Moving on to cooler climate

Now that we had decided to leave today (hotel check-out was at noon) we knew this morning would be our last big beach outing. Bill stayed up at the rooms while the rest of us went down to the beach. It was a great morning. We built sandcastles, we played in the waves, the kids buried me in sand. Isabella even let us bury her in sand, all the way up to the neck. We sculpted a mermaid body out of sand for her, which was very cute and drew the attention of some Canadian tourists.

I had sunscreened well, so it was more of a comfortable morning knowing that I wasn’t going to burn. It was still hot, but the water was cool and refreshing.

We kept an eye on the time, because we wanted enough time to get showered, pack up, and check out by noon.

As we loaded up the cars, the Argentina-Germany game was in overtime. As the owner of our hotel is German, the game was on in the restaurant and a big group was watching. I kept an eye on the game as I loaded the car. Germany won in a shoot-out!

We headed out of Cocles a little after noon. We had decided to go to Turrialba for the night, and then drive up to the archaeological ruins at Guayabo the next morning. I was out of cash, and a stop at the ATM was fruitless: the power was out all over town.

We stopped in Siquirres to again try to find propane gas for the Sheridan’s car. I led the way, and despite Bill’s warning about a particularly tricky one-way street, I went down it the wrong way (in my defense, it was raining buckets). No problem. After some blaring horns to alert me of my error, I did a quick turn around and got on the right path.

We looked for an ATM, and finally found one, but the line of people waiting for it wrapped around the block. So I just waited. Bill said he’d spot me the money for lunch.

We were all pretty hungry (it was around 3 pm) so we stopped at the central market. Luckily, we were able to park very close to the market so we didn’t have to get very wet. As is often the case in places like this, we paid to use the bathroom. I think it was 100 colones per person. The guy who was manning the toilets had a kitten with pierced ears! We were so amazed by this that he had Alex pose with the kitten for our cameras. We asked him where a good place to eat was, and he took us to a little soda in the middle of the market.

Funny, Cristina and I had never eaten at a central market soda. It’s not that we don’t think the food is safe, but…central markets just have a very rough-hewn edge to them. They can be crowded and noisy. You usually have to eat at barstools, like a lunch counter, rather than tables. And it’s very likely that you might be eating right beside a smelly fish booth, or a butcher’s kiosk with all parts of the animals on display. So we’ve just always chosen to eat at a more traditional restaurant-type place, or a soda, which is just a very small, greasy spoon-type restaurant. I have to hand it the Sheridans: they will eat anywhere. And I love them for that. Bill said to me once, “We’ve eaten at every kind of hole-in-the-wall, dumpy-looking place you can imagine. I thought we would have gotten sick at least once by now, but we haven’t. And the food is always good!” So when Bill suggested we eat lunch in the Siquirres central market (at a soda next to a fish booth no less) I trusted wholly in his experience. Plus, I was tired and hungry.

The soda didn’t have much chicken left, only enough for two plates. So the Sheridans got pork chops, our kids got the chicken, and Cristina and I asked for eggs with our rice and beans. I was pleasantly surprised. The meal was awesome! Those were the best eggs I think I’ve ever had! The lady who seemed to be running the soda had scrambled them with some onions and garlic and they were bursting with flavor. And the rice and beans…she cooked them with coconut milk (Caribbean style) and they too were rich and delicious. Everything was great and I practically licked my plate clean. Cristina remarked later about how beautiful the woman was that ran the soda. She was probably in her 50’s, dark skin, and green eyes. Very striking. She helped us try to locate the propane stations, even made some calls for us, but to no avail. We would get no propane in Siquirres.

Onward to Turrialba. After missing the road and asking for directions, we finally got going the right way. It took about an hour to get from Siquirres to Turrialba, and it was gorgeous and cool (as in chilly). The mountains around Turrialba are rain forest, and at times the road we were on drove through the clouds. Breathtaking views. When we got to Turrialba, the word “magical” came to mind. I even thought that if we moved to Costa Rica, I could definitely envision living in or near Turrialba. I dunno, it struck a chord with me.

It was almost dark. Time to find a place to stay for the night. The Fallas family used to live in Turrialba and still has family that lives there. So we pulled over and called Vicky on the cell phone. She made some calls and then called us back with a recommendation. Hotel Karday. Clean, no-frills, safe, and cheap ($30 for us, with three beds, $25 for the Sheridans with two beds). That was the hotel that some of the Fallas clan had stayed at when they visited Turrialba. That was good enough for us. After filling up the tank, we found the hotel and got settled.

The hotel was just as described. No frills. Clean. Our room had a small bathroom with suicide shower (i.e. relatively hot water). One double bed and two twin beds. Considering that in Pavas, Sofia and Alex sleep on the floor, any bed for them is kind of a luxury. Oh, and the room had a ceiling fan and cable TV, two things we didn’t have at the beach in our $50 rooms (not that we really wanted TV, but the ceiling fans were a befuddling omission there).

In addition to the very adequate rooms, there was a community room I the back of the hotel complete with kitchen (fridge, microwave, toaster, toaster oven, dishes, pots and pans, etc) and pool table. We cobbled together a light dinner of watermelon and avocado while the kids played pool (sort of…Bella was on the table, so it was mostly just rolling the balls into the pockets).

For 1500 colones each, our cars could be parked at a gas station next to the hotel where they would be covered and watched all night. The only catch is that we had to move the cars by 7 am, because they would be blocking a storefront that opened at 7.

I took a quick walk to an ATM and finally got some money.