The greatest vacation ever got off to an ominous start… The day before leaving was spent packing and re-packing and then assessing the packing yet again. Everything was perfectly packed. Standing in front of the SFO security checkpoint was when we realized we had somehow managed to put all of our huge bottles of sunscreen and bug repellent in our carry-on bag. This is something we knew not to do but somehow did it anyway. We next watched as “The Man” dumped it all in the trash. Our stopover in Houston was extended first 30 minutes, then one hour, then two hours as the airline worked on “a mechanical issue”. Just when we became convinced that we’d never get out of the country, they cleared the plane for flight and we were off.
Upon arrival in San Jose (not the home of the Sharks, but the capital of Costa Rica), we found an enormous line to immigration. We noticed one of the customs officers picking families and escorting them to the front of the line. This is probably the only upside to traveling with kids. Everyone else will do whatever it takes to get them out off their hair as fast as possible. Natalie flashed her puppy-dog eyes to the customs agent, and boom, we were in the VIP line, saving what looked like several hours of standing around.
Passing through customs, having survived a minor brow-beating for filling out our forms in pencil, it was now 10:30 PM Costa Rica time, and had come to the moment of truth. Would there be a driver waiting for us, holding a sign with our name on it? Did Costa Rican Trails, the travel company we sent all that money a week earlier to arrange our transportation and accommodations, actually exist? Thankfully, there he was, with the sign and everything. He grabbed our bags and led us to the van. In the short ride to El Rodeo, the Eco-lodge we’d spend about 8 hours, our driver gave us what he said was the most important lesson about getting along in that country. “Pura Vida”. It’s how you say hello, goodbye, thank you, what have you. When in doubt say “Pura Vida”. Like “Aloha” in Hawaii said.
Costa Rica. We had made it and now it was time for sleep.
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Getting there was nowhere near half the fun. Standby, as over the next couple weeks, as We’ll be posting the travelog of our amazing trip, dutifully recorded on a daily basis by Edie, along with photos. Of course, lots of photos.
Pura Vida!
The Next Day: Costa Rica: Tortuguero
The Whole Trip: Costa Rica: The Summary