Wagons Ho!

For many people, Central America is synonymous  with the Iran-Contra Affair in Nicaragua, Manuel Noriega and the invasion of Panama, civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala, and the spread of ruthless gangs like Mara Salvatrucha which has made Honduras the murder capital of the world.  Despite all of the negative history in this region, Costa Rica has remained the eye of the storm.  It has maintained a high level of stability and prosperity for the last several decades.  Hence, it has been the destination of choice for many in the U.S. and Canada looking for outdoor adventure in an exotic location--without the risk of being kidnapped, shot, or disemboweled and hung from a bridge.

With similar thoughts in mind, The Wife and I felt that the parentally responsible thing to do was to take the family to Costa Rica, not Guatemala City.  The biggest stumbling block that we encountered was finding vacant hotel rooms for the places where we wanted to stay.  It seems that many other families had the same idea of fleeing south for the Christmas break.  In retrospect, making reservations only four months in advance to visit Costa Rica during the high tourist season is inadvisable.

We got an early start with a 3:45 cab ride to the airport.  After a short hop to Atlanta on Delta followed by a four hour flight to San Jose, we found ourselves in the capital of Costa Rica by noon.  The airport was small but modern and clean.  It took a while to get through customs, and even longer at the Kolbi telecommunications office to get an inexpensive sim card with data plan.  

A representative from Vamos Rent-A-Car met us at the exit and drove us to their nearby office to pick up our reserved SUV.  There were no tricks or undisclosed fees from them.  The total was the same as the quoted price that we received via email.  The total amount came out to roughly $100/day.  We could have paid less if we didn’t spring for the comprehensive insurance (usually covered by credit cards).  However, we were too lazy to deal with all the paperwork to prove we had that. 

Initially, we were a little disappointed in our vehicle.  We thought that we were going to get some shiny new Toyota SUV, but it was an old diesel Mitsubishi Montera Sport.  It smelled of the 1990’s.  Its horsepower consisted of a small Shetland Pony on a treadmill, powering the motor.  

Despite its complete lack of flair, our diesel-powered SUV did have an automatic transmission.

Additionally, Vamos throws in a complimentary cell phone for emergencies, complimentary booster seats for The Kids (required by law for children under 12), and a cooler for drinks.  We didn’t realize until later that night that they forgot the cooler.  As advised by multiple sources, we also rented a Garmin GPS to guide us around.  I had thought about using Google maps or the Waze app that is popular among Tico’s (Costa Rican people).  However, I couldn't get a reliable enough signal on my cell phone.  Either the local wireless internet sucks or my new Moto G cell phone (I bought it specifically for travelling overseas) is junk.

I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous driving in a foreign country.  I probably should have brushed up on the traffic laws of Costa Rica.  I definitely should have studied the language.  Less than one km after leaving the Vamos office, we encountered the words “alto” written on the road at an intersection.  Not knowing what it meant, I just breezed on through.  The Girl piped in a few seconds later, “Alto means ‘stop’ in Spanish.”  DOH!  Luckily there were no other vehicles (or cops) going in the other direction.

We eventually made our way to the Sheraton San Jose, located on the western edge of the capital.

Rolling hills and green fields provide a picturesque backdrop for our hotel.

There is a casino attached to the hotel.  One of the entrances is adjacent to the hotel's front desk.

This armed guard is a stark contrast
to the peaceful nature of Costa Rica.

The view of San Jose from our hotel room.

The Wife was on a mission to add a Starbucks Costa Rica mug to her large collection  There are five Starbucks in Costa Rica, all of which opened in the last two years in the San Jose region.  Unfortunately, our GPS seemed to lead us to the one farthest away.  We fought through the slow Friday afternoon rush hour traffic.  That journey costs two accidental toll booth fares (we went the wrong way...twice) and an hour of our lives when we could have just bought one off of Ebay instead.  

Tired and hungry, we headed to our next destination—a strip mall with several higher end restaurants. located a mere five minute drive to our hotel.  To our dismay, they also had a Starbucks there.  We ate dinner at a nearby Mediterranean and tapas restaurant called Maradentro.  It’s a nice place where one can dine alfresco and sip wine or sangria for hours.  So naturally, we ordered three orange Fanta’s and ate in under an hour so that we could get back to the hotel and sleep.  There was no English menu which was okay because our waiter's passable English more than made up for our lack of Spanish. Except for the paella, all of the dishes were really good, albeit relatively expensive.

Gambas al ajillo (shrimp with a white wine and lime sauce).

Milanesitas de queso brita (deep fried brie cheese with a fruit sauce)

Scaloppini de pollo alla pizzaiola (fried chicken breast cutlet with cheese)

The seafood paella was overly salty and lacked a socarrat, the bottom crust. 

We finished off the evening by shopping at the Auto Mercado, a nice supermarket chain on par with any Trader Joe's, Publix, or Fresh Market.  They had no shortage of Café Britt products (coffee, candy, and chocolate geared towards tourists).  However, we were disappointed because we could not find any "authentic" foods or drinks unique to Costa Rica.  

The clean and comfortable amenities at the Sheraton...

...were perfect for our group of weary travelers.

*****

Saturday, December 20

Costa Rica is not wealthy when it comes to rare gemstones, minerals, or energy sources.  But what it does have is plenty of forests.  Tico craftsmen are renowned for their woodworking skills.  One of their more well-known and odd creations is the carreta, a hand-painted ox-cart.  With the introduction of coffee to the country in the 19^th century, these carts became the backbone for hauling beans from the farms to the cities.  Their wheels are spokeless to avoid getting mired in the mud, a common occurrence in this rainy country.  In the early 1900’s, artisans began painting colorful flowers and landscapes on these carts.  The designs improved over time.  Ultimately, motorization eliminated the need for ox-drawn carriages.  Nevertheless, carretas continue to be an integral symbol of Costa Rica as they have now transcended function to become a form of art.

Another big tourist item is the leather-covered rocking chairs.  Popular among Ticos and foreigners alike, the comfortable chairs can supposedly survive the humid, wet seasons and lasts for decades.  Although we don’t have a front porch at our house, we were in the market for a pair of these chairs

We started the day with the buffet breakfast included in the price of our stay.

After checking out of the hotel we headed westward to a small town called Sarchi.  It is essentially the mecca for carretas.  A quick search on the internet revealed two locations in this town that are commonly recommended to buy these souvenirs.  We first headed to Fabrica de Carretas Joaquin Chaverri, a factory that reportedly started the painted ox-cart trend in 1903.  

The Joaquin Chaverri factory is in a quiet area a few minutes drive from the main town square.

On display are several carreta wheels dating back over 100 years.

The empty parking lot was not a good sign.  However, we figured that business was slow because it was a Saturday morning.  Once we entered their gallery we understood why it was so quiet.  The store was just a large showroom with a couple of shelves full of knick-knacks.  There were only a few ox-carts being sold there and a few shelves full of touristy junk.  We didn't see any of the leather chairs either.  The two people working there didn't even bother to look up to acknowledge that they had customers.  We headed outside in the back hoping to find more showrooms.  However, all we found was just an empty “factory” where the carts were supposedly made.  To say that the place was disappointing is an understatement.

Aside from a few carretas, there were very few interesting things to see in the showroom.

This artist station remained unmanned while we were there.

We left Joaquin Chaverri after just a few minutes and headed across the street to a generic souvenir shop called Artesanias Napoleon.  At least the owner greeted us as he turned the lights on now that he had visitors.  He had a better selection of items for sale but didn't have the right color of carreta that The Wife wanted to purchase.  Plus, his rocking chairs were more pricey than we had hoped.  We bought a few inexpensive items including a traditional Costa Rican coffee maker with a “sock.”

We decided to go to the other large store in Sarchi, Fabrica de Carretas Eloy Alfaro.  During the process, our Garmin tried to lead us the wrong way down the one-way street where the store is located.  After a lot of yelling and cold stares by other drivers, we were headed back in the correct direction.  Fortunately, Eloy Alfaro did not disappoint.  A large tour bus parked outside was indicative that this place does a good amount of business.  As we walked in, a horde of empty-handed Chinese tourists walked out.  I bet there was a whole lot of haggling, and not a lot of buying with them.

An adjacent restaurant served buffet food that was perfect to accommodate large tour buses.

There was minimal activity in the woodworking portion of the factory.

Conversely, several artists were active painting wheels by hand.

A couple of large decorative wagon wheels were on display. 

Even the restroom area was adorned with brightly-painted murals.

Eloy Alfaro had pretty much everything we wanted for sale in their gallery.  They had at least six different sizes of carretas for sale in different colors and designs.  The shelves were full of wooden toys, bowls, cutting boards, etc.  They even had the usual touristy junk like T-shirts and hats with Costa Rican logos. 

Three different sizes of leather rocking chairs and colorful woven hammocks were also being sold.

Unfortunately, the relative popularity of Eloy Alfaro with tour groups and our inability to speak a lick of passable Spanish put us at a disadvantage when it came to haggling.  The Wife tried every trick she knew, but they wouldn't budge much on the prices.  By buying two leather rocking chairs and a larger ox cart, they did give us a better price on shipping to the U.S.  We could have carried some as checked luggage on our flight home, but that would have been a bigger hassle.

We made a quick stop a few blocks over to the town square to see the country’s largest carreta.

The town’s ornate church
was only a few yards away.

We also stopped at a nearby panaderia to buy some sweet baked goods for lunch.

We set the Garmin for our next destination, the Volcano Lodge and Springs just outside of La Fortuna, the main city near the Arenal Volcano.  The route took us through San Ramon and some of the neighboring towns.  From there, the fast highway morphed into a two-lane serpentine road.  I was stuck behind a large passenger bus and a Kia truck, both chugging along slowly up the switchbacks.  “Surely the entire road to Arenal won’t be like this,” I remarked to The Wife. 

Seventy kilometers, two and a half hours, and one child in the back throwing up later (apparently the bumpy and zig-zagging roads made him carsick), we arrived at our destination.

It's hard to miss the hotel's giant sign along the highway.

The multitude of plants maintain a rainforest atmosphere.

The lobby, lounge, and business center are all housed under a roofed, outdoor area.

Comfortable lounge chairs provide guests
with a relaxing view of the highway.

The main reason we chose this hotel was that it was practically the only decent-looking lodging with vacancy during this time of year.  Nevertheless, we were pleasantly surprised at the accommodations.  While it wasn't nearly a five star hotel, The Volcano Lodge and Springs has clean rooms, welcome service, and a hot spring open from 7 AM to 10 PM. 

Our "back porch" had two leather rocking chairs and...

...a view of the volcano which was almost always covered in clouds.

What the hotel room did lack was decent toilet paper.  The stuff they had in their bathrooms was so thin it must have been half-ply.  I can only presume that the only advantage of using crappy toilet paper is that it doesn't clog up the toilets when you flush it down.  It seems that Costa Rica, like most of the world outside of the U.S., requires you to throw your fecal-stained paper in little garbage cans next to the crapper.  Gross!  It would be nice if other countries would install sturdy plumbing that would be capable of handling large American-sized turds.

The bedrooms were fairly spartan, with little sitting area.

The tissue toilet paper was a big detriment to the bathroom.

Since we didn't have anything on our agenda, we spent much of the remaining afternoon enjoying the hot springs and pool area.  We were a bit wary as we were practically the only ones there.  However, as the afternoon wore on and more guests returned from their excursions, the place became much more crowded.

Whether it was sourced from hot springs or just heated tap water, the pools still felt great.

Guests can sip on frozen cocktails in the hot springs while watching the obscured volcano.

With an early start the next morning, we decided on an early dinner.  Right across from our lodgings is a restaurant called Benedictus Steak House.  After entering the gates to the restaurant, there was a treacherous mile-long drive up an one lane road to reach the restaurant, located on top of a steep hill.  There was barely any room to let other cars pass who were coming from the opposite direction.  At one point I had to pull over off the road to the very edge of a precipice to allow another car to pass going downhill.  I had to switch the SUV over to 4 wheel drive to get it moving again.  

They specializes in organically raised meat and vegetables.

Beyond these gates lies a treacherous path.

Eventually, we made it to the top and reached the restaurant located in what looked like an old farmhouse.

The restaurant has a rustic feel...

...and a great view of the countryside.

The ambiance was very good, but the service was equally as slow despite there being only about 15 patrons in the restaurant the entire time we were there.  Cooking things to order is great.  However, I think that they were slaughtering the cows to order too.

Our family waited, and waited, and waited for our food...

Agua dulce (a tea-like drink made with melted sugar cane)

The ceviche was tangy but lacked some heat.

The lamb loin chops were flavorful but chewy.

With the exception of a little gristle, the ribeye was great,

The filet mignon was like every other filet.

The Girl insisted on eating pasta at a steakhouse.

We devoured our food greedily once it finally arrived.  All that waiting made us really hungry.  The food was good, but the dinner took way longer than we had planned.  We were still in "U.S. mode" where we efficiently eat our food and go on our way.  The rest of the world usually takes their time eating dinner.  It can be a several hour-long affair.  Habits are hard to break, even on vacation.  Luckily we encountered no other cars on our way back down.  Our exhausted family was in bed and asleep by 9:30 PM that night.