DAY ONE –A three hour tour. In the wee hours of the morning after our wedding (4am) we boarded our last luxury vehicle for the week. The Lincoln Towncar brought us to Newark Airport for our Honeymoon in Costa Rica. After the all-too-familiar process of checking in for an international flight, we got a Jersey breakfast: bagels. Who knows why it took about 15 minutes for the cashier to produce them, because there was no toasting or spreading of cream cheese that had been accomplished. When Jon sat down he realized there was no knife for the cream cheese, and he was about to go ask for one and thought, “Wait, I’m in an airport. Nevermind,” and we proceeded to spread our cream cheese by finger. I actually wasn’t too tired when we landed in San Jose, but we quickly learned that “vanrides + Costa Rica = death”. Windy, bumpy roads. Always. So I guess when we arrived at the hotel, we were drained from all the adrenalin (or something) from fighting off vomit. Beside the nausea, the three hour ride was nice for the fact that we got a bit of a tour of the country. I enjoyed passing by towns and countryside. The houses were interesting—it looked like they were all behind bars. Maybe it’s to prevent break-ins? So anyway, we arrived at Arenal Lodge and were greeted by “Puravida!” and two fruit smoothies (which Jon is now obsessed with). “Puravida” literally translates to “Pure life,” (although would actually be “vida pura”) but is Costa Rica’s unique expression of… well just kind of a general exclamation. Their equivalent to g’day, no worries, bonza… or Hakuna Matata. Our room was upgraded to a chalet; we didn’t know how awesome that would be until after the driver precariously zipped us up the edge of the cliff to where we were staying. It was like a duplex—our “room” on the second level and another below—perched on top of a hill across from el Volcán Arenal. Inside the chalet, an elephant of towels and petals greeted us on the bed. There was a “faux balcony” which wasn’t outside (or guests might fall down the hill) but the windows took up the entire wall, boasting an amazing view of the volcano, lake, landscapes, horses… Increíble. Well we napped until dinnertime and slowly made our way down to the restaurant, taking in the landscape and flora along the way. We were accompanied by a gecko during our not-so-Tico meal, and afterwards got dressed to go in the hot tub we found near the pool outside. In the daytime you have a clear view of the volcano at the hot tub. We relaxed in the hot tub secluded by plants under a starry sky. Puravida! ................

"Here we stand from two distant lands, brought together by His hand"

my Aussie <BR>