Costa Rica - Day 7 and End of Trip

Rain!  We didn't let that stop us.  We got in the car and drove to another beach a little south, called Avellenos.  It was a little muddy off-roading adventure.  There was a small "lot" and this dude just sitting in a beach chair and collecting something like $2 to park.  He promised to watch the car and told us not to leave our bags by the mango trees because robbers hide and take your things when you go into the water.  I was pissed about having to pay this random dude who just decided this was his job, but there was really no choice in the matter.  David convinced me to just let it go and park the car.  There is a restaurant called Lola's right next to the lot and it came highly recommended but it was too early so we skipped it.  Looked like a pretty chill place to spend the afternoon though.

Petting a dog with my purse on the beach. 

It got a little nicer out and all we wanted to do was go surfing so we headed back to Mato's and rented a board.  We surfed until a beautiful sunset ended the day.  Almost five hours.  We met locals, travelers, tons of dogs, saw people surf upside down, kids surfing... Blissful would be a word that comes to mind.

We tried to go to a nicer place for dinner, via recommendation from our concierge but after a failed attempt at finding it and then finding out via some locals that it had closed for the season yesterday, we ended up back at Naugi's.  This was really the only hiccup we had due to "green season".  We went all out, ordering civeche and macadamia crusted talapia and surf & turf.  Whoaness.  We were almost sad to say goodbye to our waiter, he was just so nice.  We stopped at one of the shops to get some gifts and then walked back to the hotel in the pitch black one last time.  

The next morning we had our breakfast at the hotel and headed to the airport.  When we returned our car to Avis, the guy guessed exactly where we were based on the color of the mud!  Travel tip for Costa Rica: you have to pay a departure tax.  It takes about 10 minutes and is $28 per person.  If you have extra Calones, it's a good way to use them up.

Once inside, the airport has one generic gift shop (coffee and t-shirts) and an overpriced, busy sports bar with free wi-fi.  I'd recommend stocking up on the snacks before the airport if possible.

Hasta la vista Costa Rica!

Costa Rica - Day 5

Surfing Day!  We didn't even need to set an alarm because we were woken up by AN EARTHQUAKE.  Well, at least I was.  All our windows were open and when the bed started to shake for about 20 seconds, at first I thought it was just a really strong wind gust.  But then it happened again and I grabbed David and yelled "EARTHQUAKE!" and he told me to go back to bed.  But then we both woke up and went to breakfast at the hotel and I asked the waiter who confirmed it was indeed a kind od large shakefest.  It was super weird because it was exactly a year ago that they had their last major quake.   

I realized that the tide was low so I had a feeling our lesson was going to be pushed back.  Sure enough, when we got to the surf shop, we were told that around 2 would be a better time so we decided to come back later.  

We took advantage of the nice weather but didn't want exhaust ourselves so we relaxed by our beach & pool.  I made a dog friend who followed me around for a couple hours and then we had a light lunch at the hotel and saw the guy from the night before (who was surfing on the restaurant floor) hopping out of the ocean because he got stung by a stingray. I've never seen a grown man in so much visible pain.  They put his foot in a bucket of ice until he decided to go to the hospital.  

Playa Grande from Captain Suizo

My new buddy.

For our surf lesson at Tamarindo Beach, it was $45/person and lasted about 2 hours.  There was another couple from Switzerland who joined us. The guy was a writer and they just spent time in the Canary Islands and are now renting a house in Tamarindo for three months.  Can you imagine?!  But back to the surfing, the beach had a lot of surfers and everyone talks to each other while waiting for the waves.  I was nervous because in Hawaii, on the North Shore where we surfed, you couldn't really get off your board because the ocean floor was so rough so you were constantly paddling.  That killed my body but this beach was amazing.  You could walk out far enough so paddling was limited and we were able to sustain ourselves much better.  

We didn't want to stop surfing but also didn't want to push it so we went for a walk on the other side of the beach and watched the sun set.  We went out to "Nibbana, as seen on HGTV" for dinner.  Seriously, they didn't have a formal sign, just one promoting their future show appearance. As soon as i sat down, i felt sick so David hurried through dinner and i went to sleep. It wouldn't be a vacation if i didn't get proper sick at least once.

Costa Rica - Day 4

Travel time!  The plan - to go from Tabacon/Arenal (kind of the center of the country) to Tamarindo, on the west coast.  About a three and a half hour drive.  We weren't really looking forward to the road around the lake but it turned out to not be so bad.

We stopped at the German Bakery for breakfast and this part is a little blurry to me, as I was severely suffering from a sinus infection.  But there were pastries and coffee and I remember some cats roaming around.

Our final destination was Captain Suizo.  A beautiful beachside getaway at the far edge of town.  I felt like when we told people we were staying there, they seemed impressed and I couldn't have imagined a better place to stay.  I'm grateful for the recomendations from everyone who suggested it.  The rooms are airy, split-level, clean and sans TV.  The owners are Swedish and have a big ol' philosphy on why things are they way they are at the place.  Everyone was friendly and I am so happy we decided to stay here.

We headed to the beach and I was not expecting to water to be hot.  I got right in!  It was low tide so we got out pretty far too.  The beach is so big during low tide!   The sky got grey pretty fast and it was about dinner time so we walked over to where the restaurants in town were.  The road wasn't paved so it was a muddy, slippery walk and I kinda wish I had brought rain boots. We cut across to the beach and walked along there until we came closer to town.

A beachside restaurant was the first place we saw and there were a lot of people there.   Since we really didnt plan where we were going and the rain wasnt letting up, we settled into a patio seat at Naugi's and enjoyed watching our neighboring table get wasted and teach each other how to surf, on the floor of the restaurant.  (They had just met that day.)  After fish tacos and pork chops, we walked into town and these two dogs were kinda like, "Oh hey, follow us!" so we did and ended up in front of Mato's Surf Shop.  This surfer dude was out there and introduced himself as Eric.  Turns out Bon Ton the dog is Eric's.  The universe could not have been any more obvious to an animal lover looking for a surf lesson!  :)  We talked for a bit and Eric told us to come by at 9AM tomorrow for our lesson. We headed back on the beach in the pitch black and used my phone's flashlight app to guide the way.

JaBronie

FYI I have always for fun called Lebron James "Jabronie".

Last night we watched history as Lebron James in his free agency glory, chose to play for the Miami Heat next year on National TV.

Ah where to even begin.  This whole Lebron James thing is madness.  From the actual announcement to the hooplah involved.

From a PR perspective, it was great.  He created something with his opportunity and literally everyone and their moms, people who didn't even know what NBA stood for, were discussing where he would go.  I think it's safe to say that everyone knows the name Lebron James now.

From a sports fan perspective (and by no means do I know what I am truly talking about, as you will see in my comments), I understand his choice.  He played in Cleveland for 7 years and found no success.  What if you were told you had to eat the same flavor ice cream your whole life?  It's unrealistic.  The dude wants to win.  You can't blame him.  BUT...

From a Clevelander's point of view, it sucks a big one.  Realistically you cant expect a 25 year old basketball player to be held responsible for the success of a city but the truth is, he is a huge factor.  Restaurants he goes to skyrocket in sales.  Bars on game nights are affected.  There is a hero and it gives kids something and someone to look up to.

For him to go on national TV on a long distance location, call himself this great person and ball player, its hypocritical, disrespectful and insulting.  People are saying he had no responsibility to Clevelanders but Clevelanders did have a special bond with this person and it almost was like a relationship.  Sucks to be broken up with via National TV (cue the breakup CD circa 1999).

But all in all, I am excited to see what the future will bring.  Wouldn't it be great if the Cavs won in 2011?    


Related posts:
Lebron Sound Off on ESPN
Dan Gilbert's Letter
The Decision

Did You Know

there are currently only two active Jewish NBA players?

Now that the Playoffs are underway, there are a lot of TV specials on the teams. I was watching something on the Lakers and something about Jordan Farmar caught my eye. I looked him up and found out the above fact. The only other Jewish player is Omri Casspi on the Kings, who was the first Israeli to be drafted (in the first round too!).

Dwayne Wade Runs Into Brick Wall (Shaq)

The other day we were watching the Cavs/Lakers game and this went down, literally. It's kinda amazing. Reminds me of the time I was pushed into AJ Hawk (linebacker from OSU, plays for Green Bay now) but I didnt stay down like Wade did. Enjoy!

Super Saints

Last night, the Saints won their first Super Bowl.
Teams that have never made it to the Super Bowl...

Jacksonville Jaguars
Houston Texans
Detroit Lions
Cleveland Browns

Have hope!

Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images - Saints Quaterback Drew Brees

Me Likes

I LOVE the new Nike puppet commercials. Particularly this one:

Memorial Weekend

I am a bit burnt out at the moment so this post wont be what it should but I wanna get some blogging out of my system. It's therapeutic for me.

This past weekend was in Cleveland with David. He planned a good one! We were pretty much always doing something. Straight from the airport we went downtown to watch the Cavs game. We went to a bar right across from the Q which was really fun when Lebron made the at the buzzer, historical shot and everyone came running out and into the streets celebrating. I was so happy to be in that city at that moment.

The rest of the weekend we went to the driving range, he met my best friend Lucy and fiance Eric and I met his (both which are getting married in the same hotel in Cincinnati later this year just by coincidence), took a nice 5 mile walk in the valley metro park, finally saw Slumdog (thumbs up) and also Angels & Demons (thumbs up), layed by the pool, had dinner with the fam, had a delicious breakfast of Reeses pancakes, had my favorite meal at Taza, and got to spend some quality time together.

Not to be all corny but I love seeing him and being by him. I am definitely freaking out about what to do now with my life but I am doing what I can at the moment. I was really sad to leave this morning. It gets harder every time. I don't want to live this far from him. But such is life at the moment. Doing a lot of thinking now. Lots to do.

Like Mike

I was watching the Cavs win and Lebron dominate again and I had this flashback of a movie. Some orphan and shoes and Michael Jordan. I love how the internet can answer your mind gaps in 2.5 seconds. I was remembering this movie I watched when I was babysitting. Like Mike with Lil Bow Wow and little Jonathan Lipnicki. Now the question is, what can rhyme with Lebron, because it's only a matter of time before a movie like this comes out about him. Hey producers, make a sequel with someone finding Lebron's old Jersey. 10% for me, and it's a deal. I'll start writing the script now.

Witness

Lebron James was named NBA's MVP today. Duh.

Goodbye Shea Stadium