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There were plenty of steps leading up to it. “Plenty” is an understatement and at some point maybe we’ll write prequel to this story, but on January 15, we set out on the Sutherland’s World Tour. We hailed two Ubers and boarded our Southwest Airlines flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. In true Sutherland travel fashion, the kids packed and manned their own luggage and carry ons and aced the flight. We touched down about 8:35 pm and the adventure began!
We maneuvered customs, baggage claim, and finding the hotel shuttle with fortunately only a few bumps. My extremely rusty Spanish got us by, and we made it to the hotel in enough to time to get a bite to eat at the bar. Chicken wings and ceviche! Perfect combination. I’m pretty we were hungry enough to eat anything but Delaney declared them to be the best she’s had. We got a solid nights sleep and started the next day fresh.
Day two. Meet “Junkle”. We have a history of naming our vehicles on our travels, going back to the OG, the Jumpy, that got us around Spain pre-children. But this one apparently was already named. Sigh. We weren’t expecting that! His given name is actually Uncle George. But the kids weren’t feeling it and christened Uncle George as “Junkle”. He’s a little beat up but he is solid and getting the job done! He also comes from a woman who has a rescue for stray cats and dogs and uses the proceeds from her rentals to cover rescue costs. What a great way to get what we need and give back a little to the community!
After getting the wheels situated and some school work knocked out, we headed to downtown San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. From my reading and research, I had low expectations. Sometimes I feel that’s the best way to travel—with low expectations. When good things happen, they seem even better! It did take us quite a long time to make the short distance as traffic was hefty—and that’s saying a lot coming from Houston. Motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic. Snacks for sale on the side of the road.
Josie had chosen a buffet for lunch (Cocina Mama, Buffet per peso) so off we went to locate it. Figuring out driving etiquette, acceptable parking spots, reading signs. All part of the adventure. Lunch was quite wonderful. Fresh! Pretty much all locals having their meal. Everyone could choose what they wanted. It was inexpensive and came with a drink, plus they placed a banana on your tray once you weighed your plate! Bananas are a staple. Nothing fancy but got the job done.
We walked around just a bit to see what the city held and then moved on to the National Museum of Costa Rica. A great place to start on this journey! After entering through a butterfly garden, we went up the turret to see the expanse of the city. The museum itself is the former Bellavista Military Barracks and houses so many things. From pre-Columbian artifacts to exhibitions on economics, politics, society and culture, you could spend hours (probably days since I like to read every placard offered) learning about the history of this amazing country. Once we got our fill, we meandered back to the car and headed to the hotel (Hilton Cariari Doubletree). We swam and got our first lesson about the cacao tree from Delaney as there was one growing near the pool. She had watched a YouTubeKids on it and explained how the pods grow and several other interesting facts. Fascinating! YouTube has its benefits….
Next up—dinner! We chose a restaurant around the corner so we could walk—Restaurante Seul—which had Korean BBQ. We timed the visit such that they had just run out of the meats to grill ourselves but relied on the owner to guide our choices. He did NOT steer us wrong. What an amazing array of flavors! In fact, one of the best lines of the trip so far has been the next day when rolling into Puerto Viejo. When asked what they wanted to eat, Adaira unexpectedly chimed in with “if it’s Korean BBQ…I won’t be mad!” We left stuffed and happy and with a new food on our favorites list.
The next morning was little man’s birthday! The big S-I-X! We made it to the hotel’s breakfast buffet (which was pretty impressive) and he got his first Costa Rican rendition of “Feliz Cumpleanos” and a cupcake. A very sweet thought from the hotel staff.
Once everyone got their tummy’s full, we repacked and found out just how much Junkle could handle. Thank goodness Johnson is a jack of all trades. He masterfully packed up the car and got us on our way!
We hit up our first soda (Soda el buen gustito) on the way to Puerto Viejo and my love for casada began. I’ve always been a sucker for ceviche, so enjoying both while the dear family showed us the local sloth and graced Alex with a song and cake made the stop amazingly special.
Onward!
