Just over a year ago the idea was born to have a 9 day excursion down to Costa Rica with some family. Our group of seven was made up of Beth and I, my father, an aunt and uncle, a cousin and a good friend of the family (3 of us flying into San Jose, and the others Liberia). Originally, this was the year Beth and I wanted to go to Morocco which, in my opinion, might have been more of an “adventure”, but we rarely pass up the opportunity to travel with family.
Douwe, Tom, Eive, Karen, Leah, Beth and myself (from left to right)
Made up of two legs, DTW to FLL and FLL to SJO, the flight down was mostly uneventful. Five hours in there air? Piece of cake. But even on such a short trip, it’s nice to spring a few extra bucks for exit row seating.
Now, I did say that the flight was mostly uneventful. Coming into the San Jose Airport was actually kind of exciting. Looking out the left window we could see that we were flying parallel to the SJO’s only runway at about 1000 feet above the ground. From my own private pilot experience, I recognized that we were in the traffic pattern on the downwind leg. Of course this really isn’t a big deal, I’ve just never seen an airliner run such a tight pattern into an airport. Needless to say, we took a steep turn to base and to final approach right before a smooth touchdown. Talking with the pilot when we were exiting the plane, he explained that this is the toughest approach he flies because the airport is a little boxed in by the mountains.
After grabbing our bags from the turnstile, we shuttled over to pick our rental car. We needed something that would adequately haul seven of us up and down some challenging roads – a Toyota 4×4 with a turbo diesel engine.
Using Waze to navigate, we were led through some of the poorer regions of San Jose. The traffic was heavy and moderately aggressive, but not enough to deter.
Our first stop was to check out Guitarras Aristides Guzman, a little store front to a factory where they make the finest handmade guitars in Costa Rica. Although not very skilled at playing, I have had some lessons over the past year and a half and really do enjoy noodling around on a guitar in the evenings. I also have an affinity for the hypnotizing melodies produced on classical Spanish acoustic guitars. For the past several months, I had been excited to purchase one of these beautiful instruments.
We learned a little bit about the guitars, the material used to make them, and it became obvious which one I was interested in. Enrique sat down and played a beautiful Spanish tune showing off the guitar’s potential. The tone was clear, full and yet, delicate.
I definitely spent a little more money than I had anticipated, but I think that it is well worth it to get a souvenir that I would cherish, and use. And before leaving, we had the honor of meeting the man who had been making these pieces of art by hand for over 60 years.
Aristides Guzman, master guitar builder
Following a lengthy stop at Wal-Mart (Yes, Wal-Mart) to pick up some staples, we set the GPS for Nuevo Arenal, near Lake Arenal and the volcano. Taking the suggested route to the coast and then north to approach our terminus from the west, we expected the drive to be about 3 hours 45 minutes. With sunset a couple hours away, and a little concern about driving on Costa Rican roads at night, we made haste to get to our destination.
We did made one quick stop to try out some roadside Tico food.
About half way through our journey our progress was slowed tremendously by intermittent torrents of rain and never ending winding roads. And by this time, the sun had set and darkness fell quickly.
Despite getting to our destination couple hours later than anticipated, we arrived safely at the Villa Encantada. Because it was too dark to see outside, exploring this eco-paradise would have to wait until the morning.
