Costa Rica... how have I not known about you? 👊
I had visited Santiago, Chile in 2000 for work... and that trip solidified my feeling that I had a "thing" for the countries south of the US border. Trips to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Ensenada... all left me with fond memories and very deep emotions about the place.
This trip to Costa Rica so far has been over-the-top amazing. The people have all been so nice and friendly and accommodating. The landscape is unimaginably beautiful. I really had no idea. And the food... they seem to have a flair for making amazing dishes here.
So far I have not done anything particularly exciting... unless you count getting lost because there are no street addresses here and GPS does not work on "guesses" ;-)
Saturday - drove to a Walmart to get sunscreen and Off (I had forgotten about the whole "Zika" thing). That was a cool experience. Some folks spoke English fairly well. Other folks.. not so much (no mucho). My trivial amount of Spanish seems to get me through the situation however.
I stayed at the El Mangroove Marriot in Papagayo Guanacaste. Seriously... it's not over-the-top in a NYC sort of way. And the things that make the room amazing were subtle, kind of. You walk in to a general area which had an outdoor-type couch and a hammock in front of the floor-to-ceiling window which had amazing flora on the other side. Then you notice there is a window that is at eye level in the other room. Meh.. it's only the shower. Seriously. Overall, the room is not expansive or even large really. And the appointments are rather humble and by no means ostentatious. It simply provided an experience which is seemingly not possible in the hustle-and-bustle of US environments.
Sunday - I had an amazing, but simple, desuyuno buffet and then drove towards Tamarindo to the JW Marriott. This place is a compound of sorts.. with a gate a mile away from the actual resort. You don't immediately recognize that you are in that sort of environment, but I am sure it changes the dynamic a bit. I can experience "real" Costa Rica at my leisure and when I feel like it - and to be honest, I am not apprehensive about that. I look forward to being immersed in the culture here. The experience thus far has been nothing but pleasant.
NOTE: Nobody smokes here (other than disgusting Americans, from what I can tell). I really love this place!
This trip to Costa Rica so far has been over-the-top amazing. The people have all been so nice and friendly and accommodating. The landscape is unimaginably beautiful. I really had no idea. And the food... they seem to have a flair for making amazing dishes here.
So far I have not done anything particularly exciting... unless you count getting lost because there are no street addresses here and GPS does not work on "guesses" ;-)
Saturday - drove to a Walmart to get sunscreen and Off (I had forgotten about the whole "Zika" thing). That was a cool experience. Some folks spoke English fairly well. Other folks.. not so much (no mucho). My trivial amount of Spanish seems to get me through the situation however.
I stayed at the El Mangroove Marriot in Papagayo Guanacaste. Seriously... it's not over-the-top in a NYC sort of way. And the things that make the room amazing were subtle, kind of. You walk in to a general area which had an outdoor-type couch and a hammock in front of the floor-to-ceiling window which had amazing flora on the other side. Then you notice there is a window that is at eye level in the other room. Meh.. it's only the shower. Seriously. Overall, the room is not expansive or even large really. And the appointments are rather humble and by no means ostentatious. It simply provided an experience which is seemingly not possible in the hustle-and-bustle of US environments.
Sunday - I had an amazing, but simple, desuyuno buffet and then drove towards Tamarindo to the JW Marriott. This place is a compound of sorts.. with a gate a mile away from the actual resort. You don't immediately recognize that you are in that sort of environment, but I am sure it changes the dynamic a bit. I can experience "real" Costa Rica at my leisure and when I feel like it - and to be honest, I am not apprehensive about that. I look forward to being immersed in the culture here. The experience thus far has been nothing but pleasant.
NOTE: Nobody smokes here (other than disgusting Americans, from what I can tell). I really love this place!
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