Costa Rica …… I don’t even know where to start. Many of you have asked for our CR pics, so since I’m typing this after our trip, I think I’ll do a photo dump with a few captions and call it good. In the future I hope to be much better at capturing our trips as they go, but this summer has been a whirlwind and my creativity is just not up to par.
Well, I will explain how this trip all came to be. For starters, we almost never travel in June. School gets out and we just sit, hoping, waiting, for Seattle summer to start. June certainly can be crummy, like this year for example, but still, it’s the best time of year. Of course I say this and I’m thinking….. ok, apart from last summer where we went to Curacao. And then a June or two before that where we went to Iceland. But those were exceptional cases, I swear. Overall, we stay put in June/July/August and do everything Northwesty that we can.
BUT, along came another exceptional opportunity. A couple of former Washingtonians now living in Costa Rica reached out on a local Facebook page looking for parties interested in a multi-week house swap. Immediately I was intrigued. First off, we love Costa Rica. I’ve been at least five times over the last 20 years and I spent four months there as a student in my early 20’s.
Secondly, they were open to swapping after the kiddos got out of school, and they were hoping to return early July. Given we were in the midst of the coldest and wettest Seattle Spring on record, escaping for half of June was an idea that I was more than open to. These pasty legs need some sun.
Thirdly, FREE accommodation. Need I say more? Well of course I checked out their photos and location to make sure it was somewhere we actually wanted to be. Once all that checked out, we said an emphatic YES!
Flights though, people. Flights. Because of stupid Covid and all the pilot shortages, flights were in high demand. There was not a deal to be had. Being the creative budget traveler that I am though, and a bit of a risk taker, I took advantage of a Delta deal that popped up one day for round-trips in/out of Mexico City, $400 per person. This might have been a Scott’s Deal, can’t remember. If you desire to be a budget traveler and you aren’t on Scott’s Cheap Flights, get on there and check it out.
Next idea was to find us a budget carrier round-trip to CR from Mexico City. Great idea, but it did not pan out as I had hoped. Once again, no deals, and the stress of waiting for some mysterious bargain to pop up was getting to be too much. Finally I pulled the trigger on a Volaris flight, $300 each. Clearly not the deal I was hoping for, but we still came in $200-$300 under what major carriers were charging for straight flights from Seattle to CR (with connections, of course), even WITH the one night we would have to stay in Mexico City on either end. I have NEVER paid this much to get to CR, but here we are. Let’s just keep focusing on free accommodations.
Also, I recommend not checking the reviews on Volaris. They were the only reasonably priced flight I could find, but man those reviews had me in a panic. I was mentally preparing for flight delays, issues with carry-ons, and even cancellations. Thankfully, none of that happened. In fact, both flights left smack dab on time without out barely an inconvenience. I took a risk and it worked out. I even wrote them a nice review afterwards.
Anyhow, while it would have been easy to say no to this crazy proposition, especially after researching the flight insanity, we really just thought how lucky we were that this opportunity fell into our lap. A beautiful, custom-built home in the hills of Costa Rica, just an hour from Arenal and an hour and a bit from our favorite beach, Playa Hermosa, and swapping with a couple fully willing to take good care of our home and our cat. My gut said this was a go.
PLUS, what an amazing way for our kids to spend a good chunk of time outside the country in a place with different customs, food, weather and language.
Oh, did I mention yet that we took Soren’s bestie with us? Yeah, we traveled with not two but three kids. For some of you this is the norm. This was all new to me. Counting five passports and boarding passes over and over again was a smidge stressful. But like everything else so far in this story, it all worked out. He was a fantastic traveler and melded right into our family. It was a joy to have him along.
Before I tell you what didn’t work out, here are a few fun pictures.
So what didn’t work? Oh there’s always something that happens on our trips where I think in my head, I know this will be a good story someday, but dang it I don’t want a good story right now! This was the case on our Friday trip out to Playa Samara, where we were staying the weekend. About an hour from our destination the Nissan Xterra, which we were borrowing from the owners of the house btw, got a flat tire!
I guess flats aren’t a huge deal typically, especially if you know how to change one. Thankfully Jason does, so we found a safe place to pull over, right in front of a random restaurant (or Soda, as they call them), and he got to work. But what do you do if the spare is also flat? Shit. That’s when you start to worry.
Well Jesus sent an angel that day because no sooner had we realized the predicament we were in, miles from any service station, when a truck driver, just sitting in his big rig up the road, saunters over. He sees what is going on and within minutes is filling our tire from his rig. They have air on board! Hallelujah. Honestly, what are the odds? He was a road angel.
So tire is fixed, and we make it to the beach. We realize this is not a great solution for getting us home, though, with no additional spare and three other tires that are just as bald and at risk of puncture. More fun tomorrow awaits, but first, sangria.
The next day, after a hearty breakfast and a discussion with the car’s owners, we were given permission to replace ALL the tires. Thank goodness! I was really stressing about getting home without another flat occurring.
Only problem? The nearest service station was a 40 minute drive into town. Can’t this wait until tomorrow, I thought. Well no, because it’s Saturday and everything shuts like a ghost town on Sundays. Suck. There goes my day at the beach.
Well, things happen, but maybe we could salvage the day for the boys? On our way out of town we dropped them off at the beach with boogie boards, $20, and SUNSCREEN. They are 13 after all. I always remember there were 13-year olds commanding ships in wars, for crying out loud. My kids can handle a few hours at the beach. For the record, sunscreen was supplied and heavily encouraged.
Thankfully tire issues were rather quickly repaired and we were actually back at the beach by 2pm. Maybe my beach day could be saved. I hit the beach, ordered a margarita, and sat in a beach chair. Ahhhh.
But then the damn rains started. We barely had time for a snack before we gathered up our things and headed back to the car. Oh well, quiet time at the hotel did not sound that bad.
Before long we start to notice the kids are looking a little pink. No, not a little pink, they are starting to look downright red. Gosh darn it all. All 3 kids have their first really bad sunburns. “Did y’all apply sunscreen like I told you to?” I ask. Apparently so, but apparently they suck at it. Soren’s back was so red he was starting to feel a bit ill. Soren went to bed early. Jason and I rode into Samara to find take-out fried chicken, wine and aloe vera, all of which were acquired.
The next day we tried a little more beach time but honestly, the kids were not feeling their best. Soren refused to put on a shirt and complained ad nauseam about his burns. We eventually high-tailed it home, with our spankin’ new tires, and had a peaceful dinner at “home.”
Wow, for being a short post with a few pics and captions this is getting quite long. If you are still reading, hi there. I need to wrap this up.
That was the most “eventful” part of our trip. The next weekend we spent at Playa Hermosa and it was lovely. There were margaritas on beach, kids buried in sand, highly sugared concoctions purchased from beach vendors, and night crab chasing. It was great. Here are a few pics from that far more relaxing weekend.
I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention that Theron has his first destination birthday! He’s always been a tad jealous that Soren’s birthday lands during mid-winter break, every year, and we usually plan something fun to escape winter. Soren, not by choice or desire, has had birthdays in Mexico, Costa Rica, Australia, and most recently, Venice. It was Theron’s turn!
His request was to venture out to the hot springs, of which there are many. I scoured websites to find just the right one and landed on Baldi. It sorta hit the sweet spot between having a good mix of relaxing pools and fun water slides but not insanely expensive. It did not disappoint.
I think that sums up the majority of our trip. We also did some side trips up to Monteverde rainforest for a day, as well as a hike at Viento Fresco waterfalls. Both are good day trips from Tilaran.
Until next time Costa Rica, and hopefully when it’s a tad less rainy.
