Loganing

Well, we're here in lush, lovely Costa Rica! We were using our international data incredibly sparingly, when Andrew realized that we didn't need to be quite so judicious, and THEN we remembered that we needed to blog!

We were psyched when we left for the Salt Lake airport. Bags packed, Rae at our apartment tending to the dogs, we checked in... to find that we had a 2.5 hour delay due to thunderstorms in Texas. So we cheerfully sat at the airport, nearly boarded a flight to San Fran by accident and by the time our plane came around were overly grateful to be on our way. We landed in Houston at 10:30 and were in bed and sleeping by midnight...

...and up at 5:30am to get to the airport by 6. The check in process was a breeze. Houston International has the nicest TSA agents ever. Because of our delay the night before, United gave us food vouchers and we had a leisurely breakfast (egg muffin for me, breakfast burrito for Andrew) and then sauntered to our gate, where we waited and read books until boarding and takeoff. 

The flight was uneventful, and in a hop, skip and a jump we were landing in San Jose, COSTA RICA! We descended over red roofs and rolling hills, bumped gently onto the runway and disembarked the plane.

Immigration was slick and customs was the most laid back thing I've ever been through internationally. We literally loaded our own bags onto a scanner that was manned by one dude leaning back in his chair paying very little attention and we tossed our customs card into a pile of other cards, just like the people in line ahead of us, just like the people behind us. If we had anything we weren't supposed to, I have no idea how they could figure it out.

Our bags were already pulled off the baggage claim conveyer belt when we got there (all of them were), so we grabbed them and went out into the chaos that is the traveler pickup/ car rental shuttle area. It was hot and humid out, and the area was crowded. Still, the first ticos we met were incredibly nice. Andrew asked a security guard where we could find our car rental place and he called over a guy who could only be described as a very friendly, professional... shuttle wrangler? He ushered us to a less busy portion of the sidewalk, communicated with the shuttle (I assume) and kept us updated every few minutes as to the shuttle's progress (he shrugged expressively and said " Tico drivers, they say five, it take 20!"). Sooner than later the rental agency shuttle arrived, we tipped our guardian wrangler and rattled off to the rental agency. 

Now, it must be noted that Andrew and I chose to rent a car rather than hire a driver to the retreat. It was cheaper, worked better with our schedule and allowed us flexibility to go wherever we want. Good idea, right? Right?

We'll revisit that choice in a minute. 

The lady at the rental agency (also our shuttle driver) was also very friendly. It took a while, but eventually we were outfitted with a 4x4 car (quatro para quatro), a gps and two complimentary water bottles (non-bottled, clean drinking water is a bit scarce here). We were off!

Andrew was behind the wheel, I behind the GPS. It took us a few minutes to get our bearings. 

Now, there are a few things you should know about Costa Rican roads. First, only some have lines. Even when they do, they are more...suggestions than anything else. There are virtually no street signs. There are very few sidewalks, so the roads are for cars, bikes and often pedestrians alike. The roads are also very narrow, windy, sometimes one way and sometimes not, and potholes are often hard to see and very deep. Bridges are about 1.5 car lengths wide and are often crossed very quickly from either direction. Some cars drive well over the speed limit, which is often quite slow, and some cars drive very slowly and stop to talk to or wave to other drivers.

So, back to where we were. Andrew driving, me GPSing. The road set up in San Jose is very confusing. Near as we can tell, there is no main thoroughfare entirely through the city. The roads seem to have expanded through the city quite organically. Driving through them is terrifying and exhilarating.  We wound through the city, higher and higher, further west, dodging pedestrians and cyclists and bikers and other drivers, dogs, buses, bridges, branches... Until finally we were out of the city, on the 32 heading toward Limon. We entered a national park first and moved further into the cloud forests. 

Our first view of rainforest was magnificent. Cloud forests are at a high enough elevation that they are constantly shrouded in clouds, thus their name. They are moist, cool and impossibly green. There were leaves larger than my body, trees tipped with tiny, bright orange flowers, swinging vines. The road was a thin, grey, winding snake through the mountains. We were informed by the gps every now and again of dangerous areas of falling rocks, none of which we encountered thankfully, and got stuck behind a few trucks (foreshadowing of frustrations to come). 

We plunged into the next national park as quickly as we exited the first one. Every now and then we passed through a small town. Sometimes they had amenities, like a soda (Costa Rican equivalent to a family owned cafe) or a fast food joint, other times they were simply a cluster of houses with a church and a school. I frequently spotted turkey vultures soaring.

We drove about 2 or so hours when suddenly the truck driving in front of us slowed to a halt. This wasn't the first time traffic had stopped, but we realized this was different about three minutes in, when we were still stopped and realized that we were actually a part of a long line of cars and trucks. A line that became much longer behind us the longer we were stopped, and that stretched much further ahead than we knew at the time. 

We sat for about 5 minutes. I began to feel nervous about our arrival--the sun sets at about 5:45 here, and arriving in town at 5:30 was pushing it. The longer we waited, the later we would arrive. 

Whew, I'm feeling exhausted, I'll finish more in the morning :) Stay tuned!