Everything is edible, some things only once.

Greetings from sunny Costa Rica! As I'm waiting for my good friend Katie to join me for the second week of my adventures, I thought I would reflect on the past week here.

The quote in the title is courtesy of Jimmy, my tour guide during my aerial tram ride in the Rainforest Adventures Pacific park. He said he stole it from the Marx brothers, but I still found it hilarious.

I arrived into beautiful, sunny Costa Rica last Friday after what can best be described as a frenetic few last weeks of work, during which I presented twice to senior management and led a 2 day meeting in New York. To say I was ready for a vacation was the understatement of the year, as I was wound up tighter than I have been in quite some time. The benefit of a year of nearly non-stop business travel is that I have been able to use hotel points for both weeks of my stay, making this trip quite affordable. I began my adventures in San Jose, at the local Marriott. I cannot recommend this hotel enough. I have been lucky enough to stay in some really fancy places around the world, including some 5* properties known to house royalty, politicians and Hollywood stars. And yet, this small Marriott, tucked away in the heart of San Jose, has offered the best service I have ever experienced. Nearly every staff member I encountered knew my name and the restaurant and bar staff remembered my name, room number and drink choice. Everyone always had a smile and a happy greeting and seemed to genuinely enjoy their jobs. After a truly dismal experience at a W in New York, it was refreshing to be in a property that truly seemed to care about their customers.

I got in late on Friday and headed straight to my room, did not pass go. I unpacked and fell into a dreamless sleep born from exhaustion and the strain of a nearly 17hour journey from Germany. I awoke late on Saturday and had my first Costa Rican breakfast. Can I just say that I could live on breakfast here alone? Rice and beans and delicious salsa, complete with perfectly cooked eggs and a soft, hot and fresh tortilla. My mouth waters just thinking about it! I then headed to the local TAM Tour office to plan out my week of adventures. Being in San Jose meant that for the first week, I was centrally located and just a couple hours ride from any major attraction (rainforest, volcanos, etc). I then spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool, catching up on my reading before hitting the gym for a good 45 minutes of running. For some reason, I am always ready to run long and hard after taking a transatlantic flight. Maybe my body just can't stand being cooped up inside the plane.

On Sunday, I did the San Jose City Tour, which was eye opening. We visited major attractions in the city, including Sabana Park, the National Theatre, the Children's Museum, the Gold Museum, the University of Costa Rica, the Supreme Court and Congress. Many of the old buildings were gorgeous - in a colonial style very reminiscent of San Juan (Puerto Rico) - which makes sense given the Spanish were in both places and the overall proximity. During the tour, I learned that Costa Rica has a rich history with regard to the Jewish people, which I didn't know. There is a strong connection between Israel and San Jose, and apparently a lot of Israelis visit the country for vacation.

Tour guide explaining Jewish connection to CR; look closely at the statue and you will see the six sided star 

Our tour guide, who was absolutely hilarious, also shared with us that the government of Costa Rica seems to be terribly corrupt - at one point, he stopped outside Congress and told us that inside lived "Ali Baba and the 58 Thieves". I never found out if the extra 18 thieves were added to equal the members of congress, or if he just thought there were a LOT of thieves. While early leaders in the country were fair and tried to set up a good system, recent administrations have seemed to milk the country for their own benefit. Another thing we learned was that Costa Rica has had no army since 1948 - basically since when a civil war divided the country and finally the leadership had enough. The money that would go into raising an army is instead funnelled into education, leading to a greater than 98% literacy rate. Being a teacher is a coveted, and - for Costa Rica - well-paid position. All children are mandated to get an education and the government is quite rigorous in enforcing this. Something I think maybe other countries could learn from...

I think the most exciting part of the city trip was getting caught in crazy city traffic. In addition to allowing us time to view the fashions of the people here (think Brooklyn club wear, worn always 2-3 sizes too small), it also enabled us to almost hit several cars. We turned down a street that was supposed to be parking on only one side, but it seemed several cars had decided to park on the left side anyway. This meant our bus couldn't go forward - and we couldn't go backwards due to the traffic.

Here I am, pointing out the offending red truck that blocked our bus. This was an exciting experience involving lots of locals, the police and many horns and expletives.

On Monday, I did what is known as the "Combo Tour", which took us to Poas Volcano National Park, Doka Estate Coffee plantation and La Paz Waterfall gardens. This tour required a 6:50am start, so it was good thing that with the time difference, I found myself wide awake at 5am. We started at the coffee plantation - which was really cool to learn about how coffee is grown and milled. The hype about Costa Rican coffee is not unfounded - it truly is delicious.

This is an actual coffee bean pod opened up, to show two beans. If the pod has just one bean, it is separated because the kind that only produces one bean makes the best kind of coffee.

After the coffee tour, and ending up all hopped up on chocolate covered coffee beans, we headed to Poas Volcano National Park. When we left the coffee plantation, it was sunny and gorgeous weather. When we got to the volcano, it was pouring rain, the sleeting, slanting, completely drenching kind. I've learned that in Costa Rica, weather doesn't change with distance, it changes with altitude. And the higher you go, the more likely it is that - even in the dry season - it will rain. The tour guide was apologetic, as he had done the tour the day before and it was dry and sunny. Given the near bathtime-qualities of the rain, I opted out of the short hike up to the volcano because given the fog and rain, there was nothing to be seen. I did buy myself a poncho to be prepared for future adventures. Following the volcano, we drove on to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. By this time, the entire bus was on the verge of revolt as it was nearly 1pm and we hadn't had lunch. But before we could get lunch, we needed to walk through the animal rescue center... in the rain, of course. I won't lie, the animals were awesome to see. But Jorge, our poor tour guide, quickly learned the meaning of the word "hangry" as the group nearly went into full-on mutiny, given that breakfast was at 7am. We finally got to the food around 2:10pm, and I can't even remember what I ate, only that it tasted SO good.

Downside: rabid hunger. Upside: I got to hold this bird and he didn't pee on me.

After the feeding frenzy, we visited the La Paz waterfalls. They were really pretty, but I bet they would have been even prettier in the sunshine.

Tuesday ended up being my favorite tour out of the bunch. Another 6:50 am pick up, and this time an hour and a half bus ride to the town of Putarenas. There, we breakfasted on another delicious Costa Rican combination and then boarded a luxurious catamaran for a trip to Tortuga Island. Tortuga means "turtle" in Spanish, and the island is famous both for its pristine white beaches, but also for the many turtles in the water all around. I spent a blissful 90 minutes lying on the net of the front deck, feeling the water splash beneath me and the sun beat down. When we arrived at the island, we could snorkel if we wanted to. Given that I have nearly drowned myself every time I've tried this (don't ask; basically I forget I'm wearing the snorkel and try to dive down and see the fishes and then I end up choking on water...), I chose instead to rent a beach chair and alternate between reading and swimming in the ocean. Pure bliss. The team cooked us a first class buffet on the beach and then we had a few more hours by the sea. We rode the catamaran back to Putarenas just as the sun set.

I'm on a boat!!! :)

The sand and arrival at Tortuga Island

Our boat from a distance

Sunset on the way back to Putarenas...

Wednesday brought with it an even earlier wake-up time, as the bus picked me up at 06:10. Now, it is worth noting that the three previous tours all offered breakfast. As I didn't know that, I had been going to the Executive Lounge and grabbing some fruit, yogurt and coffee before each journey. Given the crack of dawn pick up time for this trip, I felt safe in assuming breakfast.

Hahahaha, no. So when we picked up the last group at one of the hotels, I ran into the gift shop and quickly grabbed a Luna energy bar, knowing that without sustenance, I could end up seriously hurting someone. This tour was billed as "The Original 3 in 1 Rainforest Adventure". I would rename it "A Decent but not super exciting way to spend a day". We started the tour on the Sarapiqui River, where we spotted several animals, including all kinds of birds, a three-toed sloth and a couple crocodiles.

This dude is poisonous, despite looking super cute

Hungry for humans...

After a quick break for coffee and cookies (SO glad I got the Luna bar at this point), we headed an hour or so towards to the Selva Verde lodge. I think this part of the tour was the least interesting, as basically we parked at this lodge and then walked through their hiking trail. I did see some frogs and some beautiful wildlife, but I could have also given it a pass. Lunch followed, and was weird. The choices were mashed potatoes, some sort of braised pork situation that I avoided, chicken balls (kind of like croquettes), beans and rice. There was also a decent side salad and a pasta salad. When I asked my tour guide about the food, she looked at me strangely and said, "That's the way we eat". Thus explaining the general level of overweightness I saw in the people - all that starch and anyone would be pudgy.

After this tour, we went to the Rainforest Adventures for either a zipline or an aerial tram. Three guess as to the one I picked, and the first two don't count. Yep, I did the gondola. It was pretty cool, and VERY green.

On the tram before the heavens opened up

It was also very, very, wet. That picture was taken just before the heavens opened up, and treated us to the real meaning of the words "rainforest". I ended up very, very damp. Thank goodness for my trusty yellow poncho, which kept me from being completely drenched. It was really cool, though, to be gliding through a protected rainforest while it was raining. Everything was so beautiful, and quiet and still. Definitely good for the soul, if not for the overall state of my hair and clothing.

After the rainforest, we stopped by a roadside fruit stand - mostly at the request of a couple on the tour bus who wanted to sample the local fruits and vegetables.

Local fruits

The roadside stand

I think these were described as something from a palm tree and they were boiled and they were DELICIOUS. Tasted like tomato, but not tomato. Hard to explain but noms, noms, noms.

On the way back from this stop, we hit major traffic. It seems a truck had overturned earlier, spilling his cargo all over the highway and this led to delays all day. I was supposed to be back at the hotel at 5:30pm. I didn't get off the bus until nearly 7pm. By that point I was tired, hungry and completely OVER tour busses and traffic and crazy Costa Rican driving. I was supposed to do another tour on Thursday - a visit to Arenal Volcano - but given that this tour picked up at 8am and returned at 10pm, I decided to opt out. I visited my buddy Ronald in the tour office and got a refund. I just could not with any more tours.

I spent Thursday and yesterday at the pool. I rose early - always before 7, and then had a quick breakfast before staking out my pool chair and alternating between lazing in the water or lazing under the sun. I have gotten through 3 books so far this way, and it has been amazingly relaxing. The sun goes down around 5pm here, so I've been hitting the gym at night. Being in a bathing suit every day does wonders for the desire to work out!

Today is my last day here in San Jose. I woke early (again), despite not being able to fall asleep until about 11 (due to fireworks, which apparently were set off in celebration of Christmas) and being awakened again at 2am by some noise in the hallway I couldn't identify. I managed to hit the gym and run 5k before packing everything up and checking out. I'm now sitting poolside, waiting for K's plane to land (soon!!!). We will then head westward for about 3 - 3.5 hours to get to Playa Conchal, where we will spend the next week. I've heard it is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait.

So far, it has been pura vida indeed.