LOS SUEÑOS HERRADURA
Click to stop music.
---------Why is the day you are leaving always BEAUTIFUL?
There goes the luggage, hope the launch doesn't sink!
Where did everybody go?
OH Yeah..... Gotta follow the bags.
Now isn't THIS a familiar sight?
Didn't we do this in Aruba a year ago? Well, it seems like years ago to me now!
They had to send a FLEET to pick us up, and there was a lot of confusion about who was in which van, and where we were going. I had made 1st contact so boarding and packing went smooth. Where we were going got lost in the driver conference, and we were now along for the ride.
They should have sent trailers or a truck for just luggage though too. It's funny, but most people brought stuff to leave, and STILL ended up with too much stuff.
Note to self... NeetSheets make good tarps, but bring more bungee cords.
And away we go!
"We're wanted men, we'll strike again,
but first let's have a beer."
They drive a little close here, We're doing about 50, and NOT KM.
OK.....
VERY CLOSE.
CHICKEN ADVENTURES?
This is NO camera trick either, we really WERE this close!
I thought we were going to touch a few times. Made me wonder if riding shotgun was such a good idea.
Fortunatelly Rob and Yvonne were helping to keep me fed and drunk enough not to scream or grab the wheel.
Some of the others may have noticed as well!
Our next stop was at this little group of shops.They had some very nice pareos, and carvings along with some junk.
It was right by a river full of salesmen.
This one kinda reminds me of Trey.
Due to the fog we couldn't see the Volcano, so we were going to stop at the butterfly farm. However, the natives were getting cranky. So we moved on, and left the other vans behind. After several "hints", I told our driver that the women would pee in his van if he didn't stop NOW!!! The stop took a while, but they did have cold
to start the problem all over. I asked about someplace to eat and he lit up. His personal favorite was near the upcoming fork in the road.
The place was so popular there was a guy directing traffic in the parking lot. They had an extensive menu, but it wasn't in English so ordering was pointing and shrugging. Minor tried to help as best he could, but his English no too good either. We winged it, but our food was VERY good. No one else had complaints other than how to pay for it. Dollars??? Colones???
There was a nice view off the open air patio.
Once we finished we got back on the road.
After a while I noticed that off the side of the road rocks were painted. I have no Idea where we were, or how long we had been passing them.
Click on this for a close-up.
We finally made San Jose to begin letting passengers off. As no one had been to Costa Rica before, our hotels were soley internet-educated guesses. We all hoped for the best, but after seeing Colon, feared the worst. I was
quite
worried as I had led people away from the Guaranteed oppulence of the Los Sueños Marriott to a small local place called the El Rodeo. Our 1st stop was The Adventure Inn. We saw the sign and turned down a narrow lane towards a HUGE ornate gate with beautiful grounds beyond. We were pleasantly surprised at how nice it looked.
As we approached the gate however, we turned left down this side street.
Buenos Tardes Señores!
Bienvenidos a Nuestro Hotel!
Uh-OH! Habla Ingles?
What do you think? Looks OK to me, but what about the rooms? Maybe we should look around a little bit. Hmm... Interesting indoor hot tub. Hey, There's the bar, Let's go check it out.
Should have known we'd find familiar faces here. Carole's probably still spending her LRC winnings.
This place is really nice, especially for under $75/nt.
I hope the El rodeo is this good.
We pressed on, but got Minor to make one final pitstop for uh....
"Room Supplies".
We drove past the airport, and down some small roads until we saw a sign!
THIS IS IT! We're goin' in!
Looks like we done good for $100 a night!
The grounds were well maintained,
and they even had a tennis court.
Naturally they had a clean pool. In the words of Cindy "It's not cold, It's REFRESHING!".
2 good restaurants on the premises too.
So what's not to like?
OK, well there was that insect thing. But they pretty much left us alone. All right, they left MOST of us alone, huh Lori & Carole Ann?
Bet you check that the windows are COMPLETELY closed before you retire for the night next time.
Our room was great! It was SPOTLESS! Nice furniture, a huge step in tub/shower with lotsa water pressure, and big firm beds. First thing I did was make a giant X across mine trying to touch the sides. At last! Down to 1 roomie with a refrigerator!
Hey! You never know what can happen in Costa Rica. They got Volcanos and Earthquakes. We were just prepared that's all. Too bad we ended up leaving so much behind.
This was the hotel bar, but mostly it was for serving the complimentary FULL breakfast in the morning.
They had GREAT bacon MMMM-mmm!
Which we ate on the Veranda.
Everyone was set to leave on different days. Rob, Yvonne, Carole and Scott who were staying at the Adventure Inn showed up Monday. Not for a visit though. The fog had prevented their flights, and they got pushed out to Tuesday. Unfortunatelly their hotel was now booked up, and the alternatives offered ranged from awful to horrible. Even though they had not seen our place they came looking for shelter and a little pity.
I don't think they actually got out until WEDNESDAY!
ZIPLINE TOUR
