Anti-Climatic

Well, I have to say that our trip to Costa Rica was anti-climatic. Yes, it was nice to get away without the kids (Thanks, Dad!), but as far as a destination - I was unimpressed.

We got to the hotel around 3pm Sat and decided to wander into town. We very quickly realized that San Jose is NOT a tourist area as we were the only gringos around. As a result, we didn't take many pictures in town. We did see some fascinating old buildings and lots of people. Two observations were that most of the people were young (under 30) and NOBODY was wearing shorts. Go Figure!

We stopped in one of the little stores for lunch and had sandwiches and the global favorite - Coca-Cola! The tomato on the sandwich was the BEST I've had in a LONG time. I would have been happy with a tomato sandwich!

We continued to wander around some more and eventually ended up in a shopping market with lots of stores. It reminded me of one of the shopping markets I went to when I went to Ukraine.

On Sun, we took advantage of a one-day tour from San Jose . The tour took us to Irazu Volcano, the Cartago ruins and the Serapiqi River. Unfortunately, it was pouring when we got to Cartago so all we saw was a beautiful church.

Fortunately, it did clear up when we got to the Volcano and we had about 20 min of clear weather to see the volcano and take pictures.

Then the clouds rolled in and the temp dropped about 20 degrees. We then had breakfast at a restaurant at the base of the volcano and then headed toward the river. The river tour was similar to river tours we've taken here in FL. We saw Howler Monkeys (I can see spider monkeys here in FL), a croc (can you say "gator with skinny snout"), bats (in my front yard), and birds (I see a bigger variety on my way to work everyday). We had lunch at a "plantation" on the river and then rode horseback, saw butterflies, poison frogs and snakes.

It was an interesting trip, but in terms of the "WOW" factor, it was seriously lacking. I have to admit, I've been blessed to have been on many "WOW" trips in my lifetime.

I have seen:
The Grand Canyon - North and South Rim
The Great Wall of China
Tiananmen Square
The Forbidden City
Trier, Germany - the oldest city in Germany with the city wall still standing
The Heidelberg Castle - including an English Opera called The Student Prince
The American Military Cemetary in Luxemborg where Patton is buried
Arches National Park
Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco
Washington, DC
Madurodam - an entire city in miniature in Amsterdam
The Cathedral in Strasburg, France
Ukraine - a country in many ways still stuck in the early 1900's

and I have:
canoed the Everglades
eaten Belgian Waffles in Belgium
attended an organ concert in a cathedral in Germany
been Submarine Diving in Grand Cayman

So while it was a nice weekend away with CP, I wouldn't put it high on my list of places to return.