We made it!

Hello again,

This time I am actually connected to the internet!  This morning Michael and I got up and had breakfast at the hotel sitting in the courtyard by the fountain.  There was sun and blue skies so the day looked promising.  We decided to take a quick walk before taking the taxi to the car rental agency and this turned out to be a good idea.  On our walk we found a Radio Shack which was just opening as it was 8am.  They had the audio cord I wanted, which I hadn't thought about bringing until the wee hours of the morning already in Costa Rica.  We also picked up a bottle of water and a snack for our trip at a grocery store.  Back at the hotel our taxi was waiting and we started loading our luggage into it.  There was a momentary hiccup as we had to figure out how to transport the surfboard bag in what was a regular little car!  Fortunately Michael had thought to bring straps for this very purpose and we secured it on top of the car.  It was a short ride to the car rental agency and a pretty easy check in for the car.  They even charged us less than we anticipated!  We got directions to the highway and off we went.  The directions were excellent and  pretty soon we found ourselves at the on ramp.  The only problem was the on ramp was occupied by two semi trucks headed in opposite directions and not moving. It wasn't clear whether they had run into eachother, whether one had broken down, or they were just having a chat.  In any case, we weren't going anywhere up that ramp!  In front of us was a "Turismo" van and when he turned around, we followed.  It turned out to be only a short detour to another on ramp, but without the Turismo van leading the way we would not have had any idea where to go.  Score one for luck!  The drive to the Nicoya peninsula was pretty good.  The roads were definitely better than I'd heard about.  We had one stop for construction where they were shoring up a hillside, but otherwise, smooth sailing.  In the distance we saw mountains and closer up, rolling hills covered in jungle.  There were fences made of living trees.  I thought it quite clever.  Fast growing trees are planted close together and many of the trunks are cut down to fence height, but still living.  Some had new shoots coming out of their tops.  Wire is strung between them and presto, a living fence.  Some trees were allowed to grow tops so you got some shade out of it too.

When we got to the town of Nicoya, we stopped to get some money at the bank and do some grocery shopping.  I went into the store and Michael stayed with the car and all our stuff.  It was hot in the store and more disorienting than you would expect to have everything packaged differently and in spanish.  I had a list, but it took a while and I didn't find everything.  Still, we managed to get a good start on the groceries and loaded up the car and went on our way.  The potholes had become more numerous on the roads and eventually the pavement disappeared altogether.  You could sense the ocean wasn't too far away.  Just before we came into Playa Guiones, we stopped at a fish market and bought some fresh snapper and frozen  local shrimp.  Once in Playa Guiones, we made our way to the Guilded Iguana right on time for our rendezvous with the property manager.  The cold beer we had while waiting for her tasted really good!  It took us about 6 1/2 hours to make the trip including our stops for gas, bathroom and groceries.  The property manager took us to our house and we settled in.  Then it was time to walk down to the beach for sunset and to put our feet in the sand.  Michael went for a dip in the water and we sat and watched the sun sink into the Pacific.  There were quite a few other people up and down the beach doing exactly the same thing.  It's sort of a tradition here.  There were also a lot of surfers in the water, so it was a bit of a scene.  Afterwards, we decided we were hungry and tired so we went out to dinner.  Now we are getting ready to fall into bed and sleep soundly.

I will tell more about the house later but for now I'm exhausted and ready to call it a night.

Cheers,

Sojourner Sarah