Travel for Travel's Sake

I think it is pretty apparent we enjoyed our time in Costa Rica.  After we left the Playa Del Coco area, we drove back pretty much the way we had come and spent the next night in the same Hotel Evelyn and I had stayed in our first three nights.  It was very affordable and a very nice place to stay.  It was Thanksgiving, so we decided we needed to eat out somewhere excellent.  We decided, since it was unlikely we would find Turkey dinner and, at Costa Rican prices, we wouldn't want to spend for Lobster, we would go the restaurant Evelyn and I had enjoyed so much on our arrival, "El Rancho De Lali."  As I described earlier, they had a Marascada dish that was to die for.  It was a combination plate that had rice, some salad fixings, and a huge variety of fish.  Doctored up with a little of their mildly "hot" pickled vegies made that Thanksgiving meal the cat's meow.

Our view of San Isidro from lookout on Hwy 2

The next day, we set off on Hwy 2, to drive through the mountains (slow going because of the many trucks that could not drive uphill too fast) to get to the second largest city in Costa Rica, San Isidro El General.  It was rainy and, for Costa Rican standards, a little cold.  We were driving through clouds, part of the time, and had to be very careful under those foggy conditions.  We stopped at an overlook above San Isidro and were blessed with a clear view of the city.

The Los Pinos Hotel Restaurant

We spent two nights in a little hotel, Hotel Los Pinos, which was perched on the side of a hill overlooking a tropical forest.  The Toucans clustered in the dense green foliage of the leafy trees as they flew from tree to tree.  The hotel sported an open kitchen, as so many of the restaurants were in the tropical warmth.
The rooms were meager, but clean.  We did have to talk to the hotel owners, because the pilot lite in the water heater had gone out and there was no hot water.  They spoke no English, so it was through a smattering of Spanish and pantomime that we got them to understand, at all.

We had arrived early enough that we decided to drive the remaining mile and a half into the heart of the business district and check out what the town had to offer. 

Central Park in San Isidro

Although San Isidro has a population nearing 50,000, the greater area that has grown up around the city proper is closer to 250,000.  The city was full of activity as the smiling and friendly inhabitants milled through the narrow streets and congregated in the central park area.  It was still overcast, with an occasional sprinkle, but the temperature was a very nice 75 degrees.

We spent the next day driving around the area looking at real estate for sale, which is abundant, but is very expensive.  I suspect most of the citizens purchased a long time ago and many were now trying to sell the the "wealthy" gringos. 

The view from our balcony.

The next morning, we set out for Jaco.  It turned out to be about a four hour drive.  We arrived in what turned out to be a reasonably large and populated beach community and it took us another half hour of driving around to find the time-share Jeff and Jane had booked for us.  Who would have thought?  It was a high rise condo project.  The Costa Rican economy had been just as negatively impacted by the American recession as we had.  There were six concrete towers erected on a nicely landscaped property.  Two of the towers, however, were just shells and had never been completed.  It turned out most of the rooms in the four towers that were completed, were empty.  Our room was on the seventh floor and looked out over a green masterpiece of landscaping.  There was an irregular shaped pool surrounded by concrete interspersed with islands of bushes, flowering shrubs, and small trees.

Evelyn in front of sign, big burger $2

We spent the next five days taking long walks, strolling on the beach, exploring the retail shops and making ourselves at home in the two bedroom apartment.  Although we made some of our meals in the well provided kitchen, we found a restaurant that served good food for a reasonable price and served breakfast and dinner.   We had long since learned it was better and cheaper to use American dollars to make purchases.  At 500 colones per US dollar, it made it pretty easy to calculate.




We have discovered no matter where we are, there is usually a good way to eat inexpensively.  We are, indeed, looking forward to our next adventure.