Sunday July 24, 2016

     It was a long, hot night in the room.  I felt like Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke, sent to the punishment box for trying to escape.  Somehow we managed to see the back of our eyelids for at least a few minutes.

     Needless to say, we were up anyway, so we went for a walk on the beach.  We saw so many turtle nest from the previous night.  Tracks leading to the nest, and tracks back out to the see.  In a quarter mile, we say 20 or so nest.  This happens every night for months.  Truly a wonder of nature.

Sunrise on the Caribbean

The coast - probably no different from what Columbus saw 500 years ago.

Lawton Enjoying the Surf

Turtle tracks

Eggs eaten by raccoon or other mammal.

     At breakfast, a decision was made to make our way back to San Jose.  Another night in the heat was not what we wanted.  We came to see turtles.  Done.  Move on.

     With a few phone calls and the internet, our flight changed from the next morning to this afternoon.  Flight wasn't until 3:45, so we decided a day by the pool was in order.  Swimming, reading, listening to tunes, a couple of drinks - not a bad way to spend the morning.  A late lunch, and it was off to the airport.

     The airport was another interesting place.  Built in 2006, the locals determined it was a big waste of money and a way to line the country's presidents pocket.  Apparently, the project cost $5 million and left them with a runway and a dilapidated shack.

$5 million runway

"Terminal"

First Class Lounge

Ticket Counter

Emergency Services

Crowd Control

Terminal Restaurant

"Arriving on runway - well the only runway - Flight # 1"

     The plane landed and we boarded the flight to Limon on the coast about 50 miles south.  As we sat right behind the pilots, Lawton seemed fascinated by the cockpit and avionics.  The flight - less than 30 minutes stopped for less than 10.  We dropped off a couple of folks and took off again, bound for San Jose.  35 minutes in length, the flight landed at the international airport and we collected our luggage.  A short taxi ride back to the Herradura, checked in, and off to dinner across the parking lot.  

    The Hard Rock Cafe San Jose was fun for the boys.  Memorabilia adorned the walls and some of the artist were recognized by the inquisitive boys.  Elton John, James Brown, Lita Ford, and Paula Abdul all had show costumes on display.  

    When the waiter came to take the order, our hunger had dissipated and the bruschetta was adequate for tara and I.  The kids were caught on more than one occasion singing along with the videos playing overhead.  Most of theses songs where from Tara and my era, so i'm not sure how they knew the words.  Probably something used as background tunes on a Minecraft video.

    Davis began to feel queasy, so the others left.  I stayed to pay the bill and heard a live version of Hotel California by the Eagles.  During dinner, Davis asked "are all those singers dead?"  Seeing Glen Fry on the video reminded me of how time passes on - and so will we - no matter how hard we try to stop it from coming.

     As I left the Hard Rock, I witnessed a bride and groom leaving the church in the parking lot.  I had forgotten the little chapel located adjacent to the Herradura.  Glad to see it was still there and obviously in use.  On to the Peace Lodge tomorrow for the last two days in Costa Rica.  Pure vida!