words cannot express how much we have fallen in love with this small country. Never once have we felt unsafe or unwelcome. Everyone who sees you on the street speaks and smiles (sometimes they even buy you beer!). When I reflect on our time here it strikes me once again how simple life is here. How at home we always seem to be in a hurry. We live in an instant gratification society. We over extend ourselves in so many ways. I loved watching the people gather in the park in the evening, both in La Fortuna and now here in Liberia. Young men are breakdancing in a small pavilion or children are chasing one another through the paths in the park. People are just sitting on benches and enjoying the company of others. Old and young alike. If there is anything I will bring home it is the sense of "comraderie" here. At home if you are driving and someone has their high beams on you flash them but then if they don't respond the other driver then keeps his on to "blind" the other. Smart. Honking your horn is a sign of impatience, anger, and road rage at times! Here, in Costa Rica, people flash their lights to let you in or to tell you they are going to pass you. Flashing your lights is a gesture of good will. If you honk your horn it is a warning to others that you are coming up behind them and may go around them as well. People honk and wave. They smile and talk to you. I hope we come home better people, that we can hold onto the "pura vida" mentality that this country boasts. I am sure it is not a perfect place and has its share of problems, there is no Utopia but this is pretty close. If there is anywhere in this world we would return to in a heartbeat, it is Costa Rica.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.05s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 9; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0283s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb