"You each will receive free lodging and a three hundred and fifty dollar credit towards a future flight."
"Okay!"
We lucked out a lot on this trip, scoring an extra day in paradise on Continental Airlines dime. Not to mention the $350 credit we each received. The Piña Colada's could have been better, but drinking them in the swim up bar of the Hotel Resort we were staying in that night made them go down smooth and quick.
The rest of the week was not as plush. We started off our trip by spending a night in Liberia, the 2nd hottest city in Costa Rica. La Cruz is the only city that is hotter. We didn't spend any time in La Cruz, instead spending nights 6 and 7 about three hundred feet from the beach and scoring a room that should have sold out months in advance. Luck was definitely on our side. After our taxi driver dropped us off at a deserted beach, we quickly did the only thing we could think of and went skinny dipping in the pacific. While getting dressed I was stung by a large cow wasp, my finger swelled up a bit, and the rest of my arm tingled, but I survived.
Between Liberia and La Cruz, we spent three nights near our land in Cabanga. The point of this trip was to pick out our specific land, our home site, and see if we couldn't come up with a design for our future house. The trip was a total success and we found a ridge top location with views of Guatuso as well as the town of Rio Celeste. The home site has 270 degree panoramic views of the Caribbean plains below, witch bring a consistent 5 - 7 mph breeze up the hill side whenever the sun is shining. At nights, the temperature drops to pants and long sleeve shirt weather. This is something similar to what you would find on a clear late summer night in Utah, which is just cold enough to bundle up, but not cold enough to roll up the windows or put the top of the jeep on. The nearest paved road is about fifteen miles away. Paradise found.
Over drinks in Tilaran we came up with our floor plan for our new place. The ground level will have a living room that doubles as a dining room. Take two steps up and you will find our kitchen and bar. To the right of the kitchen will be our Art and Music room. Behind the kitchen will be our mud room, storage space and a small bathroom. The 2nd floor will be our private living space which includes a large master bedroom and master bathroom with 360 degree panoramic views. The top floor will be oriented 90 degrees off center from the bottom floor. The extra roof space will become two outdoor patios. With temperature's year round in the mid 70's to low 80's, we will be spending a lot of time outside. We will have a screened-in porch downstairs that will facilitate room for a few hammocks, a pair of rocking chairs and a small table to hold our drinks. Out back from the mud room will reside our garden and various fruit trees will be planted all around the house. There is already a large mango tree and a few papaya trees just steps from our future front door.
Down the hill and toward the river will be Heather's yoga and belly dance studio. This will be the first building to be built and will double as a guest cabana once our main house is built. Until that time, this will be the place we will call home. A small bathroom, kitchenette and open air deck will be the only features besides a large space for dancing and yoga. Imagine a studio apartment floating in the air just feet from natural rain forest and sounds of the river hidden within. One of our first projects will be to build a natural swimming hole in the river and a path that leads us to and from the jungle.
Thats all for now, I'll have Heather post about our kite boarding lessons in the next post. I think we have found a new sport that can be our Costa Rica replacement for snowboarding...
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