We boarded the 8:45am flight from Orlando, with a quick flight change in Ft Lauderdale. Two and a half hours later we were touching down in San Jose, Costa Rica.  This is my sixth trip to this country, and I don’t think I could get tired of coming here.

I still did not know any more details of the trip, not even where in the country we’d  be visiting. It was all a secret  until the immigration officer asked Sean where our final destination  would be. “Dominical” he replied.  Sweet words to my ears as I love the South Pacific coast of Costa Rica.  We have been there before, but it has been about six years since then. It is much further south than the heavy tourist areas.

Last year when we were here we took the public bus system to get around. This time, I didn’t know what Sean had planned. I have to admit I was a little freaked out  when we walked outside  the airport  and a young tico (Costa Rican) was holding a sign that read “Sean McNally” that part didn’t worry me, it was the embroidered company shirt he was wearing that said “Wild Ride Motorcycle Rentals” He walked us through the airport garage to the back corner and there were a dozen motorcycles lined up. If you’ve been to this country, you’d understand  my concern. The drivers here are beyond crazy. However, he walked us to a cute little brand new Suzuki Jimney 4 wheel drive. The two of them finished  up the rental  paperwork and within minutes we were on our way.

We exited the airport on the road that was quite familiar  to us, as just last year we walked from the airport  to the bus station and back again at the end of our trip. If you weren’t  following  my blog back then, those adventures start here.

Sean wanted to pick up a few things right away. We knew there was a Walmart in Alajuela right before getting on the main road that heads to the coast. We picked up a few things and exchanged some American dollars for Colones so we would have correct change for the tolls.

The weather was beautiful, warm with blue skies and picturesque clouds appointed at the ridge of the mountains  surrounding the city. The peppy little  Suzuki carried us out of the bustling city on the newly paved roads towards the country and through the mountains.  Everything  is green and lush and mountainous. It reminds us a lot of West Virginia, except for the palm trees!

We took our time traveling and stopped at a roadside restaurant. This was right by the Tarcoles bridge where you can look over the side to see alligators in the wild. Years ago when we stopped here it was in the middle of nowhere. Now it is quite a tourist attraction with a reptile study center and several restaurants by the bridge. We both ordered fish tacos and they tasted great, but we should have stopped at a less touristy place as the prices were much higher than the average soda. A soda is a small roadside restaurant, usually attached to the owners house. We always love stopping at sodas and get the best food for only a few bucks.

We continued on our way, passing the entrance for the town of Dominical. So I assumed that Sean had a rental arrangement with a house. He turned left about a mile from Dominical and headed up the mountain on a crazy steep incline. He said he wasn’t really sure what he was looking for and the directions were extremely vague. The sun was just now setting and we both hoped to find our new home before dark. There are never any streetlights here and headed to the top of a mountain in the dark when four wheel drive is needed can stress us out a bit. Thankfully he saw a gate at the end of the property and he knew it was the right place. We were met by Julio the property caretaker, who unlocked the gate and welcomed us in and showed us to a house built up in a tree.  He did not speak any English, but Sean is getting by with his Spanish and can understand way more than he can speak. The sun was already down but it was still just light enough that we could see what the place looks like and the beautiful setting around us.

The place that we’re staying in for the week is the most incredible treehouse. It is multi level and has a really nice bathroom and shower with running water. There is a very basic kitchen too. The whole place is open air with no screens or anything to separate us from the jungle that surrounds. There is a mosquito net to hang over the bed if we need it.

I just love places like this and Sean knows me too well.

As it got darker, the wild animal sounds came alive. Buzzing, squawking, chirping, and chatting filled the air with new and familiar sounds.

There are little white lights strung throughout the place. The top level has two futons for sitting and sleeping. There is a small room that we can use to lock up our belonging when going on day trips.

The first night’s sleep was great until I woke up and had to use the bathroom. No problem, until the second I started walking down the concrete steps to the bathroom, the power went off, so I couldn’t see anything at all. I fumbled around in the dark till I found my phone and turned it on for some light. Of course, once I got back into bed, the power came back on.

I also had one other problem, when I turned my phone on and tried to connect to the treehouse WiFi, my phone did a complete factory reset and wiped out everything on it. I try to not let anything like that stress me out so I just turned it off till morning. I’m pretty sure I can restore everything important once I get back next week. I will just enjoy being unplugged for a while. It really is a welcome and needed change. So my blog posts won’t be daily like they usually are when I travel, but I will post a few before the week is through. #behappywen