My first trip to Costa Rica was completely a novelty, as I was invited at the last minute, well actually with two months notice, by an old college friend who swore it was the best place ever for outdoorsy types who didn't feel like freezing on vacation and who enjoyed deep sea fishing, along with the unique character of Central America.
I really had no business going on the trip, as I haven't exactly been swamped with work the last few months, but my buddy R.J. emphasized that "since we're over 50 now, every day's a gift and this could be your last chance to go", well he talked me into it.
Before I left I strapped my trusty Drift HD Ghost camera to my backpack and also packed my Canon G15 pocket camera for film and photos.
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| Drift HD Ghost ready for battle. |
After a two days drive down from Nashville, TN to Miami Airport, with a side-trip to Stuart, FL to pick up my friend, we took off on-time from Miami International Airport. After about a 2 hour and 45 minute flight, we landed at
Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica.
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| Passport and "Colones" |
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| R.J. at Miami International |
The original plan was to stay at a hotel in San Jose and head out to Jaco the next morning, the site of our deep sea fishing trip and three days stay at a rental condo unit, but one of the taxi drivers in the pickup area offered to drive us all the way to Jaco for way less than the cost of the hotel, so we said okay.
After about another two-hour trip through mountains and valleys on dark, twisty roads and one stop at a fruit stand, we arrived in Jaco, about 12:30 local time. There we met "Milt", another old college friend who spends a lot of time in Costa Rica.
Now I'm old, totally out of practice for the nightlife and was ready for bed at 12:30, but guess what? We were going out! Okay. It's not like I have to be anywhere in the morning......so we proceeded to explore the little beach town of Jaco in the middle of the night. I was pleasantly surprised, how lively the place was, for such a tiny town. The people seemed friendly enough and the streets were surprisingly safe, although there was a noticeable police and paramilitary presence.
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| Our restaurant, for dinners of beans and rice.... |
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| T-shirts at the Patio Bar |
The Patio Bar was a retro music bar that showed American football on big-screens throughout and played hits from the sixties and seventies all day. There seemed to be a lot of American ex-patriots that hung out there.
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| Beatles on top of the Patio Bar |
The next morning we checked out the beach area. There was a open-air bar at sand's edge called the Bohio Beach Bar, where we hung out a lot with the locals.
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| Grove of palms behind the beach. |
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| Local Market |
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| Our Place |
