Los Chorros

One of the beautiful waterfalls at Los Chorros

We got up relatively early (around 6:30) and had a nice breakfast of gallo pinto, scrambled eggs and Fruit Loops for the kids. This was my first gallo pinto breakfast since being in Costa Rica this summer. Gallo pinto, by the way, is rice and beans (usually leftover) mixed together. For breakfast, it’s usually served alongside eggs.

We loaded up and headed to Los Chorros, secluded waterfalls that we had visited during our first trip here in 1994. Sofia rode in Inesita’s car with Alice, Inesita, Vicky, and Daniela. We stopped at the farmer’s market in Grecia and Marcos bought a watermelon and papaya. Alice and Inesita brought a pineapple as well.

To get to Los Chorros you take what is called “the old road to Alajuela” from Grecia. Unlike the “autopista,” which is the closest thing to a freeway here, the old road is a longer, curvy road through the countryside. About half way to Alajuela, in a small village on the left side, is a small sign that points you in the right direction. We probably made it up in 20 minutes.

When we got there, the man who minds the parking area had not opened the gate, but finally he opened it and we parked. We paid him 2000 colones to “care for the cars,” while we were down at the falls. From there we walked down a gravel road, missed the path, and were redirected by a driver going out. All the way from the road you could hear the power of the falls.

We got to the park entrance, where the attendant questioned us about “estranghetos.” Cristina quickly replied in Spanish that she was “Tica” and those were her children, in a tone that he didn’t question any further despite giving me a quick glance. I paid for all of us to get in, a mere 8000 colones, around $16 for all 12 of us (normally tourists are $4, residents are $3, Ticos are $2). There is definitely a price difference and I have learned to keep quiet, while Cristina shows her cedula (Costa Rican ID card) and handles the purchasing.

Marcos, Cristina, and Alex tasted the water from the exposed drinking hole at the entrance. Then off we went down the very wet and sometimes slippery path to the falls. As you walk along the path, you walk above the river that is flowing from the two falls and many streams. You also walk on top of some pipes that are carrying part of the water to supply parts of Alajuela. As you approach the bottom of the river gorge, along the banks there are many picnic tables, several small changing huts, a couple of bathroom “shacks,” a snack bar (closed), and a couple of covered table areas. Way more than a dozen years ago! So we put all our stuff down at one of the picnic tables and followed the roar and path to the falls. They are amazing, powerful, beautiful and majestic! The vegetation around the falls, thanks to the constant mist coming from the falls, is incredibly lush and vibrant. That mist makes it quite chilly, and if you venture into the mist, in no time you are soaked to the skin.

Beautiful...and cold!

We climbed around on the rocks near the falls, got a bit wet and cold, and took lots of pictures. We trekked back up to the picnic area and had some fruit, then went back to the falls for a little more play.

It looked like rain was coming, and we didn’t want to brave the paths with the additional mud and slop caused by rains, so we headed back. On the way, Alex was running with the other boys and fell, scraping his knees up and getting muddy. Cristina took him down to the river and washed him off.

The gang, right before leaving Los Chorros

We took a different route home, through San Roque, where Marcos’s parents live. During the ride, Daniela fell asleep in Sofia’s arms, much to Sofia’s delight. Back at Vicky and Marcos’s house, we took quick showers and changed into dry clothes. Sort of. I had a dry shirt and underwear, but I had to put on the same wet shorts I’d worn to the falls. My shoes were also soaked, so I chose to go barefoot the rest of the day, whenever possible.

The rest of the day would be spent at William and Alice’s house, just down the hill. Their house has changed a lot since the last time we were here four years ago. They’ve made a new driveway which goes behind the house, and the yard with the mango trees, previously very steep, is filled in and much more level now. A nice play area for the kids. Just big enough for Alex and Carlos to kick a soccer ball around. Inside, one of the four bedrooms has been made into a dining room and the adjoining hall has changed. The old laundry room has been made into a room for Gabriella. The kitchen is revamped and reworked and has newer cabinets and a new stove. The closets from all the rooms were removed due to termites.

Using the bamboo mango-knocker

The U.S. was playing Italy, and surprisingly the score was tied. Thankfully, the U.S. team looked completely different than their first game, so I didn’t have to be too embarrassed. While the game came to a close, we ate a delicious lunch of Vicky’s arroz con pollo. Cristina ate four platefuls. Even Alex had seconds, so you know it was good. We have such a fondness for Vicky’s arroz con pollo that in 2002, we had Vicky show us how she made it while Cristina translated the steps for me to write down. So for the past four years, every time we’ve made arroz con pollo at home it has been from Vicky’s recipe. But hers is still better than ours. They knew how much we have enjoyed it over the years, so despite it being Christopher’s birthday, and this not being his favorite dish, they made it for us. By the time we finished eating, it was close to 3 pm.

Afterwards, several of us sat on the front porch that faces towards Grecia. It used to be that you could clearly see the church at the top of the hill. But the trees have grown so tall and lush that you have to sneak glimpses of it thru the trees. Inesita decided she wanted to take advantage of having our kids along and wanted to get a piñata and cake to celebrate Christopher’s fourth birthday. Isabella and I tagged along with Inesita when she drove into town to get the party goods. At the store where Ines was buying the Spider-man piñata, Isabella wanted many things that she saw. I gave in on a little Mylar, heart-shaped balloon. It was on a discounted, buy-one-get-one-free table, so I picked up two.

Back at the house, William was home from work so we prepared for the big celebration. The kids each had a turn whacking the piñata before Gaby finished the job and the usual mayhem ensued. I thought a nice touch was that when the piñata burst, while the kids were on all fours scraping up the candy, Vicky threw confetti, adding to the festive chaos.

It had been a long day, but we still had cake and ice cream before we could wrap it up. The cake had a spider web on it with a Spider-man candle right in the middle. After Christopher blew out his candle, William dunked his face into the icing. After cake and ice cream, it was close to 8 pm. Finally, Christopher opened his gift from us, which was a silk, mini-parachute (very Waldorf). Christopher seemed mildly interested, but compared to the action figures he’d gotten from the other family members, our gift probably seemed a bit odd and out of place.

Inesita gave us a ride home. Alex and Isabella both fell asleep during the ride, which was a good hour or so. I knew that Cristina was going to let me sleep in the next day for Father’s Day, so I stayed up way too late working on the computer. I didn’t get to sleep until close to 2 am.

Grecia

Sofia woke me up at 3 in the morning, complaining that Alex was in her sleeping bag. I told her to just get in his, but she said she couldn’t. So I went and checked things out. Alex’s legs were still in his sleeping bag, and his body was twisted around and snuggled up in Sofia’s sleeping bag. She said she had been curled up under the couch. She tried to wake him up, but to no avail. So I put him in his sleeping bag properly and went back to bed.

The kids woke us up early, as usual. I watched Argentina annihilate Serbia while I made eggs for the kids. We’re eating a lot of eggs here, almost every morning.

We packed for an overnight trip to Grecia. Around 1 pm, the Sheridans picked us up to attend a choral performance at the University of Costa Rica, featuring our very own Maritza Garbanzo. We dropped Maritza off about an hour before the performance, then walked around campus. We let the kids play while we discussed possible things to do together in the following weeks.

Maritza singing in the chorus

The venue for the performance was…interesting. The performance was in the lobby of the music college. There were not very many seats and people were passing through during the show, normal traffic on their way to classes and whatnot. It seemed strange to me that a college of music wouldn’t have it’s own auditorium, or if they do, why it wasn’t being used for this. Regardless of the strange venue, the music was very nice. Maritza and her chorus sang 4 or 5 songs. They sounded great.

After the performance, we rode back to Pavas to drop Maritza off and pick up our pre-packed suitcase. By the time we got to Grecia, it was dark. We picked up some bread from Mus Manni before arriving at Vicki and Marcos’s house. It’s a polite custom to bring some bread when you come to someone’s house for a meal or coffee, etc. Bread, pastries, pan dulce (sweet bread) …something like that.

The first thing we noticed at Vicki and Marcos’s house was the additions they had added since we were last here. They now have a garage with a veranda above it. They have also added a den/family room to the back of the house.

We said goodbye to the Sheridans and got settled for the night. Vicki and Marcos have three children, Carlos Andres (6), Christopher (4), and Daniela (13 months). Our kids wasted no time in playing with them and their toys while Vicki finished making dinner. We had mac and cheese with mushrooms, rice and beans, fried yucca, and salad (salad in Costa Rica is typically shredded cabbage and carrots with a little vinegar or lemon juice).

After dinner, we were about to get the kids ready for bed, when the Fallas family started arriving. First Alice and William arrived with Inesita. Then Gaby showed up with her dog. We spent an hour or so sharing pictures and chatting.

Chatting with Gaby (left) and Alice (right) Fallas

After they left, we got the kids showered and in bed (it was after 9 by then, very late for our kids). Then Cristina and I joined Vicki and Marcos in the family room for a little more socializing. Marcos had the TV on, and since it is hard for me to follow Spanish conversations, I found myself easily distracted by the TV. Around 10:30, I suggested we head to bed because tomorrow was going to be a big day.

Chicken burgers

We didn’t do much today. In fact, Sofia suggested I could title this journal “The Nothing Day 2.”

Costa Rica played their second World Cup match this morning at 7 am. I watched most of it while still in bed. Unfortunately they lost, which means they will not be advancing to the next round. A sad day in Costa Rica.

I didn’t even get in the shower until noon. It was that kind of day.

Cristina and I started mapping out the rest of our days here and figuring out when we were going to do everything that we still wanted to do. Since we haven’t had a car (Ramón’s is still in the shop) we’ve been in kind of a holding mode. Hopefully the car will be ready next week and we’ll have a bit more freedom to explore for the last half of our stay.

I had planned to make chicken burgers for dinner, but I needed some supplies. I was going to go to Mas por Menos by myself, then decided to take Sofia and Alex to get them off the computer. Then Cristina and Isabella decided to come as well. So for the second time in as many days, we walked to Plaza Rohrmoser in the rain.

The burgers I planned to make were not your plain, old run-of-the-mill chicken burgers. A few months ago, I bought a cookbook (Rachel Ray) and tried a recipe for chicken burgers with basil, spinach, and mushrooms. We were all impressed with how full of flavor they were, so I knew that would be a good meal to make for others. I was able to get everything I needed at Mas por Menos, except for shallot. They didn’t have those. Not a big surprise. I bought a little bundle of basil that had massive leaves. Usually basil leaves range in size from tiny, to maybe the size of a bay leaf. But these were almost as big as your hand! Cristina took a picture she was so impressed.

The burgers came out very good. Ramón and Maritza were impressed and had seconds. I also made an unusual (kind of gourmet, I suppose) potato salad, and Sofia’s favorite: tomato-basil salad. To top it all off, we had Swedish lingonberry drink that we brought from IKEA.

Alex and Sofia had done way too much computer and were suffering the ill-effects (Sofia felt kind of sick and Alex was way too whiney during dinner). So we got them to bed as soon as possible. Ramón had a cold, so went to bed early. Cristina was tired and went to bed early. So I washed the dishes and went to bed myself.

Chez Christophe and Plaza Rohrmoser

The original plan was for Nelly to give Cristina a massage this morning. However, the pressures of having Nelly’s in-laws coming this weekend for a 6-week visit had Nelly cleaning up the house in a bit of a frenzy. So Cristina and Nelly decided to do the message another time.

Nelly washed our dirty clothes, even though we knew they would not dry before we left. We hung them up for the morning, and when it was time to go, we loosely folded them into a basket to hang up again at home.

French pastries from Chez Christophe in Escazu

We got packed up and headed back to Pavas. As we passed through Escazu (a rather wealthy town that is a favorite for Gringos) Nelly stopped at a French bakery that she had told us about. It was called Chez Christophe, and is owned and operated by a French baker. We were stopping to get croissants, but when we saw all the beautiful little pastries, we couldn’t resist. We wound up with croissants, chocolate croissants, and six little pastries of different varieties.

At the house in Pavas, we gave Nelly her flowers. They were on the decline, but they still looked okay.

No one was home. We hung up the clothes and decided to go to Plaza Rohrmoser for an outing. We decided to walk there instead of taking the bus or taxi. It started to rain, but we put on rain jackets and took our umbrellas. I wore Bella on my back in the sling and before long she was asleep.

At Plaza Rohrmoser, we walked around and looked in the windows of all the shops. At a little cigar shop, we looked at patches that say “Pura Vida” to put on Sofia’s backpack at home. We were just checking out prices. We were several shops away from the cigar shop when Isabella suddenly held up one of the patches we had been looking at. I took it back to the shop and apologized to the lady. She was nice about it.

We checked out the restaurants and chose the fried chicken place (Campero) that Alex had eaten at the time he came with me. It was inexpensive and yummy. It was a bit early for dinner, but we hadn’t had a very big lunch.

I have been unable to get money from an ATM the entire time we’ve been here. I’ve tried several different banks and I always get an error message. I finally wrote my credit union an email and told them of the problem, but I am still waiting for a response. So until then, I’m using the Visa check card and the bit of cash that I converted when we first arrived.

We bought some ice cream at the Mas por Menos and headed to the bus stop. While waiting for the bus as rush hour traffic passed us by, a “microbus” passed us by with the sign “Liceo Franco.” Soon after, Alexis’s head stuck out the front passenger window and shouted “Cristina!” She gave a quick smile and wave as he passed by on the way home to Santa Ana. As we waited for the bus, we figured that a taxi probably wouldn’t be any more expensive, so we got a taxi. Sure enough, it was just about the same cost as the bus (for 5 people).

Ramón had been home from work for about 20 minutes, so we timed our outing nicely. We chatted with him about the past few days, and then Maritza got home from the doctor. We warmed up some rice and beans and ate a little dinner, even though we had eaten a late lunch.
That night when I checked my email, there was a reply from my credit union. They said I hadn’t filled out a “traveling abroad” form, so my card was restricted to prevent unauthorized use (Phoenix is the ID theft capitol of the U.S., so I don’t mind them being a little tight on security). They said they filled out the form for me and my card should now work. So that was good news.

Volcan Poas

Believe it or not, Cristina and I were up, out of bed, and at the breakfast table by 7:30. It wasn’t easy, but we did it. Today’s goal was to visit Volcan Poas, one of nine volcanoes here in Costa Rica. In all the trips we’ve made to Costa Rica, I’ve never made it to Poas, so today was the day.

It was a bit of a drive, but we made it to the volcano around 10. France’s first game in the World Cup started at 10, and since Nelly’s husband is from France, she was rooting hard for “the Blue,” even though we weren’t going to be able to watch the game.

On the road up the volcano, we saw an old man with a traditional Costa Rican oxcart, with two beautiful steers attached. We stopped for a picture. Tourism has definitely caught on here because the man asked for a dollar after the photo. We had no small change, and Nelly was annoyed that he asked for money, so we just thanked him graciously and headed on.

Entrance into the Volcan Poas National Park: the kids were free, Cristina and Nelly were 600 colones each (about a buck each) and my admission, as a non-resident, cost $7! It pays to be a local, that’s for sure.

We brought our jackets, since we knew it would be chilly up at the top of the volcano. Where we parked it was comfortably cool, not cold enough for a jacket, but not uncomfortable if you decided to put one on. As we walked up the path to the crater, Isabella did not want to ride in the sling (she wanted to nurse) and for some reason, she had a little bit of a bloody nose. So she cried most of the way up to the crater.

By the time we got to the crater, it was chillier and the jackets felt good. You could smell the sulfur from the volcano all throughout the park (I told the kids, “If you need to pass gas, go right ahead because no one will know the difference.”) At first the crater was obscured by clouds/steam, but within a few minutes, the wind pulled back the curtains and we got a great view of the crater. It looked like another planet. Poas is a fairly active volcano. Not bursting with photogenic lava like Arenal, but often belching up gases and making a bit of a fuss. One of the reasons we hadn’t ever come to see Poas is because several times the park was closed due to increased volcanic activity. Poas has been pretty active the past month, so I’m glad the park wasn’t closed today.

As we admired the crater, you could hear a sound that was similar to distant traffic. Not horns, and screeching brakes, but the airy whoosh sound of trucks going by fast on a freeway. That was actually the sound of the gasses coming from the vents.

Alex asked several times why we couldn’t go down into the crater. We explained it as many ways as we could (it’s dangerous, we could get hurt, we could die, it’s a one-way ticket, etc.) but he kept asking and asking. Either he wanted to go down really badly, or he was so fascinated with the thought of it being dangerous that he kept wanting to hear us reaffirm the danger.

We hiked on a path to the lagoon, which is another crater that has been totally inactive for many years. So instead of being a rocky, gassy, barren, alien-looking crater, it just looks like a beautiful, unnaturally round lake. The hike, while on a nice paved path, was more of a workout than we anticipated, especially when carrying a 25-pound toddler. Plus, it was all uphill, it started to rain, and we had absent-mindedly left our umbrellas in the car. But the kids had rain jackets, and though Cristina and I had non-waterproof jackets, we didn’t get that wet.

From the lagoon, we hiked a different path back to the parking area. This was a longer hike, and some of it was still steeply uphill, but it was a good hike. The park is beautiful and laid out well, with handrails at various places and paved paths in certain places. Overall, a great hike with small children.

Back at the entrance, we went to the bathroom and checked out the museum, where lots of information about the volcano was displayed. Some employees were watching the game (of course) so we were able to see the last 3 minutes of the France game. They tied 0-0. Boy, many people from the States hate those kinds of games, and that’s one of the excuses they give as to why they don’t like soccer. But that’s just the way it is sometimes. Nelly was disappointed, but I reminded her that it was much better than a loss. I told her I was going to tell Alexis that France scored as many goals as the United States did. Yes indeed. We’ve won as many games as Costa Rica and scored as many goals as France. We’re doing pretty well so far!

After the cold, rainy volcano visit, we were ready for a cup of hot chocolate. We had passed a restaurant on the way up that advertised “tortillas so good you will die” (as in, “tortillas to die for”) so we decided we had to try these death tortillas. Nelly had had them before and confirmed that, indeed, they were death-provoking. Alas, it was not meant to be. When we got back to the restaurant, we noticed the sign very clearly said “Open everyday…except Tuesdays.” But Nelly knew of another place that had tortillas that were probably about as good, so we went there. The waitress said that there’s were even better.

The kids played on a playground behind the restaurant until the hot chocolate came. The tortillas were hand-made, huge, fried, with cheese in the mix. Extremely tasty and satisfying. I did not die, but I came close. They were quite filling too, and after a tortilla and cup of hot chocolate, we felt like we’d eaten a full lunch.

The road up and down the slopes of the volcano offers several things: fantastic views, acres and acres of coffee plants, and very inexpensive and delicious strawberries. We bought a kilo and a half for 1800 colones. Over 3 pounds of strawberries for about 3 dollars.

On the way home, we stopped at Marta’s house. A brief slice of Cristina’s family tree for clarification: Nelly’s grandmother and Cristina’s great-grandmother were sisters. Marta is Nelly’s mother’s sister. I’m not exactly sure what that makes Marta and Cristina, but they’re related. That’s all that matters. Marta is one of those people that we have to make at least one visit to when we’re in Costa Rica, to keep those connections alive and healthy.

It was a short visit, and we were soon on our way back to Santa Ana. We were expecting Nelly’s sister Ana, the doctor, to come for coffee around 4:30 (and a re-check of Isabella). We got a good visit in with her, while Nelly made quiche for dinner, complete with homemade crust. She gave the kids some little bits of dough to play with while she was cooking. They loved rolling and shaping their own dough into the shape of their choice and then watching it bake in the oven, alongside the quiche.

Bella enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with Alexis during dinner. The big surprise during dinner was a visit from a crab, about the size of a large tarantula. The dog saw it first, creeping along the edge of the dining room wall, heading for the kitchen. Nelly thought it was a spider to begin with, then we all realized it was a crab, lost from the nearby creek.

For dessert, Nelly heated up some fondue chocolate, and we had Volcan Poas strawberries and chocolate. A perfect end to a great day.

A trip to Nelly's

The United States’ first game was this morning at 10 am. Nelly was scheduled to pick us up around 10 to come to her house. We were running a little late, as was Nelly, so the time got bumped to 11. This allowed me to see enough of the game to realize that the US was going to get its pants handed to them. They looked like a high school team out there. Embarrassing. Hopefully they’ll get it together by their next game.

For those that don’t know Nelly, she is a distant cousin of Cristina’s (she has a lot of them here. See yesterday’s blog.) who lived in Gainesville for about a year back around 1998. Having spent a lot of time with her in Gainesville, we’re pretty close to her. She married a French guy several years ago who already had a son, Alexis (pronounced Ah-LEX-ee), from a previous marriage. Thierry, Nelly’s husband, is currently in Germany on business so it was the perfect time to invade their household with our brood.

Nelly picked us up and took us to her house in Santa Ana. Their house is gorgeous. It is open and airy, beautiful Spanish tile, with a big back yard with lots of trees. A little creek runs near their yard, so you can always hear the calming, quiet sound of water. Nelly is a licensed massage therapist, so she has a massage table set up on the back veranda. When I first saw their house, I told Nelly it looked like a resort. She wants to install a Jacuzzi, which would certainly complete the resort feel.

Soon after arriving, we realized we’d left the flowers!

When Alexis got home from school (he’s 16 years old) I heard him excitedly telling his step mom how badly the U.S. was beat. Nelly shushed him, thinking that he might hurt my feelings, but I assured them I could take it.

We had an amazing lunch of tuna steaks, rice, beans, steamed broccoli and carrots, salad, and platanos. After hanging out for a while, we drove to Alajuela to visit Nelly’s mother, Lida. On the way, Nelly picked up some empanadas de pollo to have with the coffee that Lida would serve. Empanadas de pollo are fried pastries filled with seasoned chicken. Delicious. They were hot and fresh, making them even better.

We had a nice visit with Lida, and Nelly’s sister Lilly showed up too. I remembered that Lida used to have a box of Zolo blocks, wooden artsy toys that Sofia used to love playing with. The kids were getting a little restless at one point, so I asked if they still had the Zolo blocks. Luckily, they did. They were surprised at my good memory.

I also remembered that Lida had a turtle that lived in her back yard. Sofia vaguely remembered it too. It was raining, so they said we’d have to see the turtle some other time. But to our joy, the turtle walked right up to the back door where we were sitting. Nelly gave the kids some dog food to feed it, and they loved watching it carry the food back to its little water hole and chow down.

We left Lida’s and headed back to Santa Ana. Back at Nelly’s I watched a little TV with the kids while Cristina and Nelly made dinner. Funny, I try to only watch Spanish-language TV so that the kids get more exposure to Spanish. But this time, I happened to stop on a news channel from the States that was giving a report about sunscreen, and how someone is suing the sunscreen makers for not being completely honest on their packaging. Not the kind of program that kids would usually care much about, but all 3 of the kids were riveted, even Bella. Maybe it’s because it was English, and after nearly 2 weeks here they were just basking in the glory of comprehension. At any rate, when the story ended I switched to some claymation thing on Discovery Kids, in Spanish of course.

After dinner, the kids took a shower. Nelly does not have a suicide shower. She has two hot water tanks. One for the kitchen and one for the bathrooms! But I think the kids were more impressed with the wall-mounted shampoo and body gel dispenser. Now they want one of those in our shower in Arizona.

We’re sleeping in 2 beds here. Sofia and Alex share a twin, and Cristina, Isabella, and I have a full-sized. Both beds are in the same room, so we all laid down together while the kids went to sleep. It was then that I realized how quiet it is here. Absolute silence, except for the sounds of the aforementioned creek, and the light sound of crickets and geckos. Pavas is noisy. Even at 10 or 11 o’clock at night on school nights, there are teens hanging out on the sidewalks, kids singing at the tops of their lungs, and even more jarring, cars with little to no operational mufflers speeding by. Ramon and Maritza live on a hill, so every car that goes by is either gunning it to make it up, or downshifting to go down, both of which are very loud. Since the windows stay open, it’s quite a bit of noise. The kids have handled it fine; it has never kept them awake. I’ve gotten used to it also, but here in the tranquility of Nelly’s neighborhood, I really noticed the quiet.

The Children's Museum

We tried to get up and out as early as possible, in an attempt to get to the Museum early. But by the time we got there, it was nearly 1 pm. Oh well! When you’re on vacation, it’s hard to make yourself get up early and rush to do anything. Especially in the land of pura vida (sort of Costa Rica’s version of Jamaica’s “No Problem, mon” attitude) and la hora latina (whatever time you expect something, add an hour for good measure).

Those that told us there was a lot to see at the museum were absolutely right. They don’t give you a map, which just adds to the feeling of “does this thing ever end?” There is a ton to see at the museum, and everything can be touched and handled by the children. We all had a great time and enjoyed the exhibits, even though almost all the exhibits were in Spanish. Maybe Sofia would have learned more if she could read all the explanations, but she still had a great time regardless. They had a section about the human body (Alex loved the farting machine), space and space travel, geography (cool earthquake machine), banana plantations, coffee production, aviation, art, technology, it just goes on and on. They also had a real helicopter that the kids could go inside and explore, as well as a train and an airplane cockpit. We ended the visit with the tilted room, a building where all the rooms are tilted and your sense of balance and perspective is challenged. They give you a guided tour of that section, and Sofia even got picked to help with a demonstration.

Here’s proof that Costa Rica is a small country. Cristina noticed a woman that looked familiar. She told me it looked just like a cousin that she hadn’t seen in years. Finally, the curiosity got the best of her and she got up the gumption to ask the woman if her last name was Gonzales. Sure enough, it was her cousin! They chatted for a few minutes and that was that.

We left around 5, totally exhausted even though we had been there for only 4 hours. One plan for getting home was to take a taxi to the San Jose central bus stop (called “the Coca-Cola”) and then take the Pavas bus home. But we were so tired, we paid a little bit extra for the taxi to take us all the way home. It was worth it.