August 31, 2009: La Fortuna (again)

Owen: We woke up at an ungodly hour. I didn’t even know that 3:30 in the morning existed! Last night we watched “I Love You, Man” before we went to sleep, and only got about 4 hours. The trip to the airport is kind of a blur, seeing as it was so early, but once we got there we said goodbye to the last two members of our GAP crew, Carl and Catalina. We got all our paperwork done, and said a tearful goodbye to Sean. I miss you already dude! Hope you have fun though, don’t be too sad!! And after a long wait, we boarded the plane to Houston, TX. That was an ordeal. We got past customs, twice, and rechecked our luggage (loogash), and waited for our delayed flight to Portland. I am making this day sound short, but it really, really wasn’t. After sitting next to a nice kid my age from Silverton for the 4 and a half hour flight, we were greeted by Mom and Dad! It was great to finally see them again.

We started driving home, stopped at Starbucks, and talked about the trip for a really long time. We discribed every little detail to them, which made the drive back pretty painless. Upon returning home, Goldie (my dog) freaked out when she saw me. She started to pee on the ground and jump around in excitement. We gave Dad the Hat we got for him, and we gave Mom her shawl (thanks for the recommendation Emilie and Eve-lyn!) and the coffee for them both. They were very happy with the gifts and stories.

I cannot begin to explain how thankful I am to everyone who made this the perfect trip. Grandpa for letting me use his amazing camera, Mom and Dad for funding the whole thing, Sean for leading us around, Danny for being a great guide, and the Group for being way better than could ever have expected! Also, Liam for being a good brother and putting up with my crap, and the people of Costa Rica for being so welcoming and accommodating.

Pura Vida!

Liam: After waking up and going through all security at the airport, we decided not to get breakfast and wait until later. The plane ride to Houston was really long, but I slept for most of the time or read. Then we were in the Houston airport for about 4 hours, it got soooo boring. Owen and I got some food and walked around the airport for a while before boarding the flight that was thirty minutes late. The plane ride took forever, I just wanted to get home. When the plane finally landed it was about 5 o’clock and I was more than ready to stand up for a while. Right when we left the gates Mom and Dad were waiting to meet us. We met up with them and told them all about our adventures. After the drive back from Portland, we were finally home and it felt so good. After we walked in the door I took a long shower and used a ton of shampoo so my hair doesn’t stand up anymore (Emilie and Eve-Lyn). After a dinner with Mom and Dad I just hung out for a while.

Sean (This blog is all mine now...): Today was as long as any of the trip. The boys and I woke up at 3:30 am! That is by far the earliest I have gotten up in years. We all took quick showers and then checked out of our hotel room. A short time later, 4:00am, we jumped into an airport transfer. I was surprised to find that Carl and Laura (Canadian couple on honeymoon) were on the same shuttle as us. It was great to see them one last time!

Our drive to the airport flew threw stop signs and passed anything moving less than fast. We quickly arrived and made our way to the check in counter only to discover we had to pay $26 in airport tax before entering the queue. After paying the duty we quickly proceeded through the line and got the boys checked in for their flight. I then entrusted them with their passports and all the reasonability that comes with flying an international flight.

It was then time for our goodbyes. It was a sad, sad moment. I have had such a great time traveling with my brothers that it is hard to imagine that I will be on my own for another week. We have spent all-day, everyday together for the last three weeks. Surprisingly, I cant remember us getting in any big fights. Of course there were times where we gave each other a hard time (especially Liam) and times when we got frustrated (especially Owen when playing billiards ;) but it went smoother than I ever imagined.

The boys are born travelers. After fighting off some sickness early in the trip Liam opened up to everyone in the group. As expected, Owen was friendly and nice to each and every person he came in contact with. I look forward to the next trip I take with my brothers!!

After watching them pass through security I was on my own and made my way to the street to catch a cab back into downtown San Jose. I flagged down a young cab driver who had no idea where my hotel was. After explaining the general area he told me he could get me there so I got in. It turned out to be a long ride. One in which we had to ask other cab drivers, policemen, and pedestrians for directions. Eventually I asked the cab driver to drop me off on the main street so that I could walk from there.

By the time I got back to the hotel it was 5:30. I went back to the room and, unable to fall asleep, used the internet for a while. At 7:00 I met up with my father and we decided to get out of San Jose. Unfortunately, I was also informed that the car he had rented for his one-week stay was broken into on his first night in Costa Rica. They smashed a window, stole the radio, and trashed the inside of the car. Undeterred we set of for La Fortuna, home of Arenal Volcano (or as I now call it Wolcan).

I expertly navigated the streets of San Jose and got us on the Pan American highway. Once outside of San Jose the drive was fairly easy. We only stopped once to grab a bite to eat and arrived in town at 11ish. From there I decied that we should stay at the same hotel that we did with G.A.P, Hotel Sierra-Arenal. As I made my way to our room I gave a quiet nod to Room 5, where my brothers and I stayed for three nights just a week ago.

Once we were settled in our room, my dad and I went out to grab some water at the Super Christian #2 and on our way stopped at Desafio to book some activities for our stay. I took Dannys advice and decided to try the Venado Cave tour despite the very unexciting photos.

After eating lunch it was time for our tour pickup (1:00pm). We met our tour guide Edgar and were informed that we were the only ones going cave exploring today. Forty-five minutes later we arrived at the mouth of the cave and were given our gear: hardhat, flashlight, and mask (which I only used for a photo op).

Danny was 100% correct. The Cave Tour was amazing. Almost the entire cave had a small stream flowing through it. We wadded through the water and ducked under a small opening to enter the cave. Once inside we were met by some very large spiders, bats, and crickets.

As we proceeded deeper into the cave the passageways became smaller and smaller. At some points I had to crawl through opening with everything but my head submerged underwater. Other times we were forced to dart through waterfalls that served as doors to chambers of the cave. In fact, at times of the 1.5 hour exploration there were periods when my father had to stay behind because he could not fit through some of the cracks. Some of the other highlights included a fossilized shell, a large guava shaped stalactite, a fossilized turtle shell, and a fossilized coral reef.

We were returned to our hotel room at around 5:30 and decided to grab a quick dinner before heading off to Baldi Hot Springs. Avid blog readers will remember this as the location where there are many pools of varying temperature and a large pool with several waterslides. It was the perfect way to end a long, long day. I was excited to revisit all of the pools and get to try all 3 of the slides again.

Still, retracing some old steps made me miss my brothers and our G.A.P group even more.

NOTE: I am probably going to repeat a bunch of things i already did so you dont need to keep reading the blog if you dont want :)