Our trip
started off with a smooth departure from MSP – we all got through TSA quickly
without hassle – mostly. The nearly 2 hour flight to Atlanta went by quickly,
and we found our gate with more than enough time for a snack break. The flight
from the Atlanta airport to Liberia, Costa Rica took about three hours and entailed
some “light chops.” The trick was getting through customs in Costa Rica. While
Anna, Carina, and Nate were able to get a really nice customs agent who let
them through without checking the address box on their customs form, the rest
of us were stopped until we could properly state our address – which was not
known to anyone on the trip and required a quick Google. Once everyone was
through customs, it was all warm weather and smooth sailing – or driving.
After
departing the airport, we took a short ten minute drive to Café Naranjo, where
we ate a traditional Costa Rican meal of red beans, rice, chicken, salad and
plantains. After we wrapped up our meal, an hour and a half in the van awaited
us. Most of us chatted or played trivia to occupy ourselves, but we were also
entertained by the animals and scenery on the way to Finca La Anita. There was
even a few herds of cattle that happened to be in the middle of the road as we
drove by. We wove through the mountains, seeing different village houses, dogs,
chickens, and even more cattle. The nearby mountains reached up towards the
clouds. Once we arrived at Finca La Anita, we received our cabin assignments
and dropped off our luggage before having a meeting with one of the owners,
Pablo, about safety.
Next, we
started to really get into the fun stuff.
We were reminded of the importance of wearing bug spray at all times,
washing our hands after petting the dogs/not petting them at all (no matter how
cute they may be), always walking on the trail, not flushing toilet paper, and
being mindful of other guests at Finca La Anita. Then, we received our snazzy black rubber
boots to wear around Finca La Anita for the duration of our stay with the
reiterated reminder to abandon our regular shoes and never again remove the
stylish black boots. Finally, we
ate. Dinner was sea bass with cilantro pesto,
steamed veggies, and a salad with a difficult to describe yet amazingly
delicious squishy pastry for dessert.
It gets
dark early here. It was completely dark by 7, a stark difference from Minnesota,
the land of the midnight sun (almost).
After dinner, we found our way back to our lovely cabins in the dark to
get settled and catch up on much needed sleep.
We love and miss you all,
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