[Mon. Jan. 23, 2017] --- Day 1: Idaho to Costa Rica

Bon Voyage, we'll see you in June!

     Each of us packed one roller bag & a back pack. If we need anything else, we'll pick it up along the way & make room in the bags by leaving something behind. Only room for small-type souvenirs. The morning went well with no major delays. Thanks to Brent Matthews for picking us up at 6:00am! First stop: Costa Rica, here we come.


Goodbye Boise!

     We were the last people to board the plane but that caused us no stress. Sydney said there was a weird movie playing & the strangers around her were laughing & crying. Carley was lucky enough to sit next to an older couple who filled her in on their experiences in Costar Rica. We landed pretty close to on time and Customs & immigration were no problem; renting a car was another story:

      We had hoped that Paul's friend Alex would have his Suburban ready for us but that didn't pan out. So we compared rental car agencies & said we needed a car for 7 people for 31 days. They all raised their eyebrows in disbelief. We spent about an hour going from counter to counter looking for the best deal. The kept saying, "sorry about the high price, it's high season you know." Well, the problem is that local drivers don't have to have insurance & all car renters basically pay the insurance for both parties. So, the advertised rental price isn't bad, but the mandatory insurance scam is crazy. We choose Enterprise.



our apartment near San Jose

     Next was a hop onto a shuttle to the actual rental place. After 90 min. at the airport, we show up with 5 tired kids in tow & guess what... the price they quoted us isn't exactly the deal we bargained. We were pretty mad & told them we were upset (they lied!). So we spent the next hour on the phone with the credit card company & trying to figure out what insurance was actually mandatory. He ended up giving us a better deal but still cost a lot! The couple next to us seemed to be having the same problem, just on a smaller scale (no kids).

the apartment has 3 levels

scripture & journal time

The guy was nice however, & despite his shift ending, he spent another half hour helping us figure out how to get to our place, using the local map app, "Waze." The kids sat outside on the curb, amazingly patient! Finally, after 3 hrs since landing, we were on the road.


Carley helps Cannon spell words

     Despite all the preparation with printed maps from Google, it was still very difficult to figure out which way to go in the dark & without street signs which are apparently optional. "Waze" saved us almost everyday from getting lost.

      We finally arrived at the gated community where our host had left instructions with the guard how to get to apartment. We never met our host, but she was kind enough to buy 2 booster seats for us & leave them in the apartment. Paul had asked her to get those since his friend Alex had mentioned getting a ticket for not having younger kids in boosters!

     The apartment was nice enough with 2 bedrooms on the 1st level, kitchen & living area with a couple of futon couches on the 2nd level & then a spiral staircase up to a small upper level that led out to a small porch. Paul was the dinner lifesaver. We were so hungry but too tired to venture out. But guess what... Paul had packed dehydrated meals! Now there was a time I might have mad fun of him for it, but no longer, it saved us. In 5 minutes we had chicken & mashed potatoes & teriyaki rice.  It was actually pretty good, or maybe we were just really hungry!