2008.01.05 Saturday

Everyone trickled into LAX from our different homes. Some (lee & jess) cutting it barely in the nick of time. While others sat around, got a drink, and relaxed while waiting. We got onto the plane and expected to take off but were stuck on the tarmac for over an hour waiting for a technician to fix a light error. The weather didn’t help either. It was pounding on the plane and we were forced to wait for twenty-some other odd planes to take off.

What made me more upset was that the stewardess said that the movie was going to be the game or something but it was actually Hairspray. Although it wasn’t bad, I wanted to watch something with some action or fun. Not a musical. Yes, being stuck longer on a plane and everyone falling asleep and not being able to made me grumpy sam!

We arrived at Costa Rica – Liberia at approximately 8:00 am. As we waited for our bags, we noticed that Jessica’s bags didn’t make it. We waited around another hour while Jess filled out some paperwork before heading over to Economy Rent a Car. And here’s our lovely car.

We dropped off our luggage at the house, divvied up the rooms and headed out to get lunch at the Rip Jack Inn. The plates were somewhat small for some but the view of the beach while eating was great.

We then stopped by the mega market and bought some groceries (ie beers + hard liquor + more beers). The supermarket wasn’t the biggest one there but it was a decently sized market. It was somewhat clean yet there were flies circling the meats. There were also some vegetables that needed to be thrown out but otherwise, most of the goods were decent. The sad fact of this all? A can of Coca-Cola was $2. BOOO!

And our way back from the market, we were stopped by a herd of cows roaming in the middle of the street. Sure, there was a boy on a bicycle guiding them along, but c'mon. He was just there to annoy and mock us while we were stuck waiting!

We then stopped by a surf shop to rent some boogie boards and see what items they could provide. After looking around, the items seemed more expensive than what they were in the US. How could I purchase anything there!?

We then drove back to the house, swam, and relaxed! AHHHHH… VACATION! Of course being that this was vacation and us being on this fantastic site, we wanted to pick those coconuts and drink that oh so sweet nectar of those round beauties. So of course we didn't use our brains (ahem, we are on vacation) and whatever came to mind first we did! We first climbed on each others backs to grab the coconuts (don't mind that there's a ladder on the side of the house). Then we smashed the coconuts against rocks, no, we didn't want to use knives just yet! And the few drops that were left after smashing those coconuts, we drank! OH SWEET COCONUT JUICE! :)

We played a game of Taboo after swimming. Boys vs Girls and OF COURSE the BOYS KICKED THE GIRLS BUTTS. The only reason they even had a chance at beating us was because mrs chang was keeping score and she was obviously tilting it in the girls’ favor!

We rounded up the troops and then went to Tamarindo (the nearest big city) to explore a little and get a bite to eat. We ate at Nogui’s which had great food and a little cat that roamed around. We were a little apprehensive at first since the bottom portion of the restaurant had mariachi’s roaming around singing really loudly and that’s something we definitely weren’t interested in the first night of vacation. But, luckily they had an upstairs that accommodated all eleven of us. Again, the food was great and we had a great time there.

After dinner, we went to the Auto Mercado which was a huge modern supermarket and we stacked up on more beer and alcohol! WEEEEE! VACATION! We drove back to the house and were greeted by a raccoon. He ran away as soon as he saw the flash from my camera so he wasn’t friendly. We relaxed and watched a movie in the singles room. The Great Debaters. Chris Chung was the first to pass out even though I had gotten zero hours of sleep the night before. Then again, I’m a vampire that drinks alcohol instead of blood to survive!