Costa Rica - Airplane Videos

Remember those tiny 20 seater Nature Air flights we took to and from Nosara? We got some awesome videos taking off but unfortunately the internet in Nosara was too slow to upload them. I've uploaded them to my youtube account so you can now view them. Enjoy!

Taking off from out stopover in Tambor heading to Nosara. The unpaved runway is perpendicular to the beach which makes for great view from take off!

Taking off from Nosara to San Jose as the first part of our return home. The coastline views are breathtaking!

Costa Rica - Septimo Dia

I'm writing this as I sit in San Jose airport waiting to board our flight back to JFK. There is no internet here though, so this will be posted after I've already returned home.

I slept poorly last night as I was awoken at 2:30am by my ankles burning. Apparently, I got attacked by mosquitoes last night, probably while at La Luna or on the walk back from La Luna. Either way, I blame La Luna. Luckily I had some Benadryl and After Bite with me which helped relieve some of the itchiness and I fell back asleep.

We slept late today, waking up at 8am. Mike ventured to the bank to get some cash, since we had run out and needed to pay our taxi drivers to the airports. We thought we had planned how much cash to bring perfectly but we did not anticipate that the zip line tour from the fourth day would be a cash only experience. That set us back a bit.

We packed, read in the shade, and generally lazed about, enjoying the last few hours of our vacation. We had lunch at Beach Dog Cafe again and I finally got that steak sandwich (for the record, it was not as good as the chicken sandwich). We stopped by Surfing Nosara to check out our surfing action shots. There were some great captures so we bought a DVD of our 202 photos. A handful of them are definitely frame worthy!

We took showers to get off all the residual sun block and dust, settled our bill, and took a taxi to Nosara airport. The flight again offered great views of the country and we were smart enough to sit in the exit row this time for extra leg room. And that brings us up to this point, as I sit in San Jose International Airport writing this.

When we get home I can finally upload some videos to youtube to share with you here. 

Until then...

Costa Rica - Dia Uno

Hola from Costa Rica!

Travel days are the worst, really they are. The airport car service picked us up at 3:30am. I wasn't
tired when I woke up because I felt like I never went to sleep. We were at JFK by 4:15. There's hardly anyone at JFK that early in the morning so we were checked in and through security by 4:45. We tootled around the airport for a bit, bought some magazine and light breakfast to eat on the plane. We were disappointed that Hudson News didn't have any sudoku or puzzle books, strange. We boarded the plane, settled into our seats, and pushed back from the gate right on time at 6:15.

The five hour plane ride to San Jose was pretty uneventful. I slept in fits because I was so tired but so uncomfortable, airplane seats are like mini torture devices. The lady behind me complained to the flight attendant of being claustrophobic and was upset that I had pushed my seat back. The flight attendant told her he was sorry but everyone has the option to put their seat back. I listened to it all through my earplugs while I was trying to sleep. The most exciting part of the airplane ride was when a cart came around with food. Yes, FOOD on an airplane! And hot food at that. Scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and potatoes, yogurt, and a roll with jam and butter. Only USA based airlines deny you the right to eat...

We landed in San Jose ahead of schedule. The customs line was short as our flight was the only one arriving. Our one checked bag (we packed light!) came quickly at baggage claim. We exchanged about $50 into Colones and met a taxi driver who escorted us to his lovely bright orange taxi to to the Nature Air mini airport about 20 minutes away. So far, so good.

We arrive at Nature Air at 9:40am. I know there is a 10:25am flight to our destination of Nosara. I tried to book that flight instead of the 2:15 but the Nature Air representative I spoke to told me that would be impossible, that since my flight from JFK landed at 9;25 we would not be able to get on the 10:25 flight to Nosara because they require two hours advance arrival. I knew that we would be able to make it as I've done this trip six years ago, traveling from San Jose International to the Nature Air mini airport to get a flight to Nosara.

So here we are, waiting in the Nature Air mini airport waiting for our 2:15 flight and we've been here since 9;40. The check in representative told me that if I had booked the 10:25 flight I would have been allowed on it, despite the two hour before departure claim. Hearing that was frustrating as I could be sitting on the beach RIGHT NOW instead of in this tiny airport with nowhere to purchase food (and a very hungry husband). However, it is good in the sense that if our flight from JFK had been delayed and we missed the 10:25 we would not necessarily get a seat on the 2:15 nor have our money refunded.

What irked me the most about check in with Nature Air though, was the aerosols policy. My husband is fair and I like to take good care of my skin. I spend a lot of time in the sun in the summer months teaching swimming lessons and I like to wear lots of sunscreen to keep my skin looking young and fresh for as long as possible. I packed about 7 bottles of aerosol sunscreen because it goes on easy with complete coverage and it's not greasy. I know it's not the best for my skin OR the environment, but sometimes easiness wins for me. The check in attendant informed us that aerosols are not allowed on Nature Air flights because they are highly flammable, which is a danger for the teeny tiny twelve seater planes they fly. Le sigh. I had to surrender ALL of my sunblock except the 4 bottles of lotion I brought (I packed A LOT of sunblock) and my very wonderful DEET bug spray. I was so unbelievably tired and frustrated that we couldn't get on the full 10:25 flight that I just started crying in the middle of the airport. Oh boy, what a great way to start a vacation.

I know for certain that the vacation will only get better from here. I mean, I won't have to wait around in airports anymore and I can purchase more sunscreen and bug spray in Nosara.

Until then...