"That poor blow fish!" and other such adventures.

We arrived in San Jose at 2:30 in the afternoon, and it was a breathtaking landing. When I was here before, we landed at night, therefore I missed the amazing scenery that the end of the flight path travels through. San Jose is surrounded by volcanos, and the city is in a bowl. The landing was a long glide over the mountains. We made our way through customs, collected our baggage without any issues (Hurray!!!) and picked up our rental car. Making our way out of the city was uneventful, and the drive to the northern coast was absolutely beautiful. Sunset began when we were about 45 minutes away from our destination, and the sky and clouds were so gorgeous! The sky was purple and pink with red clouds and the blazing golden sun - bienvenido a Costa Rica! 

We arrived at Los Suenos around 6:00 - Los Suenos itself is actually a large compound, composed of several hotels, private homes, rentals, a large marina, and a small European style marina that includes some shops and several nice restaurants. We made our way to our hotel, and we were amazed at how beautiful the architecture of the hotel is! It is Spanish in style, and completely open to the air other than the actual guest rooms themselves. In the hallways, where one would normally see windows, there are open spaces. The hotel is right by the beach, and has a lovely pool in between the hotel and beach. We made our way to our room and then headed to one of the restaurants to get dinner. 

We ended up choosing a place that looked simple and was featuring a Mexican style menu that night, because we just wanted to eat and go to bed - we were exhausted! After a nice dinner, we headed up to bed. We had sea kayaking and snorkeling planned for early Sunday morning, and set our alarm for 6:00 in order to meet for breakfast at 6:30. 

When the alarm on Brandon's phone went off, I felt like I was in a complete fog. We left Mountain time, spent 8 hours on Eastern time, and were now in Central time - our bodies had no internal clock whatsoever! I just assumed that I felt so weird because of exhaustion. We got dressed, packed up our masks and snorkels, and got ready to head down. I happened to glance at the clock on my bedside table, which read 5:28 - I did a huge double take! Not 6:28? We checked the time on my iPad and called concierge to ask what time it was - sure enough, it was 5:28! We thought about going back to sleep for another 30 minutes, but by this point we were wide awake and ready to go. We left our things in the room and headed outside to explore the beach and the hotel grounds. The beach was muy tranquilo; no one was out yet other than the two of us and the fishermen. We watched them wade into the water with their nets for a little while, and then walked down the beach a little way. The beach is darker sand, but has LOTS of beautiful pink shells. I'll try to remember to take a picture of them to post on here. We then headed back to the hotel grounds, and walked around part of the perimeter. We found a tree that had 4 scarlet macau's in it, and they were carrying on like crazy! They have a very distinctive call, and were definitely arguing - "Eduardo, your tail feathers poked me in the eye!" "It wasn't me, it was Jorge!" Or something to that effect.

After this we headed back to meet Bill and Della for breakfast. We went to the breakfast buffet, which had pretty much anything you could dream of. I had an omelet with spinach, jalapenos, tomatoes and cheddar cheese as well as a small croissant and TONS OF FRUIT. Oh my gosh, the pineapples mangos papayas kiwi oranges everything are so to die for. We also had, of course, delish Costa Rican coffee con leche. Mmmm... Sorry that I don't have pictures, but I know that you all have fabulous imaginations and can visualize the deliciousness. Yummm... 

After breakfast we headed off to our kayaking and snorkeling date. We arrived at a place called "Kayak Jaco's" and were greeted by Wilbur and Jacob, our guide. Della, Brandon, and I had a blast jabbering away with them in Spanish. At this point, the Spanish was starting to kick in. Yesterday I felt like an idiot who once was nearly fluent in Spanish but could only remember about 4 phrases - fortunately the juices were starting to flow and it was all coming back to me! They gave us our lifejackets and paddles and we walked about a half mile to the beach. Brandon and I were in a double kayak, and Bill and Della were in one as well. Our two guides were each in a single. We paddled out of the bay and along a coastline that mostly cliff's. We saw lots of birds while paddling - obviously lots of pelicans, who were having a a fab time diving for their breakfast; Mat Mat's, which are the Nicaraguan national bird; lesser kiskadees; Frigate birds; and probably a lot more that I don't know the names of but that I'm sure my mother does. 

We paddled across another bay, that had a gorgeous golden sand beach covered in palm trees, to a small peninsula. We beached the kayaks, grabbed our things, and crossed the peninsula. The view took our breath away! We were gazing upon a beautiful white sand beach with turquoise waves gently lapping the shore. We scrambled down some rocks and hit the beach. Needless to say, I immediately removed my Chacos as sandy feet are one of my fave things! We walked across to the far side of the beach, and donned our snorkel gear. Diving into the water we saw a great variety of fish, even though the water was a little murky. The highlight was when our guide, who was snorkeling near us, brought a puffed up blow fish to us! He was holding it, and it was SOOO PUFFY!!! It looked really stressed, the poor thing was probably terrified. We got to touch it, and it felt so cool! After snorkeling and swimming around for about two hours we headed back to the beach where our guides had fresh pineapple and watermelon for us. It was probably one of the most refreshing and delicious snacks I've ever had. Talk about a luxury - sitting in soft sand eating fresh juicy pineapple looking at an amazing ocean view. That's the kind of luxury that I crave, not things like expensive cars or fur. 😊

When we finished our fruit we headed back across the beach to our kayaks, and paddled back to the beach that we left from. When we got back to the hotel, we all switched into total relaxation mode. We headed to the pool area and crashed onto beach chairs. We spent the afternoon napping, swimming, reading, and winding down. Our hotel is on the far right side of a semicircular bay, and in the late afternoon Brandon and I walked on the beach all the way to the other side of the bay, a walk that we estimated to be about 2 1/2 miles. It was beautiful, and we traversed our beach, which is mostly sandy but also has some pebbles, the local beach for the town we are nearby which is called Playa Herradura, and then a beach with some beautiful volcanic rock. 

After this we headed back to the hotel and showered for dinner. We went over to the marina area of Los Suenos, which is European style. We found "Lanterna," an Italian restaurant that looked delicious. We were lucky enough to be seated upstairs in the bar area, but on a small private balcony that overlooked the water. With the lights strung between the buildings around us and the lovely private atmosphere, it almost felt like our own restaurant. The food was DELISH!!! Della, Brandon, and I shared a bruschette trio - one had olive tapenade and roasted Roma tomatoes, one had trifolati mushrooms with fresh ricotta, and one had artichoke hearts with arugula and shaved parmigiano reggiano... So yummy. Billy had some beef carpaccio which was also quite tasty. After this it was on to the main course - Brandon and Bill both had the Dorado alla Sicilliana - fresh mahi mahi with linguine, Roma tomatoes, Kalamata olives, capers, and lots of olive oil and herbs. 

Della had an amazing Agnolotti - fresh pasta filled with butternut squash and carmelized onions in a brown butter sauce with herbs. I had the Ravioli Saltimbocca - fresh pasta filled with slow cooked Veal and parmigiano reggiano, in a white wine sage, lime, and butter sauce with thinly sliced prosciutto. OMG it was so wonderful. I'm salivating writing about it, and I am in no way hungry right now! Then for dessert Brandon, Della, and I shared a large piece of chocolate cake with vanilla gelato, and Bill had a wonderful piece of pecan pie with vanilla gelato. My dessert experience was topped off by a perfect cappuccino with cinnamon on top. Mmmm... I don't have any pictures to post, but if you look at Brandon's facebook page, you'll see pictures of all of our entrees!

After dinner we walked around the marina, did our ubiquitous browsing of real estate postings, and headed back to the hotel. We then headed to bed as we planned on going to Carara National Park early in the morning for some jungle hiking and animal spotting! 

Buenos Noches! Hard to believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve!

Linds

Musical Carousels, Rubber Cheese, High Heels, and Donkey's in the Road

We arrived in Baltimore at midnight, and headed to baggage claim. Apparently the BWI baggage folk had some issues going on, because they changed our baggage claim several times! We started out at one, then they switched us to a different one - our tennis bag came off of this carousel, so we were optimistic that our other two bags would soon appear. Nope, they switched us back to our original carousel! Fortunately our other two bags quickly appeared, and we headed to the car. We got back to Bill & Della's at 1:30 am, and we had to wake up at 4:30 in order to leave for Dulles airport at 5:00 am. Short night! 

When we arrived at Dulles we headed to check in, and for some reason Brandon wasn't grouped with Bill, Della, and me on the reservation. Poor Brandon - we were worried that they had lost his reservation! Fortunately that was not the case, and we all trooped off to our gate. We all slept a large portion of our flight to Houston, and made our connection to San Jose. I'm writing this while we are over the ocean - it's beautiful out the window, there are lots of fluffy sheep like clouds below us. 

Now on to the fine dining of the day - an airplane meal! Even though we travel internationally fairly regularly, it's always a shock to be served a meal on an airplane! I remember flying with my parents as a child and absolutely dreading the meal because the food was so bad. Dry turkey sandwiches with rubber cheese seemed to be the common fare. The food on this flight is simple. There is a choice of a chicken or beef sandwich, or a bean burrito. Nothing exciting or even Costa Rican. Let's talk about some AMAZING airplane food that I've previously experienced. 

When I was 11 my Mom and I went to Africa for a month, to visit our dear friends Alan and Karen while they lived in Uganda. We flew from London to Muscat, Oman on Gulf Air, a Middle Eastern airline. Even 17 years later I remember how good the vegetable curry that they served us was. I also remember that I had an unfortunately short hair cut and one of the flight attendants thought that I was a boy - oops! ☺

We've had some European flights with good food. Both times that I've been to Italy the food on the way was good. Similarly, the flights to Peru on LAN have great Peruvian cuisine. When we went to Morocco on Air Maroc the food was good as well. The safety of the plane on our way to Casablanca was another matter! I think that the 6 of us (all experienced travelers) felt a large amount of relief to be off the plane. 

I was thinking this morning that it's funny how traveling by air has changed so much since it's inception. It used to be a glamorous, exciting experience - an adventure in itself, in addition to whatever destination the travelers were heading to. Men wore suits and hats, women wore dresses and heels, and everyone looked FABULOUS! I'm sure the food was amazing as well; I have visions of carving stations of prime rib served with fresh horseradish, asparagus, and of course a red wine chosen by the airline's own personal sommelier. It must have been amazing! Now, many people shuffle about the airport like they're heading to their own personal doom. Also, it's rare to see people dressed up to fly, and if you do, chances are that they are business people. I, for example, am wearing grey TOMS, black running pants, and a purple long sleeve base layer shirt. Quite the opposite of the classy dresses, heels, and fur stoles of the original air travelers! While I daydream about how utterly glamorous that would have been, I'm secretly relieved that I don't have to wear heels to fly! 

We land in San Jose at 2:45, and once we retrieve our luggage we'll pick up our rental car and begin the trek to Herradura. Bill will be our fearless driver, and the trip is supposed to take approximately 1 1/2 hours. Not bad! 

The last time we traveled internationally with our parents was our incredible trip to Morocco - I know that we're all thankful that driving in Costa Rica will not be like driving in Morocco. Two lanes would be turned into three, cars would drive on the curb,  cars pass each other on a one and a half lane road filled with hairpin turns, and then - SURPRISE!!! There's a donkey pulling a cart in front of you! We were all thankful that we didn't have to drive there. Props to Mohammed, our awesome guide/driver. 

We can't wait to be at our destination and experience some serious Pura Vida. Translated as "Pure Life," this is absolutely the Costa Rican national motto. When my parents and I were here before, people almost said it to you as a farewell - instead of "Adios," we would often hear "Pura vida!" I love it and I can't wait to live it for the next 8 days.

Until next time - pura vida, amigos!

Linds

Embarkation

When I am asked to describe my favorite things or my hobbies, there are always three things that I say - Travel, good food/cooking, and adventure! I love these things even more when they are combined. My husband Brandon and I have been planning several upcoming international trips - Costa Rica in December 2012, and Ireland in April 2013. I had been thinking of starting a travel blog, but one night (while cooking, none the less) I realized how fun it would be to create a blog that would be about more than just the travel aspect. Brandon and I love exploring all things indigenous when visiting a new place. We love immersing ourselves in the local culture, and one of our favorite ways to do that is by trying lots of new foods! I've been trying to think of a name for a few weeks now. Inspiration struck last night during our 3 year wedding anniversary dinner at Ya Ya's Euro Bistro, near our home in Denver. 

While eating our delish calamari, Brandon and I started brain storming names. We came up with quite a few bad ones, and then, during dessert (DIVINE milk chocolate caramel Kahlua bread pudding), inspiration struck! I've always loved French cooking, and was thinking it would be fun to include the word 'gourmet' in the name. Brandon suggested including a synonym of the word "explorer," and voila! Le Navigateur Gastronomique was born. For those of us who don't speak French (including me!) that translates as "The Gourmet Navigator."

As I wrote the first part of this, Brandon and I were sitting in the Denver airport waiting for our flight to Baltimore, MD. We will spend the night in Baltimore  with Brandon's parents, Bill and Della, and then left first thing in the morning for San Jose, Costa Rica. I went to Costa Rica with my parents in 2003 - we spent 8 days exploring the Osa Peninsula. We stayed in a small oasis of a place located on Drake Bay, and spent our days snorkeling and exploring Corcovado National Park, an amazing rainforest. This time Brandon, Bill, Della, and I are going to be further north in the country, near the town of Herradura. Our hotel is called "Los Suenos." It's hard for me to imagine a place more relaxing than a hotel with a name of "The Dreams!" 

We are so excited for our adventures - rainforest hiking, snorkeling, white water rafting, sea kayaking, beach relaxing, canopy playing, animal viewing, and of course: great food! 

Buenos noches! 

Linds

Goofing off in the Denver airport while waiting for our flight!