My very first solo trip was to the beautiful Uvita, Costa Rica! Of course I was terrified but I did it anyway...YOLO! It was absolutely amazing!!! I saw sloths, monkeys, rode horses, ate exotic fruit, and hiked to water falls. I did months of google searches, trip advisor review stalking, and had straight out anxiety attacks over and over again. Sit back relax and enjoy this ride with me...I hope you enjoy my recollection. This trip was back in July of 2017 right after the passing of my mother. I never was able to properly mourn her death because I was the person in charge of all the important stuff. You know the one who had to deal with doctors calls late at night, long hours sitting in the hospital making hard decisions, and ultimately having to be the one to decide that her fight had come to an end. I had to sign the Do Not Resuscitate paperwork! I was hurting and wondering why as the baby of the 4 children that I had to be task with such a stressful decision?
Anyway I wanted to relax and release so I chose Costa Rica! I saw this place believe it or not on Groupon called Oxygen Jungle Villas. I arrived at the main airport in San Jose, Costa Rica. (Before I took off though...I hit up the liquor store in the airport (wine) for the small refrigerator in your villa.) Don't forget to stop to get Costa Rican Colon; currency for purchases as USD is not accepted there. Download a currency converter app on your smart phone to help calculate purchases. $10 USD is about $6,139 Colon's. You also need change for the toll booths. I was still about 4 hours from my destination in the mountain. I chose to rent a car from the airport along with a navigation box that attaches to the lighter for another roughly $20. It was the best decision I could've made. Otherwise you will be confined to the resort after paying a ridiculous equivalent of $400 USD transport to/from there. Please be sure to specify that the vehicle has 4x4 capabilities like I did for the rough terrain going up the mountain...you will thank me later!!! It is the big ass rocks in the road that is just bumpy as hell.. please don't eat anything that is going to shake up in your belly before hand. hahahahaha I also looked up Walmart on the navigational device ...yes Walmart in Costa Rica!! The Walmart was quite different from USA Walmart's though...I noticed it immediately. First, it was completely surrounded by a steel gate that stood about 10 feet high. Second, there was an armed guard carrying a M-16 walking the perimeter. Third, to enter you had to walk up 2 flights of stairs where the store was located above ground. Wow! What kind of problems going on in San Jose? The guard was laughing at me because he saw me noticeably lost outside trying to get in. I picked up some bread, P&J, fruit, snacks for the road. Well, I got what I needed and left expeditiously. lol
The next 4 hour drive was marvelous though..It literally was a straight route down the side of the ocean...with a stunning view. Be careful not to hit any locals...they often are walking or riding bikes as a major mode of transportation there.
Every morning I would wake up to monkeys in the trees.
I Stayed in Ocean Villa Number 8 that set with a view right above the ocean. Oh my God what a view! The ENTIRE villa was glass! So why are there like fertility statues strategically placed outside? haha Be careful if you do bring a significant other if you don't want any seedlings in 9 months after coming here! hahaha I'm new at this blogging thing and I'm playing catch up..so give me a little moment to get my pictures and videos attached! Once I get the hang of this I will do a whole lot better! I am trying to stay away from all of my figures of speech for my international readers starting off! But pretty soon you will have to catch on to my southern dialect!
While there I met a couple of gals from Florida that were very thankful for my rental car because they had gotten stuck on site with the insane transport cost for them. It cost them literally $400 to get there from the airport. They were quoted another $400 to be transported to the horse stable for an excursion. Wow! I let them ride with me for nothing! Isn't God great to put us in the right place at the right time! We rode horseback through the jungle and out beside the ocean on the beach! We could see the volcano's of Costa Rica from the beach! It was indescribable..the horses were gentle even for a first time rider like myself! The guides were patient and super nice! They spoke English also!
I know you are wondering how did I shower and use the toilet in a glass villa. Well the portion where that took place was a frosted glass that was not transparent.. You could still see the silhouette though..yikes! But they did have foliage outside of your villa in those particular areas giving a bit more privacy. Also, for the bedroom you could pull these huge drapes all the way around the villa for concealment. Of course that is what I did at night because I was scared! hahaha I just knew I was going to wake up looking at a Jaguar or something but I never saw one!
I did see an ugly slow moving sloth climbing a tree...I saw a Tuscan too! You know the bird with the colorful beak that we know of from the cereal box..."Tuscan Sam"! hahaha So pretty in person! Costa Rica don't owe me anything!