Day 1- Travel Day

Our bodies are weary, but yet we still had enough energy to swim at the hotel… J

Our trek started out at the Cleveland Airport at 4:15 AM and we made it to Miami without any issues.  Our flight was leaving Miami a little earlier than we expected and we departed about 45 minutes after landing there.  This seemed wonderful at the time, until we arrived in San Jose and realized that some of our luggage had not.  Peter and I had to wait for the next flight in from Miami to get our bags.  They said it would be 45 minutes, which apparently means an hour and a half in American Airlines time.  Everyone was great and incredibly patient.  Our early arrival was now void thanks to the bag fiasco, but we all made it with all of our stuff in one piece.

Outside the airport, we met up with Mau and Chris Cunningham, two of our guides for the week.  Mau will be with us the entire time and Chris works with the Surf and Service groups and will be here most of the week.  Mau started full time with Rustic Pathways after our first visit in 2010.  He is a native of Turrialba, the location of our whitewater rafting excursion.  Chris is from Mammoth Lakes, California.  He is a ski coach during the winter months, then works down here leading the surf groups in the summer.  Rough life! J  Both of them are incredibly knowledgeable and FULL of energy!  I am so excited to see how the students get along with them over the course of the trip.

On a more personal note, I was absolutely THRILLED to discover that Jorge was our bus driver.  He was with us last trip and he remembered me!  Jorge is so sweet and I wish that I had the Spanish speaking ability of Carole Fahey so I could talk with him more!

Everyone was starving, so we went to lunch at Rusti Pollos right away.  Rusti Pollos is a chain restaurant in Costa Rica.  It’s not fast food, but it’s not expensive- and it’s delicious.  I think we all enjoyed our first taste of the Tico food.   We started out on the first leg of our journey…

It is a long ride from San Jose to the coast; however, it is very scenic.  We quickly find out how beautiful all the vistas are and… how narrow the roads are.  Traffic is a little crazy and you constantly have to look out the window to know when the next car and turn are coming up!  Some students slept, while others played fun games.  We had enough energy to keep ourselves entertained until our first stop: Rio Tarcoles.

Chris wouldn’t PROMISE us that we’d see crocodiles, but he said he was 99% certain we would spot one.  Rio Tarcoles did NOT disappoint!  Shortly after getting off the bus to walk the bridge, we noticed a tour boat in the middle of the river.  The captain got out and fed a 12 foot long crocodile!  Populations of more than 200 crocodiles per mile have been counted here!  We marveled at the number and SIZE of the crocs!  It was definitely a fun stop.

We had some snacks and juice on the bus and went another 2 hours to Manuel Antonio, our spot for tonight.  Originally, the plan was to head out to the beach; however, the Surf and Service group at the Bahia Ballena base house will not be departing until tomorrow.  We are spending the night at Hotel Mimos and we are very impressed with the rooms.  Nice wooden floors, beautiful enclosed balcony, ceiling fans AND air conditioning, and, of course, a VERY nice pool.  I don’t foresee our accommodations staying this nice the entire time (we will be sleeping in a cave after all), but I hope that the students enjoy it at least for tonight.

After an hour of swimming and getting settled, we went to El Avion for dinner.  This restaurant was awesome- part of it is inside a plane!  It is a U.S. cargo plane that was carrying weapons to Nicaragua in 1986 when it was shot down.  The restaurant owners purchased the plane for $3,000 in 2000 and used the fuselage for a galley-style bar.

Most of us have been awake for 22 hours, including 17 hours of travel time.  We are tired, but ready to press on.  Goodnight! J