Our day started early (I'm one of those people who firmly believe morning should be outlawed - nothing should move until noon unless it bloody well wants to) 6:00 AM - up and at it.
The smell of coffee pulled me out of bed and into the kitchen. The clock on the wall jarred me into action (think Home Alone, when they all slept in). Joanne showed up right on time, we piled into her oh so comfortable car and headed to the airport.
They tell you to get there 2 hours early for international flights, so we did. Many of you know the drill at security -- shoes off, pull out the laptops and cell phones and all the other gizmos that we've tied ourselves to. Step through the little beepy gate, grab your stuff and try to put your shoes on without blocking everyone else. Go find the gate - find the gate then go find a cup of coffee, or three, because now you've got an hour and twenty minutes before you actually get on the plane.
Fly to Miami - go find the gate for the next flight - then go find some lunch because now you've got 2 hours and 40 minutes before you get on the flight to San Jose.
Get on the plane - find out you've gotten yourselves stuck with the "snotty crew" -- the gang o' flight attendants who really just don't want to be on that flight that day. Great, just great.
Get to San Jose. I like the San Jose Airport. It's not huge like MIA or DFW or JFK, it's more like SRQ - clean, tidy and easy to get around. Customs is pretty streamlined too -- they have about 10 lanes for "nationals", Ticos coming home from elsewhere and about 15 lines for visitors/tourists. The line moves FAST. The agents are very nice. After you clear customs you go through baggage then one more line -- your bags are scanned to ensure you're not bringing in animals or plants or anything else weird.
Now - here comes the tricky part. As soon as you open that door to Costa Rica proper - there they are. Herds of taxi drivers and car services. There are also those who will approach you, grabbing at your bags saying they will 'help you' -- hold on to your bags -- some may just be a bit over zealous but there are petty thieves who will snatch and run. Don't get me wrong - it doesn't just happen in CR, it's everywhere.
The dentist's office and hotel had arranged for a car and driver to pick us up and soon we were heading into San Jose and to the Christina.
The Christina - wow, it looks cool. All angles - white and glass and wood yet it has a feeling of old world about it as well. Up the stairs and into the lobby. We quickly check in and are taken to our 'apartment'. Sleek brass fixtures attached to -- TEAK DOORS -- holy cow, teak all over the place - doors, woodwork, cabinets - it's a dream. White tile floors, pristine white walls. The bath is tiled about 6' up the walls. The living area has a small sofa, two arm chairs and a table, kitchen has sink, stove, refrigerator, cabinets, dishes, pots, pans, flatware, etc... the bedroom has a queen sized bed - nice and firm, fluffy pillows and window seat and a walk in closet. Internet, WiFi, Cable - it's all here. We test the gotomypc.com software and all is well. Then we try to hook up the vonage telephone -- it's not working - the usb reads as blank in my nifty new netbook -- nothing there, nada -- hook it up to Dougs' laptop -- again, nothing, nada - we start looking online - we're tired, we're cranky, we're panicked. Finally, I say - drop it for now - we'll figure it out before Monday - we just can't focus.
We settle in a bit, grab a bite at the Italian restaurant attached to the hotel and hit the sheets -- it's been a looonnngg day.
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