Incoming

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We had a day to prepare the ground in San Jose before the parents landed. They were due in late that evening so we dutifully lined up a sandwich and tropical fruits picnic for their arrival snack. Our evening at the airport proved entertaining as we lived the anguish of the taxi drivers. Those who had bookings firmly pressed their name cards against the windows of the arrivals area desperate for their targets not to be picked off by the airport's own taxi service. The joy when they were successful in their quest was akin to the arrival of a close relative that they had not seen in twenty years. Many were unsuccessful at finding their freshly arrived customers and most likely went home empty handed. It was rewarding viewing and good to see the karma levelling things out after all those taxi journeys we had so obviously been scammed on.

Importantly the parents arrived. A little tardy but so nearly much more so after they had been whisked through Miami airport after a delayed first leg from London to only just meet their waiting connection. After being in Central America for nearly five months the expectation was that the parents arriving would feel odd, very odd. It in fact felt like some strange kind of homecoming although it had been us doing the picking up rather than vice-versa. Airport transfer complete, picnic with arrival beer consumed and we departed for our hostel around the corner to leave them to their hotel and first nights rest.

What had for a long time been in the future was here. The folks had landed. A carefully constructed hopefully parent proof itinerary was now in operation and we would transfer to our first location La Fortuna as the foot of the active Arenal volcano tomorrow morning.

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