aventuras de la navidad

Here's my attempt to document our travels in Costa Rica and Nicaragua during our Christmas vacation. I hope give just the right balance of details, experiences and meaningful reflections. Hope you enjoy what you read (and see)! Day 1. San Pedro Sula, HN to San Jose, CR It was a very good idea to fly for one leg of our long journey. Thanks Karla for the sound advice. Our morning started off slowly and very relaxed. Since our flight didn't leave until 3:47 pm, we had several hours to spend how ever we'd like. This was especially important since I just had a LONG two round of food poisoning...or something. 101 degree temperature, severe chills, days of stomach related symptoms (I'll spare you the details), and vomitting for the first time in over five years. It was ugly. Thanks to Jason and our amazing principal, Martha, we had an ambulance at the house after 24 hours of symptoms. With an IV of fluids and some antibiotics, I felt good as new in about a day. Just in the nick of time. We left our house about an hour later than I'd have liked, but even in the torrential downpours of "rainy season", we made it to the airport with a few minutes to spare nothing like the rush of catching an international flight. After standing in 5 lines (including the "tax" line where you pay an additional tax to the Honduran government for leaving the country-weird), we boarded our plane, and to our surprise we were sitting in business class. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to go back to coach. We had more room than we do in our bed at home. Large, plush, leather seats. A full meal. I had a delicious Caesar salad and Jason had a gourmet deli sandwich with pesto dipping sauce. I didn't even miss the peanuts I have grown so accostomed to ;). Our flight was fast and easy. We landed amidst the expansive mountains of CR's central valley, retrieved our packs, and found our driver to the hostel, holding a sign for Sr. and Sra. Redelman. Sweet. He dropped us off at our hostel, Casa del Parque, downtown San Jose and across the street from the main city park. This was by far the largest and most comfortable hostel either of had ever stayed at. If you're ever in San Jose, you NEED to check it out! The owner nd msnagers were helpful, knowledgable, flexible, accommodating and so very kind. We loved every minute and were tempted to change some of our plans already. Now that I'm sitting in my beachfront hotel room, serenaded by the powerful Pacfic "olas", I'm glad we didn't. Still, for a capital city, it was far and away the best. We ended our night with one of the very best meals I've experienced since moving to Honduras in July. We read about Tin Jo on Lonely Planet, anda although no one was able to help us with directions, evidentially it's a hidden gem, we found it with only a little trouble. Probably couldn't again, though. :) Were ordered our favorite Thai appetizer, Chicken Satay as well as a cup of their house soup, both delicious, the peaunut sauce especially. Surprise surprise, I ordered Pad Thai with tofu, didn't taste much like Mai Thai or Thipi Thai, but very tasty and very spicy, a welcome treat from the bland food we've grown used to eating. The owner was very friendly and made sure we, gringos, we're well fed and enjoyed our evening. We'd definitely return! Exhausted, we stumbled home and fell hard to sleep, full tummies and happy hearts. A lot of activity for day 1.